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By Phil Parker Do Dip E Hyp Psyc
CMPNLP
Change
This article is part of a series looking at ways to stimulate,
manage and benefit from change.
Benjamin
Franklin said "Nothing can be said to be certain, except death and
taxes" and of course change, being the only constant, must be up there in
his certainties top ten too; but are we creatures who embrace change?
Unfortunately we seem to be hard wired to respond to predictability as much as
change.
Try this exercise out.
- Cross/fold your arms across your chest, notice
which one is uppermost.
- Release your arms.
- Do it again. Most of you will notice when you do
it the same way each time.
- Now when you do the same action but make sure
that the arm that’s usually on top, is now underneath (changing your usual
pattern) how does it feel? Uncomfortable? Awkward?
Try
the same for bringing you hands together in front of you interlacing your
fingers. Which thumb is on top? Try changing it around.
Ok,
so we might think that the position of our thumbs or arm when we cross them
probably makes very little difference to our lives, but what about some of the
other things we do on automatic pilot, that we don’t even know we’re doing?
In
fact, you might want to think again about the importance of your thumb crossing
habits, because research into active longevity (the combination of achieving
old age and yet being healthy and youthful) indicates that those with a
positive relationship to embracing change have a more fruitful, happy and
healthier. Those who took up new hobbies, visited new places, learnt new
languages and skills described themselves as happier and more fulfilled and
show less signs of aging both terms of neurological dysfunction and general
health. There’s some great stuff on vital aging by Robert Dilts
(http://nlpuniversitypress.com/html2/LmLz42.html)
I’d
recommend that the time to start this wiseing (rather than aging) process is
now, no matter how young you are, because the benefits for us at any age will
be the same.
So much of our brain power lies unutilised,
but the more we can create new pathways and stimulate new connections, the more
we can develop and use our brain’s potential.
When
a neurone (brain cell) is used it becomes exercised and ’fitter’; the more it’s
exercised the more other brain cells form connections with it.
The brain cells with the greatest number of
connections are the most influential on total brain function.
Time
for a quick assessment of how static (not changing) you are. Considering
these breakfast tasks.
When
you stir a hot drink; do you always stir it in the same way?
When
you drink from a mug, which hand do you use to lift the mug, and do you use the
handle or not?
If
you are spreading something on your toast, which direction do you spread it
first, away from, towards you, left to right etc.
When
you eat buttered toast do you hold it buttered side up or down (ok we probably
know your answer to this one already!)
So
we do seem to quite easily lapse into being creatures of habit, and yet we also
love the inspiration, stimulation and new perspectives that change can give us.
Here’s a nice example of that…
Two
men are in a bar when a panda comes in. He orders a pack of nuts, eats them,
then pulls out a pistol and shoots at the barman. He turns around and exits the
bar through the same door he came in and disappears into the night.
“What
WAS that??” said one of the men who had watched all this in amazement.
“Oh”
says his friend, “that’s a panda, you know, eats shoots and leaves”
Spend some time today noticing what you do
habitually, always the same, then give your brain cells a bit of exercise and
start changing it round.
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
-Mahatma Gandhi
© Phil Parker
Phil Parker is based in London and works throughout the UK and Europe as a keynote speaker, executive coach, trainer, hypnotherapist, osteopath and healer. You can contact him at phil@hyp.no.com and visit the Communication and Change Consultancy at www.hyp.no.com to discover how they can help you and your organisation can become everything you can be.
Phil Parker’s latest book is
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Questions
that
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For information on how to pre order
the book “10 Questions that will change the world”, mail bookemdanno@hyp.no.com