Rapid Change: Can people really change quickly?
Rapid Change: Can people really change quickly?
Working as a rapid change consultant people are often surprised by my unwavering belief that lasting change can be quick.
In fact it’s more common for me to come across the people who believe that if they have something severe or something that’s been there a long time then it will necessarily mean that getting better will be long difficult journey.
But is this actually true? And is it useful belief to have?
So what do I say to people who baulk at the notion that change can be rapid?
Rapid change and cruise ships
Do you know how long it takes a cruise ship to turn 180°? For example, if someone fell overboard how long would it take the crew ship to turnaround to go back and get them? Approximately two hours (best not too fall over board then ;-)).
The interesting thing is to think about this from the point of view of the captain. He knows he wants to turn the ship around and go a different way so what does he do? He immediately turns the wheel around 180°, however, it probably looks initially as though nothing much has really changed. Yet something very important has happened and happened quickly. Everything that steers the ship is now moving toward something entirely different even if the second before he turned the wheel and the second after he turned the wheel it looked to all intense and purposes “to someone watching the ship” that nothing much had changed.
Making a distinction between rapid ‘change’ and rapid ‘results’
An interesting idea to reflect on is this…
I think most people get confused between the idea of ”change” and “result”.
For example, take someone who wants to lose weight and has spent years of their life overeating, being attracted to the wrong food, not moving enough etc but then they go ahead and lose six stone.
People see them now and say, “haven’t you changed” as though it was the ‘having lost six stone’ that was the change. But these people aren’t actually commenting on the ‘change’ they are commenting on the ‘result’ of the change. The ‘change’ actually occurred in an instant. The day they stopped those unhealthy lifestyle choices. In fact, they actually changed long before other people began to notice.
Another example…
Take someone who says, “I’m afraid of flying”. They often sit in my office quivering with fear at the mere thought of flying. However, if they can feel anxious about flying when they’re not actually on a plane then it’s not actually flying or the plane that is giving them the anxiety. It’s their thoughts about flying.
For more information on this concept check out the blog on “Are you really afraid of spiders”
Now realising that it’s their thoughts about flying is enormously freeing as I can show them how to change their thoughts quickly so that the mind-body response doesn’t freak out any more.
However, the interesting question would become… would other people notice this rapid change? No probably not until they see this person going to the airport, boarding the plane and flying without fright, that they will say, “wow, you’ve really changed” But again they would be getting confused between the ‘results’ and the moment when things actually ‘changed’. They changed rapidly in my office when they switched their thinking.
But it’s severe and lasted a long time!
Regardless of how the severity of the issue or the length of time someone has suffered with an issue chances are they have some patterns of thought that are just steering them towards a destination that’s undesirable.
My job is to help people change direction quickly, then if they leave the session and hold course the results are bound to follow.
Think of it this way…
Does it take longer to delete a file on your computer that you created five years ago than to delete a file on your computer that you created five minutes ago?
Same time right? You just have to drag it into the trashcan and click “empty bin”.
Once we find the pattern of thinking that is holding you back, we help you change the pattern quickly regardless of how long it’s been there.
#hypnotherapy #hypnosis #rapidchange
Would you like to explore how I can help you change quickly? If so, then schedule your FREE 15-min initial chat where we can explore how this can work for you.
About Howard Cooper
Howard Cooper is one of Britain’s leading ‘Rapid Change’ consultants and Hypnotherapists. Known for helping people to create RAPID shifts in their thinking, Howard rejects the notion that deep and lasting change needs to take a long time.
Drawing on a variety of psychological tools, Howard has supported more than 2,500 individuals over the past 15 years on an international level, regularly bringing about transformational changes to their lives.
His practical, dynamic and innovative approach has helped people from all walks of life and ages overcome intrusive personal phobias, anxieties and issues that they have often suffered from for years, offering his clients a new lease of life.
In addition to his personal therapy work, Howard is a very popular and entertaining presenter on a range of topics relevant to society today and has a huge following amongst his peers through his podcast.
He spent almost two years as the lead psychological presenter on Virgin Atlantic’s critically acclaimed ‘Flying Without Fear’ course, and also appeared as the expert on fear of flying on Channel 4’s documentary ‘Fear of Flying: Caught on Camera’.
He has also contributed to other media appearing on the BBC, in The Daily Telegraph, Daily Express, Sun, CEO Magazine, just some of the media who have documented his successful ability to help people change quickly.
