The new year prompts us to think about what we want the year to be like. Whilst it’s tempting to do this in the form of a new year’s resolution, these rarely work out. There are many reasons they fail. Sometimes the aim is too big or too long term. Sometimes it’s too demanding on our time or our existing habits.
But that’s not to say that considering hopes and goals for the year is a waste of time. It’s what we do next that influences whether they stay as dreams or become a reality.
So earlier this month I thought about what I want to achieve this year, in all areas of my life, and created a vision board. I used old magazines and leaflets to find images that reflect these goals. Some of these images are literal and others are more metaphorical. I took time to cut them out and place them on a large piece of paper. Only when I was happy did I glue them down. The intellectual thinking parts of the brain love working with pictures, and they prepare the brain for change. This makes a vision board much more powerful than just verbalising a new year’s resolution a couple of times.
My vision board is somewhere I see it every day, reminding me of what I am working towards. This will help me keep taking steps towards my goals, which is much easier than going for the ultimate goal right away. I’ll be taking notes to really acknowledge these steps as this will give me a rewarding dopamine hit and perpetuate momentum.
I’m really looking forward to see how far my vision board might take me in 2025. Watch this space!
In September I was really fortunate to go on a holiday of a lifetime to Peru. It had been in planning (and saving) for literally years, and the trip lived up to all my hopes and expectations. It was an intense two and a half weeks, jam-packed with many memory making experiences.
Coming home I was hit with the post-holiday blues, but I knew what I needed to do. I needed to get the feel good chemicals of the bran flowing - those positive neurotransmitters that my clients hear me talking about in our sessions. They make us feel calm, confident and motivated. And importantly for me at that time, they lift us out of a mood slump.
Dopamine is nicknamed the reward chemical. We can get a hit of this when we achieve something such as completing a small task and taking a few moments to mentally congratulate ourselves. So I made a photobook of the different parts of my trip, giving myself a pat on the back after creating each section.
Oxytocin is sometimes known as the love hormone as it encourages us to bond with others. We can get oxytocin flowing by hugging someone and doing good deeds for others. We can also get the benefits from petting an animal. I had really missed my dog Pippa while I was away so this was an easy one for me to do. I also arranged to spend time with friends.
Endorphins are the neurotransmitters that relate to physical wellbeing. We can get the benefits of this from laughing, being creative and exercise. With this in mind, I got on the cross-trainer and nudged it up a level.
Serotonin is the mood stabiliser. By spending time in nature and listening to nature sounds we release serotonin, so taking Pippa for a walk in the woods is ideal for this. Noticing the changing colour of the leaves, the squirrels preparing for winter and listening to the birds and the wind in the trees. We also get serotonin flowing by thinking positively, so I made a point of writing down the highlights of my day.
And tah-dah! I beat the post-holiday blues, got myself out of my mood slump, ready to catch up with my clients and support them to achieve their goals.
There are many parts of being a hypnotherapist that I love. One of them is the ongoing learning. I am spoilt for choice of neuroscience books to read and podcasts to listen to. I have access to ongoing training sessions and magazines from the organisations I am registered with. And I have my supervisor and fellow hypnotherapists who offer a wealth of support and knowledge.
Perhaps my most favourite place to learn, is from reflecting the things my clients say in sessions.
Many people seek out hypnotherapy for help with issues relating to anxiety and in the sessions we talk about how most of our anxiety comes from thinking, “What if…” And this sentence almost always ends negatively, “What if it goes wrong? What if I can’t do it? What if I mess up?” We find ourselves in a situation where we are anxious about things that haven’t even happened!
Recently a client explained how they have noticed that their ‘what ifs’ had become ‘even ifs…’ So they had started to think, “Even if it goes wrong, I will be able to try again. Even if I can’t do it, I will have tried and can ask for help. Even if I mess up, it’ll be exciting to have a go.”
This seems like a very helpful skill to have. Sometimes we have to think about things going wrong to mitigate against it. For example, when I worked in a school I would have to risk assess school trips. If I had stopped at ‘what if…’ the school trips would never had happened. But by thinking ‘even if…’ meant that risks were reduced and the trips could go ahead safely.
My first qualification in hypnotherapy is my Diploma in Solution Focused Hypnotherapy. I chose to train in this particular type of hypnotherapy because it uses modern and well researched strategies. I really enjoy learning about how the brain works, and love supporting clients to also understand the science of why they’re feeling the way they do and why solution focused hypnotherapy is so beneficial.
This month I am really excited and proud to say I’ve been awarded an additional hypnotherapy qualification, my Hypnotherapy in Practice Diploma! This additional course as deepened my knowledge, enabling me to support my clients even further. As only 20% of hypnotherapists hold this qualification, I hope it expresses my commitment to my practice and my clients.
To achieve it, I had to evidence many hours of practice including demonstrating quality through case studies. I also had to compile a comprehensive portfolio of my learning. It was intense at times with a few late nights, but absolutely worth it. The Hypnotherapy in Practice Diploma is awarded by the largest hypnotherapy association in the UK, the National Council for Hypnotherapy and accredited by the NCFE, an awarding body for further education.
As a registered hypnotherapist, I commit to continuously developing in the profession. Maybe one day I’ll take the step of working towards the Advanced Hypnotherapy Diploma! But for now, I will focus on supporting my clients to achieve their goals whilst undertaking more informal learning. At the moment, I’m reading Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker.
I’ve been wanting to create some videos for a little while, offering tips and information based on how the brain works. But I was a little hesitant about it, and I wasn’t sure why. Maybe I was worrying too much about what others might think, or what I might think when I watch and hear myself back.
Whatever it was that was holding me back, it was probably a matter of confidence.
In many of the hypnotherapy sessions clients and I have together, we focus on the next small step. We look at pushing ourselves just a tiny bit until we’re confident to do a little bit more, and a little bit more again. And of course this was the key for me. So rather than picturing an all singing, all dancing YouTube channel, (don’t worry, I do neither of these things), I set myself the task of making a list of the videos I’d like to make for now. This small manageable step was much less daunting than my bigger goal, but sent me in the right direction. A few small steps later and I’ve done it!
I’ve achieved a goal and I feel great about it, giving me even more confidence for whatever else I set my mind to.
And to prove I really did make a YouTube channel, here’s the link, My Mind Hypnotherapy YouTube channel.
Take care,
Sam
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