One thing is abundantly clear to me as a hypnotherapist: the mind is the most powerful asset we have. Though it may not seem like it, we are actively thinking in each moment, subconsciously deciding how to feel about what is happening around us. How we choose to use our minds helps us or hurts us, depending on how we interpret the various situations we are in.
Our minds communicate our thoughts, which indicate our beliefs, and our beliefs determine our behavior: whether we have creative blocks, how much confidence we have in who we are and what we have to offer, how we operate, etc.
When my artistic clients book hypnotherapy sessions with me because they are struggling, one thing that always comes up is negative thinking. Whether I am working with an actor, a writer, a director, comedian, dancer or musician, there is a judgmental inner-voice that is overly critical of so much that they say and do. It is such personal work when you are a creative person operating in a business because you and your work will be judged and it is hard not to equate what other people think to your value. It can really knock your self-confidence for a loop, even if your work is well received because if your state of mind hinges on other's opinions of you or your work, it can create anxiety and negativity in your mind.
When your mind is regularly generating anxious or negative thoughts, so too, then, are our lives inundated by anxiety and negativity. Having these kinds of thoughts comes from low self-esteem. Low self-esteem can lead to things like constantly having conflicts with people, feeling blocked, jealous, hopeless, jaded, overwhelmed, losing the sense of truth in your work, or just consistently struggling in your day-to-day. Working in a creative field is so much harder when your mind is operating in this way.
Can you think of an event in your life or career when you wished you had come from a place of calmness and confidence?? Yeah, so can I. Our happiness, success and relationships are significantly affected by our thinking. Negative thought patterns even make it difficult for us to enjoy the good things when they happen, because we are too focused on the things that aren't going the way we wish they would to enjoy other successes along the way. It sucks!
So, what can we do about this? Well, we need to create more self–compassion and self-love. We need to forgive ourselves for any real or imagined mistakes, release any grudges and we need to create an inner-voice that is supportive and more kind.
If we are kinder to ourselves, we are kinder to other people, then everybody is happier!
Hypnotherapy is a very effective way to do this.
When in hypnosis, it is similar to being in a meditative state. We can slow down our brain waves and quiet that endless chatter that is running through our minds every day. When the chatter is stilled, we can connect to the very best part of ourselves, our highest self. The root of the negative thinking is addressed with very specific language, called NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), which leads us to a new, empowered understanding of who we are and what our worth is, thereby establishing that kinder inner-voice. Our minds can be re-wired to interpret past and present events in a more confident way, contributing to a more positive mind, leading to feeling a sense of a flow in our lives and in our work.
Contrary to how it may feel, we are not captives of our thoughts. Taking control of our minds and creating more happiness and more self-love absolutely alters the trajectory of our lives because our behavior will be different. We will move through the world in a different way. Professor Barbara L. Fredrickson, a well-known researcher of positive thinking, published a noteworthy paper corroborating these very ideas. Coming from a place with more self-love, the people we interact with sense that we are steadier, more at ease and more self-assured, which affects their behavior towards us.
So, if you are a Creative and you are having a hard time, or if you are feeling shaky in the confidence and self-love department, maybe a few hypnotherapy sessions are in order. I know it can be hard to reach out for help, but you were brave enough to make your career something you love, so enjoy it as much as you can! We are all meant to learn and evolve, so let’s do that and have some fun while we’re at it.