Humans have the unique ability to:-

All three of these directly influence a person's behaviour and conscious use of habit changing processes can modify any and all of them.

A fundamental principle of psychology is: ‘People are internally compelled to respond to situations in ways that will support or be consistent with their beliefs.’

When a person reaches to turn-on a light switch or turns the key in a car's ignition, his action is motivated by the belief, based on past experience, that light will be produced or that motor of the car will begin to run.

A person with no belief of light being produced by changing the mechanical position of a lever or that transportation by other than animals is possible would not be motivated to take these simple actions.

People have been known to go to great lengths to demonstrate the validity of their beliefs, including war and sacrificing their own life. Conversely, people are not motivated to support or validate the beliefs of another, when those beliefs are contrary to their own.

A person's observations of their environment are filtered through his values to determine whether or not he should expend energy to do something about his experiences. A person that values gold and sees a large bag of gold (a positive value) in his path as he walks will be motivated to reach down and pick it up. A person that values his life and knows about venomous snakes will retreat from the sight of a red belly black (a negative value) nearby when he is walking in the bush.

Said another way, ‘Values are the scales we use to weigh our choices for our actions, whether to move towards or away from something.’  Not all values have the same weight or priority. Some are more important than others and must be satisfied before others can be addressed.

Dr. Abraham Maslow illustrated this with his hierarchy of human needs. Survival has a higher priority than security, which has a higher priority than social acceptance. Self-esteem can only be addressed to the degree that social acceptance is fulfilled. Similarly,

self-actualisation can only be pursued once self-esteem has been satisfied.

One of the things a person holds most important is her/his ‘identity.’ It has been known for more than 4 decades that people will behave in accordance with their definition of themselves or their self-image.

A person that has an identity that is ‘I'm terrible at maths’ will avoid having to solve mathematical problems or will make more than the normal amount of errors when doing so. A person with the self-image of ‘I am an excellent public speaker’ will eagerly speak before large audiences, while a person with the opposite self-image will do whatever is necessary to avoid speaking to even small groups of people.

A person's beliefs, values and identity are usually acquired unconsciously based on their personal experience or observations of others experiences as to what produces desirable or undesirable results in the environment.

Baby's learning to walk and talk are clear examples of identifying with human adults, valuing the act of being able to have the mobility and communication ability of an adult and the belief, based on unconscious observation, that humans can and do walk and do talk with each other.

Physiologists have been able to identify the parts of the human brain that are involved in producing behaviour in accordance with beliefs, values and identity.

All information collected by human senses is passed through a net-like group of cells, known as the Reticular Activating System (RAS), located near the top of the brain stem. The RAS compares the data received with accepted values, positive and negative (threats), and beliefs stored in memory and determines whether or not immediate action is required. The results of the RAS's comparison are communicated to the amygdala near the mid-brain.

The amygdala produces neuro-chemicals that cause emotions consistent with the nature of and proportional to the match between environment and values and beliefs.

The neuro-chemicals initiate the chemical processes needed for the action to be taken. If the emotions produced are strong enough, the perceived information is blocked from reaching the logical, rational and conscious executive centre of the brain (the pre-frontal lobes)

When this happens we behave automatically, not necessarily logical or rational but in accordance with our strongest held beliefs, values and/or identity.

Put simply, it is our beliefs about our identity and what is important that determines our response to the stimuli received from the environment.

These beliefs are stored in the subconscious mind and are subject to change by the conscious mind.  However consciously analysing every stimulus and determining a conscious response is impossible and we quickly find ourselves responding automatically again.

Therefore, only by changing our beliefs can we change automatic response.

Before a child learns to count correctly, he only knows the names of numbers not the sequential order for them. Once he makes a conscious decision to count correctly, he memorizes the correct order through repetition and positive reinforcement.

Before a person learns their multiplication tables, they do not believe that 8 times 8 equal 64. They consciously develop the belief that this is true either by repetitiously memorizing the multiplication table or through an ‘ah ha’ experience gained from laying out 8 groups of 8 objects and then counting all the objects to see that the total is 64.

Through these methods the belief is built that the ‘truth’ is that in counting numbers have a specific order and that 8 times 8 and 64 mean the same thing.

The same process of repetition using affirmations can modify or create new beliefs about a person's identity and/or what is important to him (his values). Simple verbal repetition of statements intended to become new beliefs, values or identity will result in these being stored for use by the RAS for comparison with the environment being experienced.

The longer the period of time affirmations are repeated the higher the priority they are given in a person's value system and therefore the more they influence the person's behavior. Typically, consistent daily repetition over a minimum period of 3 to 5 weeks is necessary to create new behaviours.

The greater the difference between the current beliefs, values and identity and the intended ones; the longer is the time needed for repetition to produce the new behaviours.

Ultimately, the affirmation will dominate over the previous beliefs, values or identity trait in the person's subconscious and will automatically produce the newly affirmed behaviour.

This process can be accelerated by affirmations that produce emotional responses and vivid images when they are verbalised. The more intense the emotion the quicker the realisation of the affirmation.

The clearer and more complete the image that is triggered by the affirmation, the more accurately and quickly the intention will be realised.

 

Have a go at completing the Growth Opportunity section. Leave the affirmation work area for now.

 

What growth and change opportunities did you record?  To have a better memory, greater poise under pressure, enthusiasm toward client needs, patient interaction with your children.

The next step lies in creating a picture of how things are you have achieved your goal.

Like a movie the affirmation needs to have clarity and emotion so you can enjoy the full experience. 

It’s a bit like a pilot training simulator.  Although the trainee pilot knows that he is in a simulator he still gets the nervous energy, fear and adrenalin rush that comes with the training because the ‘real’ thing has been so well replicated. 

You need to create such an experience around the goal as it feels now exists. 

When writing your affirming statement, use the following checklist:-

Sample affirmations:-

My fantastic recall for all I read and hear makes me an even more effective leader.

Every speaking engagement is an opportunity for me to show great passion for my subject.   I entertain and inform the audience every time I speak.

Creating External Opportunities

Being able to refine behaviours using the existing electronics of the brain gives us all a great opportunity to realise our potential both internally and externally.

Like personal affirmations that create the chance for you to ‘be’ what you want to be, ‘doing’ and ‘having’ affirmations work just as well.

For example, last year I wanted to create more business for Solutions BD, so I wrote down what I wanted, created a dummy bank statement with the cash figure I wanted, cranked up my newsletter and sent it out to my existing clients.

Almost immediately, we started getting phone calls, but interestingly enough, the phone calls weren't just from clients; they were from people not on my database. I was creating the vibe (putting the energy out there), and the phone started ringing—in only 6 months we doubled our revenues and outstripped our capacity.

This example demonstrates the power of visualisation.  When I made the dummy statement and wrote down my outcome I was actually visualising how it is now that I have got the goal. 

Thankfully our subconscious can’t distinguish between what is real or unreal so where enough emotion and clarity can be brought to bear on a desire the more it makes the ‘take’ in our brain and the opportunity presents almost magically for us.

More examples,

Jim Carrey

You might have heard of Jim Carrey's RAS activating trick. When Carrey was just a stand-up comic in Los Angeles (before the movies), he decided he was going to write a cheque to himself for future services rendered.

For how much? $12 Million

He carried that cheque in his wallet for years--working his way through the stand-up acts to TV until he finally got his cheque for his first movie, Ace Ventura.

How much was that cheque for? $12 Million

(Editor's note: story varies from $10 million to $12 million. Not sure which is right, but the point of the story endures: Have a clear sense of what you want and go get it!!)

Bruce Lee

Next time you're in the Planet Hollywood in New York City, cheque out the letter hanging on the wall that Bruce Lee wrote to himself.

It's stamped ‘secret’ and is dated January 9, 1970.  Bruce's goal? ‘By 1980 I will be the best known oriental movie star in the United States and will have secured $10 million dollars.’

He continues with, ‘And in return I will give the very best acting performance I can give every single time, and I will live in peace and harmony.’

Sometimes our affirmations can be well supported by props.  Often known as a vision board we can create a sense of completion with our goals by producing pretend bank statements, personal cheques as well as images that mean something to us.  This can assist in creating the mental picture and emotion of our goal.

What will your vision board look like?

What do you really want to be and have?  Our coaching programs will show you how to develop yourself and your team in these areas.  For more information click here.

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