Believing in Yourself

Many years ago, I taught one of my patients how to allow his subconscious to write “automatically.” The set-up for this was disarmingly simple. I suggested that he enter a state of hypnosis by closing his eyes and imagining himself to be in a calm place. He picked the beach. I explained that he could allow his eyes to open while he was in hypnosis.

He opened his eyes and appeared to be looking somewhere to my left.

Source: Olympuscat/Shutterstock

I gave him a pen and told him to hold it in his right hand and then to place his hand on a paper in front of him. “Now,” I explained. “When your subconscious wants to write something, it will do so by moving your hand. Your job is to leave your hand on the paper and not do anything intentional with it.”

After half a minute or so, he looked at the paper. His hand then started moving slowly and deliberately and carefully wrote its message: “Believe in Me.” My patient then dropped his pen.

“That was really freaky,” he said. He explained that he was surprised by the unusual feeling of his handwriting by itself.

“What do you think your subconscious meant by what it wrote?” I asked. “Are you supposed to believe in yourself? Or in your subconscious?”

“I’m not sure,” he said.

He did not want his subconscious to write again, but fortunately, there are other ways to receive answers from a subconscious. One involves having the subconscious raise one finger to indicate yes, and another no. With that method, we discovered that his subconscious meant that he should believe in his subconscious.

I thought that was sage advice. The subconscious can be a source of great wisdom and knowledge. When people realize that they can access such a source within their minds, they usually feel quite empowered and more self-confident.

One Key to Success in Life

Belief in oneself is one of the keys to success in life. Without such a belief, efforts for improvement are often unsuccessful because people tend to quit before they reach their goals. For example, if you are an athlete who believes you can win, you will keep pushing yourself and persevere until you achieve victory. On the other hand, if you do not believe in yourself when competitions become intense, you might be more prone to giving up.

Self-belief can be improved by tackling endeavors whole-heartedly with an attitude that whatever the outcome, you will come out ahead. Either you will succeed or learn how to improve if you do not succeed.

Recognize that growth occurs outside of your comfort zone. When you push yourself into uncomfortable situations that you are capable of handling, your belief in yourself can grow as you learn how well you can function in such circumstances.

Assuming a good posture can help improve self-confidence, such as maintaining a "Superman pose" by standing up straight, spreading your feet wide apart, straightening your shoulders, and opening up your chest for 30 seconds.

People tend to treat themselves with more kindness and respect when they believe in themselves. They tend to be more motivated as they feel they are likely to succeed. Finally, other people are much more likely to follow, support, and believe in people who believe in themselves.

If you are in the position to help others, e.g., as a trusted family member, clinician, teacher, coach, or mentor, you can help people increase their belief in themselves by telling them that you believe in them. You might point out some evidence for your belief, such as their successes with previous life endeavors and their personal characteristics that could help them become even more successful.

How Hypnosis Can Enhance Belief in Yourself

Interactions with the subconscious can help people make significant life decisions confidently, find meaning in life, and define steps they might take to reach their goals. Each of these accomplishments helps improve their belief in themselves.

Beyond promoting interactions with a resourceful subconscious, hypnosis can further enhance self-belief when people learn that through hypnotic imagery, they can take charge of how they feel, think, or act. For example, people can become more confident by using hypnosis to imagine how well they will feel once they have accomplished their goals.

Unconscious Essential Reads

Counseling People With Unusual Abilities

A Boy Describes the Appearance of His Grandfather's Ghost

Additionally, people can use positive self-talk with or without hypnosis to further improve their self-confidence.

Takeaway

Belief in oneself can be enhanced through perseverance and when people learn how to use hypnosis to change their lives through self-suggestions, imagery, and interactions with their subconscious to increase their wisdom and knowledge.

Copyright Ran D. Anbar