The Therapy Directory

At our networking meeting at The Chichester Park Hotel on Aug 9, 2011, Christine Wesson did a fantastic talk about 'What does success look like?' The notes for this talk can be found below. I would like to extend my thanks to Christine for giving such an interesting and informative talk.
 
Before anything can be achieved it has to be conceived.  Everything comes from mind, everything is created there.  Whenever you think, and you never stop thinking from the moment you become conscious in the morning to the moment you return to unconsciousness at night, your thoughts are creating pictures in your mind. 
 
Try this formula:
Take anything from 2 hours to half a day to describe your perfect day.  Yes, I realise that your life is busy and you will have to take time out of any already busy schedule to do this task but it may save you years in the long run so find a time when you can be uninterrupted to set out your perfect day.  Follow the steps given below:

 
1.     The Where:
 
Begin to describe this perfect day as if you are already living it.  Imagine waking up, becoming conscious on this perfect day, when all of your dreams and aspirations have manifested.  What are your first thoughts?  What can you hear?  Make your description full of as much detail as possible.
Are you in a completely different place than the home you live in now?  Are you in a different country entirely?  Are the smells different, the sounds the bedclothes?  As you open your eyes, take in the sights of the room, the view from the window and the clothes you will wear. 
Go through this whole day, changing locations as you go and get as specific as possible and as you write these things weave into your story the what.

 
2.     The What:
 
What are you doing this day?  What are your first actions on awakening, what do you do as you begin this perfect day?  What time is it, what is the light like, is the sun streaming in to the room through open windows or are your curtains closed.  What do you see as you open them?
What do you do when you get up?  Use the ‘where’ to describe your environment and the ‘what’ to describe what you are doing there.  Take yourself through the actions you perform and ‘where’ you perform them. 
  
3.     The Why:
 
Why are you doing what you are doing?  What is your reason for performing your actions?  You may clean your teeth to make your mouth fresh, to keep your teeth healthy.  You may eat a certain breakfast, in a particular way to become slim, healthy and vital.   Why would you imagine a successful business deal or a succession of happy clients?  Is it because you want to provide for your family, because you enjoy helping people or a mixture of both?
You may do the things you do because they make you feel good or because they make other people feel good.  (It’s the same thing actually!)  You may be doing what you’re doing to make money, to become rich, successful, happy or all three.  Get specific!  Write down where you are, what you’re doing and why you’re doing it and while you’re at it add the fourth component.   
    
4.     The Result: 
 
How does each action make you feel?  How do you feel as a whole?  Feelings are the actual creators; they add turbo charged fuel to your dreams and aspirations. The more detail you put in the better and the more you describe how you feel in this perfect day the better still.
Do you feel really pleased with yourself, successful, happy, amazingly happy or proud of your achievements?  Do you feel relieved, at peace, contented or alive and energised?  How about triumphant, victorious or exultant?   Feelings are the key so get creative here and try to forget you’re British, if you are, let go of your reserve and use words that are not a normal part of your vocabulary.  Then when you use them, say them in the way that evokes the very feelings they describe.
Saying you feel exuberant in a flat monotone voice is a complete waste of time and effort.  You know what really pleased with yourself feels like?  You know the feelings of relief, of victory, of achievement, of peace.  You’ve felt them all before and you can re-create them now. 

 
5.     The Done Deed:
 
Now constantly remind yourself that it’s a done deed; a Fait Accompli.  It’s done and you are moving towards it.  Review it often.  Live in that day over and over again in the same way you would live a home while waiting for it to be built.  Walk through your perfect day every day.  Not all the way through obviously or there would be no time for anything else but think about parts of it as you go to sleep at night and as you awaken.
Keep your written perfect day in your bedside drawer or under your pillow and review it often.  Change it or parts of it as you wish in the same way you would change the plans for a building by adding an en-suite or an outdoor hot tub.  Your subconscious now knows exactly where to take you.  You are no longer just on a journey you are going somewhere. 

 
If you wish to read the whole article or talk to the lady herself, visit Christine Wesson's online profile for contact details.