Introduction
Mental blocks are one of the great challenges of life. But they can also serve as launching pads for us to get to the next level of our lives. Personally for me, the greatest periods of growth that I have experienced in my own life have come through overcoming a block. For the purposes of effective communication, I will be using the term mental block interchangeably with the word fear. As underlying all mental blocks is that dreaded word, fear.
So the question becomes, how do we overcome fear? That age old question turns up again.
In my experience of working with my clients over the past decade, there are two components to breaking through any fear.
Component Number One: A Powerful Reason
When a human being has a reason for overcoming their fear, and that reason is powerful enough, the fear’s days are now numbered. The example I often give to clients who are struggling with a particular fear is the following:
Imagine you were standing outside of a burning house. And while feeling the heat on your skin, watching the flames engulf your home, you remember that you left a one dollar coin on the bedroom nightstand. Would that be enough for you to overcome your fear of being burnt to death by going back inside your house? I’m yet to work with any client who has answered yes.
However, imagine the exact same scenario, but change one detail. Instead of a one dollar coin being inside the house, it’s the person you love the most. It may be a friend, parent, sibling, spouse or child. For the sake of choosing one for this example, imagine it was your child. So, your child is inside this house which has caught fire, do you believe that would be enough to overcome your fear? I’m yet to work with any client who has answered no.
So upon reflection, the fear is the same, what.changed was the reason for overcoming it. With a powerful enough reason, fear can be overcome.
Now, if we bring this example back to a more common fear or a common block – going to the gym. This is by far one of the most common blocks people encounter. Everyone knows that they “should” go to the gym, but can’t seem to get this to stick, in other words, they have a mental block that is stopping them from committing to a gym habit. So, if this has ever been a block of yours, follow along closely because I will show you the start of a powerful process I take clients through to bust through any fear. Get a pen and paper and write this question down.
What has this block already cost me?
Looking back at this block you have that is stopping you from committing to a gym habit, what have been the negative consequences of this block? Trust the process, although writing this list won’t necessarily be pleasant, I promise you there’s a happy ending.
So, write it down!
How many times have you started and stopped going to the gym? Write it down.
How many times have you gotten out of the shower and been unhappy with the way you look? Write it down.
How many times have you tried something on before a night out and gotten changed because you weren’t happy with how it looked? Write it down.
How many times have you regretted eating badly? And what toll has this taken? Write it down.
What has this block done for your relationship with yourself? What does it say about you that
you can’t seem to stick to a gym habit? Write it down.
Write down anything and everything that this block has cost you in the past.
Now, on to the second question. Turn your notebook to a fresh page.
If I don’t get past this block, what is everything this will cost me in the future?
Now looking into the future, if this doesn’t change, what are all the negative consequences that this mental block will cause in your future? Again, trust the process.
Looking into the future, what will happen to your health if this doesn’t change? Write it down.
Looking into the future, what will not being able to overcome this block do to your relationship with yourself? Write it down.
Looking into the future, what will happen to my productivity at work if this doesn’t change? Write it down.
Looking into the future, what will happen to my chances at a relationship if this doesn’t change? Write it down.
Write anything and everything that this block may cost you into the future if this doesn’t change.
Hopefully you can feel a fire building up inside you – THIS MUST CHANGE! After all, it’s just a stupid mental block!
Turn over your notebook and write at the top of a fresh page the following question:
Once I have changed this, what will this afford me?
Looking from now into the future, imagine busting through this block – what are all the good things that are waiting for you?
Write them down. Anything and everything that comes to mind.
What we are doing by going through this process is linking enough pain to staying the same, and linking joy to changing to create enough leverage to pull you to the other side of this block.
What follows after this are the neuro-linguistic behavioural pattern strategies that I use with my clients in our coaching conversations which you can experience first hand through working with me.
In conclusion, mental blocks are incredible opportunities to launch you to new heights, and my coaching practice will provide a framework that allows you to do this fast, as is illustrated in one of my 3 tenets – Change Is Instantaneous.
If you’d like to find out more about this, book in for a complimentary 30 minute conversation here.
Max. NLP Performance Coach.
