I’m often asked questions like “Can you make me lose weight with hypnosis ?” or “Can you make me quit smoking with hypnosis ?”…

People sometimes have the view that hypnosis is the “silver-bullet” that can cure all their problems. Truth is, I can’t “make” anybody do anything they don’t already want to do. Hypnotherapy is a process that requires both the client and the therapist to work as a team to achieve the desired outcome. While I can’t force you to quit smoking or lose weight, I can make the process more easy, natural and enjoyable by helping you to re-program your mind at the unconscious level. People that make healthy choices for the long term aren’t “freaks of nature” or super-human, they simply enjoy making healthy choices because it doesn’t feel like work or deprivation – it’s something the really want to do.

It definitely helps to be motivated, and there are different types of motivation. The most common motivation is “Away From” motivation where the person is moving away from pain. Once the person is far enough away from the pain, their motivation decreases and they slide back to the way they were. This is the reason that most people that want to lose weight have trouble keeping it off for good – as soon as they lose some weight, their motivation disappears because they feel less pain.

The less common type of motivation is “towards” motivation where the person is moving towards what brings them pleasure (what makes them feel good). To maintain long-term changes, towards motivation is essential because it can be a steady source. Goal setting and visualization are both forms of “towards” motivation. If you’ve ever watched “The Secret” , you’ll be familiar with this concept – thoughts become things and whatever you focus on, you get more of.

Both types of motivation are useful. “Away From” motivation prompts people to take action immediately to get away from the pain while “towards” motivation provides a result or outcome so that person is moving in the right direction.

If you find yourself constantly focusing on what you don’t want, then that’s a little hint that you’re on the wrong track. Thinking about what you don’t want is a waste of time and energy because you are automatically moved away from what brings pain anyway…it’s built into your nervous system at the unconscious level. If you continue to focus on what you don’t want, then you’re basically directing your unconscious mind to get you more of what you don’t want.

In order to get yourself to take action every time, you have to set goals based upon what you want, you have to vividly imagine yourself as already having it and you must have a positive, unshakable expectation that you will succeed.