How fast can you change a thought? - Ways to Enhance Your Personal Power

Have you ever noticed that most of our states of discomfort, displeasure or unease stem from thoughts of corresponding nature, or thoughts that generate these negative states?

When I commenced my journey of self-improvement, self-development and self-strengthening I discovered meditation, holistic healing and various modalities that are designed and intended to enhance our state of mind and thus quality of life. One of the teachers I came across was Byron Katie who pioneered a line of powerful inquiry aptly entitled The Work. Her work has helped millions of people worldwide overcome life's difficulties, tumultuous thoughts, and inner demons.

The reason I bring this up is because she, along with dozens of other empowering figures, Louise Hay for example, have harnessed the power of Self-Awareness by underscoring the notion that:

A thought is only a thought and it can be changed.

If the source of negative emotions, and thus a negative state of mind, is a corresponding thought, and a thought can be changed, then it makes sense to conclude that if we change thoughts to positive/empowering/uplifting/resourceful thoughts we will consequently experience a boosted state of being. 

Thus the question: 

How fast can you change a thought?

There are different factors involved in Thought-Creation and Thought-Change.

Thoughts that we think consistently and repeatedly become a personal mantra and take the shape of a Belief. Beliefs are potent as they shape identity, self-confidence and our map of the world.

Thoughts that are strongly held are suffused with emotion, and emotion that is interlinked with a belief and desire for action is a potent catalyst for change and taking action.

However, not all thoughts are consistently held nor do they all become beliefs.

Some thoughts are fleeting and ephemeral, emerging unexpectedly from random life situations.

Some thoughts generate a positive mood or state, while others can potential have the opposite effect. The latter can be conducive to generating unresourceful states such as fear,doubt, anger, frustration, etc.

The thoughts that combine emotion and consistent "airtime" assume MOMENTUM, and we know how that momentum goes - once you get started it takes a life of its own, and soon enough one thought trails behind the other and it grows exponentially.

This is great for the Positive ones, however not so much for the latter set.

So how do we change the set of thoughts we willingly and readily want to release?

There is no simple, easy or one single answer or technique. Everyone is different and experiences thoughts in different ways depending on the various intrinsic personality traits.

I would like to present and share a nifty NLP + Life Coaching Technique that I have applied in Coaching sessions and on myself which has resulted in great, desired results for the Client. 

It is through the use of SUBMODALITIES and METAPHOR COACHING.

Perhaps you can consider:

- How do you effectively shift unresourceful thoughts?

- What are your trick, tips and techniques?

- What is the main difference in the momentum between your positive thoughts and nnegative thoughts?

- If you could change one thought you think repeatedly that is not serving you, what would that be?

What would be its Counterpart (the opposite thought)?

Powerful questions generate powerful answers.

SUBMODALITIES and METAPHOR COACHING

In NLP, Submodalities are referred to as representational systems or modalities; the Reps systems is basically the way we individually use the five basic senses: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory and gustatory. Everyone has a more dominant use of certain reps systems. For instance, some people are more Kinesthetic which means they are more physical and absorb more experience through being involved in physical movement. If you are more visual you will be more impacted by the things you can see (perhaps you've heard the generalization that men are more visual?); some people are more auditory which is evident in musicians and people who are sensitive to changes in tonality and pick up on slight variations in a person's voice. Certainly we are all a combination of these senses however the point is that typically 1 or 2 reps systems will be more dominant.

Thus, if you can actively engage your dominant reps system you can actually generate powerful change in how you experience a situation, memory and, yes, a thought.


Life is a journey; enjoy the unfolding.