Monday, August 23, 2010

Quit Smoking in 6 Months - pt 1

Intentions: Your Commitment to Change

Making deep and lasting change in your life takes commitment. We have all made those New Year Resolutions only to stop following them in a few short days or weeks. We may find ourselves sneaking that cigarette or candy bar, or skipping the gym (always with a good reason) or discovering that we ‘can’t afford to put that money away in our savings’. Then we begin to feel like a failure. Why are we bothering to try to make a change anyway? We know we can’t succeed.

So our failure reinforces those beliefs that tell us we can’t accomplish our goals anyway, so why bother trying. We go through this agony year after year, and each year we think this is the year we are going to be successful.

Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results is the definition of insanity! So there you are, trying again to make changes in your life and those old negative beliefs that you’re just a failure are reinforced over and over. How can you break this cycle?

You’ll need to put in some work and step outside your comfort zone. What happens when you are trying to make change in your life? You get uncomfortable and your internal system desires to return to the status quo, what it’s used to. So you subconsciously begin to sabotage your efforts. Excuses pop up and pretty soon your on way to failure.

How can you change this cycle? Before you begin with a change of any sort, you must lay the groundwork. Let me share with you the 3 basic steps I used to quit smoking in 6 months.

1. Setting your intentions: take the time to decide what you are going to accomplish and write it down. Be specific! Here’s what I wrote: I intend to be smoke free in six months. I intend to enjoy my breathing and feel wonderful oxygen going through my body. Within 6
months I will be free of tobacco in any form.

2. Doing your affirmations every day: after setting your intentions clearly and specifically, you will need to affirm your intention daily. There are several ways to do this such as writing them in a journal and reading them daily, maybe even twice a day; putting them on
your bathroom mirror or on the refrigerator, or in this case, on your ashtrays and cigarette packs, to remind yourself throughout the day that you are a nonsmoker. A daily affirmation might be: today I choose to be very aware of every time I reach for a cigarette. I can choose to smoke or not. I am free of the smoking habit.

3. Reprograming your subconscious: hypnosis works quite well to reprogram the subconscious and help you accomplish your goal. Other techniques you might try include making up a little jingle and singing it to your favorite tune, or devising a short chant that reinforces your choices. Singing your jingle or chanting your chant throughout the day will help convince your subconscious that you’re serious about this
change.

When you set an intention, you’re stating to yourself and to your subconscious that this is what you want in your life. You set a purpose that directs your thoughts towards your goal.

I took aim at my habit. My intention was focused on eliminating cigarettes and I thought 6 months was a good timeframe. Intention works like the arrow in archery. Out of all the possibilities in your life, you choose one thing or aspect to focus on. Using your intention, you
aim at the target or goal you have in mind. When you let the arrow fly, after focusing and aiming at your goal, you will be successful.

Try it out and let me know how it works for you. Also look for the next article which takes up where this one leaves off.  There are 2 more processes to go to Stop Smoking In 6 Months.

By changing your thoughts on a deep level, you can affect every aspect of your life and make deep changes. The secret is to be creative, imaginative, have fun and follow through. And if you find you need some help, contact someone you trust to help you through the process.

If you would like to learn more about me and how I might help you with your particular issues, send me an email at:

Sharon@ChangeYourLifeNowCoaching.com or check me out at
http://www.ChangeYourLifeNowCoaching.com

I will be happy to discuss your particular situation and recommend an appropriate path to help you Change Your Life Now. Energy Work is an excellent set of tools you can work with to obtain quick and deep relief. You will learn how to establish a personal energy practice to keep yourself clear and fully functioning which will leave you feeling energized, happy and healthy, perhaps for the first time in years. You will find it much easier to make those decisions you are facing today and to Change Your Life Now.

This is YOUR LIFE!

YOU are WORTH THE INVESTMENT!

Give Yourself the Gift of YOU!

To find out how I can help you with your particular issues, contact me now. We can work together in person, by phone and with Skype. Distance is not an issue with energy work.

There is no charge to learn more, and you have everything to gain when you take back control of your life now.

Blessings and Peace,
Sharon Routledge, MA CH

www.ChangeYourLifeNowCoaching.com
Sharon@ChangeYourLifeNowCoaching.com

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

The Possibilities of Intention

Intentions: Your Commitment to Change

 

“Making deep and lasting change in your life takes commitment.
You’ll need to put in some work and step outside your comfort zone.
And when the going gets tough, you’ll need to keep going…


There are basically 3 steps you can take that will make a big difference in sustaining your commitment.  These are:
1.  Setting your intentions
2.  Doing your affirmations every day.
3.  Reprograming your subconscious.

When you set an  intention, you’re stating to yourself and to the Universe (God, Buddha, however you understand the Divine Presence) that this is what you want in your life.  You set a purpose or plan that directs your thoughts in a certain direction.

You could say that you take aim, as with a bow and arrow.
Your intention is like picking up the arrow, putting it in the bow, and focusing your attention on the target.
You become focused and aware of your goal in a new way.
Firing the arrow is the actions you take to achieve your goal.

Your intention works like the arrow.  Out of all the possibilities in your life, you choose one thing or aspect to focus on.  Using your intention, you aim at the target or goal you have in mind.

How To Quit Smoking In 6 Months


When I decided that I had smoked long enough and it was time to quit, I set my long-term intention as well as daily short-term goals.


My long-term intention was to be smoke free.


I was tired of spending so much money on something that was smelly, dirty and unhealthy.  So I firmly put in mind the results I wanted to achieve and set my intention firmly to be smoke free within 6 months.

The next step was to set daily goals. I took it in small steps.  Some people can jump to the main event and accomplish it without breaking a sweat, but I’m not one of them. The following is the process I used to quit smoking in 6 months.

1.  Get your intention in writing.


In six months I will be smoke free. 
 
There is something about putting pen to paper and getting our thoughts and feelings out that works deep down in our subconscious.  It almost seems, at times, that the act of working things through in writing allows us to reprogram our subconscious, especially if we are doing it over and over.  So, to set an intention, write out what the overall goal is you want to achieve, then look at how you can accomplish this goal on a daily basis.

2.  Set Your Daily Intentions

1.  I would not smoke in my car.
2.  I would not smoke in my house.
3.  When I thought I wanted a cigarette,I would put it off for 10 minutes,
slowly extending the time until I could comfortably put it off for an hour or more.

This forced me to become consciously aware of my habit.

Every morning, I set out my intentions for the day by writing them down.  I said them aloud several times to allow my mind to hear and see them.  I used as many of my senses as I could. Soon I was comfortable not smoking in my car or my house.   And there were times it was just too inconvenient to get up and go outside.

3.  Affirm What You Want.


The above intentions set out what I didn’t want, not what I did want.  This third step moves from the negative to the positive.  I began affirming what I wanted for myself when I quit smoking.  Here’s a few examples that worked for me:
1.  I choose to live free from compulsions of any sort.

2.  I love having choices in my life.  I can choose to be free from smoke.

3.  I’m a beautiful, talented woman and I choose to stay beautiful and talented.  I am free from all destructive habits.

4.  My life is mine to live as I see fit!  I love being smoke free! My skin and teeth are beautiful and my lungs enjoy breathing deeply of healthy air.  My body loves the oxygen and I grow healthier every day.

5.  I love being able to run and play (basketball, soccer, any game you like), breathing easily and comfortably.  Healthy oxygen fills my lungs and goes throughout my body and brain.  I feel great when I exercise.

4.  Affirm Your New Reality as Smoke-Free.


Once you reach the point where you are smoking less than 5 cigarettes a day, you can change your affirmations once again.  They might go like this:
1.  I’m free from smoke and healthy.  My body loves exercise and healthy food.  I’ve never felt so good.

2.  I love the fact that I have choices in my life and I live my life free from smoke.

3.  I feel better than I’ve ever felt in my life.  It’s great to exercise and eat healthy meals.

4.  Food tastes great and I’m getting healthier every day.

Please note that you are now affirming what your life IS LIKE WITHOUT cigarettes.

This process can be applied to any change you want to bring into your life.


You can change any habit by setting your long-term intentions, daily intentions and affirmations. You can put them up where you can see them every day.

And if you want to step up this process a bit, look into your eyes in a mirror as you say your affirmations aloud.
 
Get it down into your subconscious.
Tell yourself that you’re not lying or kidding around.
You’re serious about these changes.

5.  Visualize Your Life As You Want It To Be.


Believe in yourself and  imagine yourself free,
living comfortably and effortlessly with your changes .

You might want to make up a little jingle to some tune you already know, like happy birthday, and sing it as you go through your day.

If you are artistic by nature, do some art projects around the changes – make a collage, or paint a picture of yourself free of the habit, or any other art project you enjoy.

You might invent a new drink or salad that tastes wonderful.

Have fun with this part and engage all your senses.

Remember, have fun! Laugh with yourself! Enjoy your success!
When you have succeeded in achieving one of your daily intentions easily and effortlessly, celebrate! Tell people about your accomplishment and do something fun.

The more you enjoy the process, laugh with yourself as you look in the mirror, share the humorous situations that come up with family and friends, the easier and quicker the changes will come about.

6.  How Long Does This Take?


How long each step takes depends entirely on you, your willingness to visualize and work with your affirmations, and to do the mirror exercises.

The more creative and imaginative you are, the less time it will take to get your desired change into the subconscious.
If you follow this process YOU WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

By changing your thoughts on a deep level, you can affect every aspect of your life and make deep changes.  The secret is to be creative, imaginative, have fun and follow through.  And if you find you need some help, contact someone you trust to help you through the process.

Please feel free to post your comments or questions below.  I will respond to you as quickly as possible.  If you’d prefer a personal response, or you’d like to order an hypnosis procedure designed specifically for you, please email me at foxfyrehypnosis@zoho.com and include your specifics and questions, or call me directly at 850.642.6400.