Laura King - Summit Dynamics - Hypnosis & Self-Hypnosis CDs

At Summit Dynamics, I use the ACHIEVE system for outcome creation, planning, and achievement (i.e., what most people refer to as goal setting). It's simple, it's very easy to remember, and you can do it all by yourself in the privacy and comfort of your own home.

The system below takes advantages of hypnosis' ability to turn suggestions into behavior, and NLP's program for manifesting the outcomes you desire. This is where we integrate hypnosis, NLP, and your own unique abilities and wishes, and produce what you have defined for yourself as peak performance.

The ACHIEVE System

Action

Create

Human

Identity

Energy

Value

Evaluate

A = Action

Before outcomes, before plans, comes something very simple: Deciding that there are things about your riding that you need to change. This is a pivotal moment because that decision is not meaningful until you commit yourself to take action.

C = Create

To get the outcomes you want, you need to make a plan, right? Well this is where you create your starting point. This is where you define exactly where it is you are right now so that you can develop the most effective, efficient plan to where you'd like to go. To create the optimal affirmations and outcomes for yourself, use the following as a guide to creating your starting point.

I'll use the example of my client, whom I'll call Debra, to help you understand how this process works.

Debra: I'm performing so poorly because I still can't get over that my husband wants a divorce. I constantly think about it and I'm sure it's partially responsible for how badly I'm doing at work. And my previous manager and I had a pretty bad falling-out and I get so tense whenever she's around that I practically freeze up. I haven't improved at anything and I don't even enjoy going to work anymore.

Debra: Every time I know I'm going to be around my old manager, I get nervous. I just know I'm going to see her and I don't feel comfortable around her. Boy did we end on bad terms and I feel she's going to be critical of the new projects I am working on in my new department. I was so attached to her as my manager when I first started with this company. It was so hard for me to even think of working with someone else. I know that when I get to make my presentation in front of everyone, she is going to be very judgmental of my every move.

Debra: I can't make this presentation of my new project... I'll really screw up when I see my old manager... When I go into the conference room, I'm just going to mess up, I know it... I never remember all the important details... I can't afford to mess this up right now with everything else going on in my life.

Debra: I'm scattered every time I see all the other employees preparing for their presentations of their new projects. . . . I have a hard time keeping my mind on what I'm doing. . . . I keep thinking about what I need to do to get my divorce.

Debra: I get so anxious when I have to perform. I love this job and my new position with the company, but I get so worried and just can't imagine that I can really do it. . . . I'm so frustrated all the time and I cry all the time. I guess I have to admit that I still love my husband in a way; I've been married for 15 years. I think maybe I worry too much about negative things happening.

Debra: I just left my husband. After years of verbal abuse it was time to like myself and leave. Now I'm worried if I can afford to live off of only my income. But since my career is my lifeline I have to figure it out.

Debra: I'm so fat, I'm sure I look terrible in all these suits. . . I'm just not good enough to be doing this. Everyone at this company is better than I am.

H = Human

Recognizing your humanity is an integral part of this program. We make mistakes, we have a tendency to be critical and hard on ourselves, we have difficulty forgiving the faults of others as well as ourselves, and have a really hard time releasing bad memories.

Without getting too much into psychoanalysis, much of how we act and react was formulated during childhood. How did your mother or father respond to adversity? Were they competitive? Were they hard on themselves or on you? When did they compete, with whom, and why? How did they respond to others? Were they immediately trusting or not? What did winning mean to them? How did they feel about the person who cut ahead of them in line?

Now how about you? How do you respond to adversity? Are you competitive? Are you hard on your parents or on yourself? With whom do you compete and why? How do you respond to others? Are you immediately trusting or not? What does winning mean to you? How do you feel about the person who cuts ahead of you in line? If you don't place a high as you wanted who's fault is it? Is there a pattern between your parents and yourself?

If there is, the first part of acknowledging your humanity is to Release and Clear whatever feelings you have about your parents and their influence on who you are today.

Let's face it: You can't do anything about the past anyway, so allowing it to adversely affect your thoughts and your performance isn't all that effective as a life strategy.

In addition, reread your responses in the "C=Create" section and note if you are blaming anyone for anything or if you are concentrating on mistakes, bad relationships, or negative feelings from the past. For instance, here was Debra's response:

Debra: I need to forgive my soon-to-be ex-husband, my former manager, and myself.

We all have choices to make every day of our lives. Choosing to be happy and keeping yourself relaxed and calm is one of those decisions. Forgiveness is, too. Let me repeat that: Forgiveness is a conscious decision. Happiness is a conscious decision. Take responsibility for your own state of mind. After all, you're the only one who controls it.

I = Identify

Now that you've laid the groundwork toward moving past the past, it's time to create the future. It's time to identify the affirmations you'll be using throughout whatever time period you choose for your outcomes.

Through self-hypnosis, you'll go into alpha and repeat your affirmations, which compound the effects of your suggestions (i.e., affirmations) so they're even more powerful than when used on the conscious level. You'll find you are able to reach your goals even faster when you combine your effectively-written affirmations with the power of autosuggestion.

We'll use Debra's challenges as examples of how you can transform your negative thoughts into a system for changing your behavior and achieving your outcomes.

Debra: Every time I enter the conference room, I am calm, I breathe freely and easily and I am completely relaxed. Each time I see my former manager I feel great about myself.

Debra: Every time I sit in my seat, I realize my natural talent and I perform well. I easily recall all of the details from all my practice sessions and my presentation is flawless. I visualize myself doing the entire presentation exactly as it's supposed to be. I enjoy myself and my career, and my coworkers respond positively to everything I do.

Debra: Each time I see another coworker in the practicing their presentation, my focus increases. I easily stay in the present and all of my concentration is on the task at hand.

(Note: Debra's initial response was to create an affirmation that would help her refrain from thinking about her divorce. Upon attempting to word that affirmation, however, she realized that it was impossible to create one that alluded to NOT thinking about her divorce without actually thinking about her divorce every time. Remember-stick with positive thoughts.)

Debra: I am positive and relaxed every time I present a new idea and I easily and quickly reach the zone. I choose to be happy and look at life in a positive light.

Debra: I am recognized as being great at my job and I am always well compensated for it. Money comes easily to me and I'm fantastic at managing and growing my money. I am grateful for the abundance in my life.

Debra: I am slim, trim, and I look fabulous in my new clothes. Every time I enter the conference room, I am confident and self-assured that I can do anything I put my mind to.

E = Energy

To cultivate optimal physical abilities you need to have your body in the best physical condition to perform.

This means paying attention to your energy levels and what affects them.
»	Do you get adequate rest?
»	Do you eat well?
»	Are you getting plenty of exercise?
»	Do you avoid negative people?

You need to be aware of how your body responds to your environment and react appropriately to any signals it sends you. When you learn to have complete body-awareness, you are able to perform with more rhythm and fluidity. Remember Natural Law #7: Reactions must be managed. How you react to what is around you affects your health and your performance.

V = Visualize

It's time to make your own home movie out of your outcomes; this is when Theater of the Mind is most helpful. See everything about your outcome, from every angle, including panning around the environment and zooming in on yourself as well as your surroundings . Zoom in on all of the spectators as they are in awe of your performance, and in awe of how fabulous you look.

E = Evaluate

Evaluation is a critical component to success and should be scheduled into your plan to achieve peak performance. Points of evaluation in your plan allow you to decide if the manner and direction in which you are progressing is acceptable to you. And if it isn't, it gives you the opportunity to regroup and redirect: to chart a different course or use a different strategy and continue in the same direction.

The rationale for building points of evaluation is that those points prevent you from going to far in the wrong direction. If you wait too long to evaluate your plan and your progress, often there is so much wrong with what you are doing that you can't pinpoint the initial place or time when you veered off plan.

This is what I suggest: evaluate your plan and your progress once a week. Decide in advance what progress looks like so you know if you have reached it. It doesn't have to involve anything more sophisticated than a "yes" or a "no."

For example, when Debra was asked to write about one of her goals and how she would evaluate it, she wrote:

Debra: In three months my focus and concentration will improve to the point where I am positively affected by the presence of my former manager, and I think of my financial and personal future positively. I know that abundance and peak performance are my destiny. I will set the stage for my outcomes by doing Release and Clear everyday, followed by Gaining Concentration, for 21 days.

Debra has created many points for evaluation. Each week, she either did her Release and Clear and Gaining Concentration or she didn't. And she either practiced for 45 minutes or she didn't. These are simple points that demonstrate her commitment to doing the work she needs to do to reach her goals. And if she hasn't done them, she'll know why her goals haven't been reached. As Pat Riley says, "There's no such things as coulda, shoulda, or woulda. If you shoulda and coulda, you woulda done it."

Frank Lloyd Wright once said: "I know the price of success: dedication, hard work and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen." If you have that unremitting devotion and you are dedicated to putting in the work you need to follow the steps of your plan, success will be yours because you believe it already is...

"After struggling for several years with the grief of my husband's death, I was able to sleep through the night - night after night. I felt better physically and gradually began to recover a sense of optimism."