Dont think about a pink elephant.

Most people are not aware that there unconscious minds do not easily process negative suggestions. The word “not” or any of it’s derivatives only exist in the world of language. Therefore, you can’t not think about what it is you don’t want to think about. This has important implications for the smoker trying to stop smoking. So if we say “don’t think about a cigarette” what do you think about first……think about that…………or not! This means your unconscious functions far more smoothly when you concentrate on what you want as opposed to what you don’t want.

This principle is closely related to a universal law in the field of Hypnosis called “the law of reverse effect”. This law states that the more you try not to think about something, the more you think about it. Further , it’s useful to consider for your goal whether the internal representations, or self talk or imagery you use is empowering to you or defeating your efforts. In other words is the way you see yourself stopping smoking helping you to achieve that outcome?

In the course of my work with people from all walks of life I have found that every spiritual system teaches it’s followers to see God or the goodness in everyone, and our aim is to do that. Therefore we must also assist others in doing that for themselves. We urge smokers who want to stop smoking to seriously practice focusing on what they want and not what they don’t want. Really concentrating on the benefits of being a happy healthy non-smoker daily will rapidly clear the mind of the negativity commonly associated with tobacco cessation.

It is a valuable experiment as a therapist to hold on to the internal representation of exactly how we want a smoker to be when we’re helping them become a non smoker. Therapists often see their clients fully experiencing their goal as the client discusses their smoking problem. We ask the client to discuss the problem, inviting them to “try” and hold onto it as we just listen and hold a totally positive, resourceful image in our minds. The most common experience is that as client talks about the problem, they begin to run out of steam and are left a bit bemused that what they were talking about even seemed like problem in the first place!

Positive thinking is the single most powerful thing a human being can learn to assist them in all aspects of there lives. Focusing on a problem will do nothing other than amplify the problem. The old brain storming technique where people just gather around and throw any ideas to solve a problem works for this reason. So for a smoker a good personal brainstorm to assist in becoming a non smoker can have tremendous results. When it is understood that the only reason people smoke is to make them feel good, then a few brainstorms about what else could possibly make a smoker feel good usually throws up a number of other pleasurable activities.