Sometimes people need to have the courage of their convictions. Sometimes we need an enhanced sense of purpose, belief and endeavour. This is so true in sports performance, but also in a wide variety of facets of life.
In marathon running, my own hero is Paula Radcliffe, not just because she holds the world record of 2 hours 15 minutes and 25 seconds (not a million miles away from the men’s world record), but because of her strength mentally.
In her earlier career, despite being tipped for great things, she suffered from injury in the early 1990s and seemed destined to always come 4th, 5th or 6th in the mid 1990s at the 5km distance and although she got a silver medal at the 1999 World Athletics championships, she was out of the medal positions in the 2000 Olympic games and 2001 World Championships. She did of course win plenty of stuff here and there too, but I think many lesser people may not have gone on to do what she did in 2002 where she began to take the marathon running world by storm. She ran the fastest time in the world that year, then went on to achieve the fastest time ever run by a woman later that year.
The following year she did not just break her own world record… She smashed it out of sight. Also in 2003, she set the world record time for a road 10km race. Of the 7 marathons Paula Radcliffe has run, she has won six and set record in five of them. Awesome.
I admire not just her extraordinary achievements, but also her strength to carry on against adversity. To keep plugging away and achieving greatness eventually. She inspires me and helps me to keep plugging away at running marathons.
The personal development world often tells stories of people such as Colonel Sanders, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison and many other remarkable individuals who kept on despite many set backs.
So I wanted to offer up a process that can be used to train ourselves to keep on, to be persistent, to keep putting effort in even when we feel deflated or feel like giving up.
And what better metaphor to use than that of a mountain which is a symbol of strength all of itself. People have climbed mountains which is recognized as some feat, and mountains are used as metaphors in a wide array of ways. Here I am using that mountain both as a symbol of strength to draw upon, but also as something that requires continued effort and endeavor to reach the summit of.
Eight Steps To Enhance Endeavour and Keep Going:
Prior to starting this process, have in mind what it is that you wish to achieve and keep on doing. It may be training for a sport, it may be studying, it may be practicing something, or learning something new, or a logical step in the process of change for you. With that in mind, get yourself in a comfortable position, sat upright with your arms and legs uncrossed and then proceed to step one.
Step One: Induce Hypnosis.
You can do so by any means you desire or know of. You can use the process in my Science of self-hypnosis book, use the free audio we give away on this website to practice or have a look at the following articles as and when you need them; they are basic processes to help you simply open the door of your mind:
Heavy Arm Self-Hypnosis Induction Method
Using Eye Fixation for Self-Hypnosis
The Chiasson Self-Hypnosis Method
Hand to Face Self-Hypnosis Induction
Using Magnetic Hands for Self-Hypnosis
The Coin Drop Self-Hypnosis Induction
However, with this process, an induction is potentially too much activity, so I teach my clients how to adopt a hypnotic mindset and simply have a mindset that is positive and expectant. Again, to really understand the cognitive set of the hypnotic mindset, go grab a copy of my Science of self-hypnosis book where it is explained in simple but comprehensive terms.
Once you have induced hypnosis, or just adopted the hypnotic mindset, move on to the next step.
Step Two: Engage your imagination in whatever way is best for you. Imagine walking a long a path, notice what the path is made from, hear the sounds of your feet upon it and sense the feel of your feet upon it…
Each step that you take along the path imagine and tell yourself that you are going deeper inside of your mind too.
Notice the surroundings, the weather around you is just right for you, it is absolutely comfortable and easy to be here in this place… Off in the distance you can see a mountain.
Spend as much time as you require to truly get a sense of this place, walking along the path and getting more and more comfortable and at ease, drifting deeper inside your mind. Once you feel that you are at ease and comfortable, then move on to the next step.
Step Three: As you continue walking and drifting deeper and getting nearer to the mountain, notice the scenery, notice any landmarks and absorb as much detail as you can, focus on all that there is to notice about this place.
Notice the sounds being made around you, allow them to soothe and relax you and enhance your experience. Notice the colours and shades of light as you continue walking and going deeper inside your mind, all the time keeping comfortable and at peace.
Once you feel that you have really studied the details of the surrounds, got them in your mind, then move on to the next step.
Step Four: Notice now that the pathway is changing. It is becoming narrower and more difficult to walk along with so much comfort. The surface seems to be getting rougher and uneven and it is starting to develop an uphill slope. You manage to keep your balance, but it is becoming increasingly more difficult to do so.
You start to think that perhaps it is time to head back to the comfort of the pathway away from the mountain now, but you notice a sense of strength as you take your first steps up the mountain side. Almost as if the mountain is developing and building within you some inner strength and courage and installing a sense of resolution to keep on.
Get a sense of that and when you feel it, move on to the next step.
Step Five: The pathway is deteriorating in quality even more now and the slope is getting steeper, each step you take, it seems to be getting slightly steeper and is more challenging. It is actually tough to press onwards any further.
The surroundings have changed too, trees and bushes and shrubs stray onto parts of the pathway and often obstruct smooth passage, the vegetation is getting thicker and blocking out more of the light, the surface of the path is slippery in places and even verges on being treacherous and you perhaps find at times that you slip or miss a step.
You start to think rationally, you try to talk yourself out of carrying on… “This is getting problematic and I really ought to head back now.”
Such sentences are soon replaced with a growing sense of strength that the mountain seems to emanate and is filling you up with a sense of courage and you feel something deep within you urging you onwards.
Again, feel that sense and when you feel it, move on to the next step.
Step Six: As you now walk up the steep climbing pathway, you start to notice a change in the air… That is, as you step higher, you find yourself in amongst an increasingly thicker fog that hangs in the air… It obscures your vision to the point that you cannot see where you are going and you are unsure as to where you are. It gets thicker and surrounds you and you keep thinking that you should head back, yet something deep within you keeps you stepping forward and moving onwards. You feel your footsteps on the pathway and vaguely make out the edges of the path and keep on walking with purpose onwards.
It is increasingly challenging and part of you keeps nagging at you to give up and turn back, but you enjoy the sense of strength that the mountain seems to give you as your senses begin to numb and all you are left with is this deep inner sense growing within you, keeping you moving onwards and upwards…
When you sense it, move on to the next step.
Step Seven: Just at the point where you really start to question your actions, the fog begins to lift, in fact, you are leaving it behind… You notice that each step is becoming easier and the air is becoming clearer.
The fog thins and clears and you rise up into the sunshine and the pathway starts to level out and you start to see more of the scenery around you again. You notice colours and so much more… The world opens up again, you hear the sounds of new life, new beginnings, and each sound seems almost triumphant.
You notice below you and behind you is the pathway you came up on, you notice the scenery that you had paid such close attention to earlier and you breathe the clean fresh air and it fills you with a sense of contentment and satisfaction… It also feels like victory and it is a glorious sensation to enjoy spreading throughout your entire body.
You find a rock to sit upon and absorb the deeper lessons and learnings that have occurred to you and for you as a result of you overcoming the adversity represented here and keeping on to discover the beauty and awe that exists at the top of the mountain and that existed within you all along.
Celebrate being you. Celebrate your victory.
Think about how you now plan to make changes in your actions and attitudes in that particular area of your life. Think about how elated you are going to be once you have achieved your desired outcome and let that fuel even more of your ability to press on and build your sense of courage and endeavour.
Enjoy this victorious feeling and when you feel you have admired the view and basked in your feelings for long enough, move on to the final step.
Step Eight: Once you have spent enough time reflecting upon your achievement and your inner strength and endeavor. Bring this session to an end.
Take a couple of nice deep energising breaths, wiggle your fingers and toes and open your eyes.
Now start to plan your next steps of action on your journey towards achieving that thing that you want to achieve!
=====
Have some of themes here resonated with you? Then have a read of these pages:
1. Do you need help or support in a particular area of your life?
Coaching with Adam Eason Or Hypnotherapy with Adam Eason
2. Would you like a satisfying and meaningful career as a hypnotherapist helping others? Are you a hypnotherapist looking for stimulating and career enhancing continued professional development and advanced studies?
Adam Eason’s Anglo European training college.
3. Are you a hypnotherapist looking to fulfil your ambitions or advance your career?
Hypnotherapist Mentoring with Adam Eason.
Likewise, if you’d like to learn more about self-hypnosis, understand the evidence based principles of it from a scientific perspective and learn how to apply it to many areas of your life while having fun and in a safe environment and have the opportunity to test everything you learn, then come and join me for my one day seminar which does all that and more, have a read here: The Science of Self-Hypnosis Seminar. Alternatively, go grab a copy of my Science of self-hypnosis book.
