Many times in life people engage in activities, events, situations, or the quest for their goals – only to be defeated before they start. TWO of the main reasons they fail are attributed to the negative thoughts that they experience and the language they use to described their efforts in attempt to attain success. Negative thinking and the expression of self defeating language can be directly dealt with through positive hypnotic suggestions that reconstruct the person's perception of themselves and create a pattern of success oriented inner dialogue. The outcome results in the experiencing of more success in everything they do.

Negative thoughts can often result from the past experiences of ourselves and others. Maybe you experienced a failure or loss of some type, or maybe you witnessed someone else experience an activity, event, situation, or a struggle with attaining a goal, and they failed miserably. Certainly the dialogue going through your mind would be, I'm not going to let that ever happen to me. – The problem, however, may end up being misunderstood or misinterpreted as to what factors contributed to the failure. The result can be an inaccurate judgment that creates an inaccurate belief. In these moments, obviously it is best to have as much information as possible before coming to any solid conclusions. On the individual level, it is important to realize that all situations are not the same and past failures are something to learn and be strengthened by. This factor can be implemented as a direct hypnotic suggestion to empower the individual to take an empowered perception as opposed to a self defeating one.

Language usage is critical in the process of success over compulsions. People often make the mistake of using self defeating language such as: "I'll give it a try" or "I hope that this works." These two words, "try" and "hope" used in these contexts imply a direct sense of doubt that what they are attempting will actually work. In effect, they have defeated themselves before even starting. In addition, when this type of language is used often it becomes impressed in the memory of the inner subconscious mind. The outcome of this ends up creating an unwanted pattern of thinking and behavior as a result. The person is usually left wondering why they are having such difficulty.

Other inaccurate language patterns can also contribute to misperception and misunderstanding by the subconscious mind. The important thing to realize is that the subconscious mind interprets information in literal terms, according to the actual meaning. Once it interprets the information, it then supplies the person with the necessary action or behavior that corresponds to the language that was used. Many times this can occur when identifying oneself with a label. One example of this would be: I've always been a stubborn person, that's why I always have a hard time trying to quit smoking.  This type of statement is loaded with failure. First they have identified themselves as a stubborn person, and secondly, they have directly stated that they only "try" when it comes to working on eliminating the smoking habit. "lways" =no change.

Another example of direct labeling is very accurately described by Dr. William Glasser, author of "Reality Therapy." He uses the example of a person with depression to which he describes them as "depressing" instead of depressed. This kind of language difference completely changes the meaning of the type of action that is happening. Yet Another example of labeling would be the person who goes to the hospital for treatment of a condition or injury. After successful completion of their treatment, they are considered to be "recovered." They do not continue to go for treatments, aside from maybe a check-up. The message to the inner subconscious is that they are no longer injured or sick, so the subconscious works to manifest the appropriate conditions within the body and mind. When working with people who wish to stop smoking, the goal is not to create a person who is recovering from smoking, but instead help the person to adopt the language, thoughts, and behaviors of a non-smoker. By doing this, the person has greater chance of success with more empowering labels to identify themselves with. Take a look at your own life and find examples of language that you can change that will accurately describe your real intentions. This will help create positive action.

One powerful formula that is useful at helping to overcome compulsions is something I created a few years ago called – "The Life Transformation Diamond." The theory behind this empowerment strategy is fueled by four words: Change, Commitment, Discipline, and Honesty. These four words work together to create transformation. Change – Start with a genuine attitude of wanting change. Commitment – commit yourself to accomplishing your goal. Discipline – to stay focused on your goal. Honesty – Be honest to yourself and others about your desire to change, commitment to your goal, and the discipline required from you to attain your goal. Also be honest about your actions that contribute to the process of change. These four words are designed to work together, if any word is missing then there is an imbalance in the chances for successful transformation. The successful implementation of "The Life Transformation Diamond" leads to the development of "Ability," an important factor pointed out by my uncle, psychologist, Dr. F. Thomas Clark. Through "ability," - confidence and action can automatically be created. This strategy is simple, straight-forward, and effective in developing the proper mindset for empowered action. These concepts applied through hypnotic suggestions help the person to focus on successfully making better choices.

By paying more attention to our thoughts and the language used day-to-day to describe our intentions and actions, modifications can be made that will increase our chances at successfully overcoming compulsive behaviors. When we send the proper message to our subconscious mind, it will respond with the proper corresponding action.

Daniel M. Clark, has a Bachelors Degree in Psychology. He holds a Master Clinical Hypnotherapist certification with the National Board of Professional and Ethical Standards and Advanced Hypnotherapy certification through the American Board of Hypnotherapy. He has specialized certification in the areas of: Stress Management, Learning Enhancement, Smoking Cessation, and Past Life Regression. He is also a Certified Qigong Healer through the Eastern Healing Arts Association.