“The best version of yourself” is a difficult phrase – after all, aren’t we ourselves all the time? There are also different aspects to our personalities: we certainly present a different self to our employers than the version we show our partners, parents or kids! How do we know which one is “the best”?
Being your best is about having the confidence to be your authentic self – and solution focused hypnotherapy is the way to achieve this.
What Does It Mean To Be The Best Version Of Yourself?
When someone wants to be the best version of themselves, there are two things at play here. The first is authenticity. To be our authentic selves, we need to have the confidence not to mask who we are; and while convention means that we do have to behave differently in the boardroom to the bar, we can exist in both spaces without pretending to be someone else.
The second element is about being successful in different aspects of our lives. This doesn’t have to mean being financially successful or having the perfect family life. It’s about being comfortable and confident in all the different parts of our lives. This circles back to being our authentic selves, and our need to have the self-belief to live this way.
So, the good news here is that our true self is our best self! Becoming our best selves is about reducing anxiety and increasing confidence. Solution focused hypnotherapy will help you reach this goal.
What Holds People Back From Being Their Best Selves?
When clients speak with me about wanting to be the best version of themselves, they often have several problems in common. Here are a few common barriers to confidence that people have reported to me.
- Worrying about things, while feeling that they shouldn’t be worrying
- Feeling they’re not present for their families
- Too many things on their minds at once
- A need to feel more relaxed and less anxious
- Wanting to be confident outside their usual comfort zones (networking and presentations are often mentioned here)
- Struggling to sleep / get up / stop or cut down on alcohol / smoking / eating
This affects people from all sorts of backgrounds; however, there’s a definite bias towards self-employed people and those with stressful jobs. I also seem to speak with more men than women about becoming their better selves.
How Does Hypnotherapy Help People Be Their Best Selves?
Solution focused hypnotherapy, with its positive outlook and goal orientation, is an excellent way to approach self-improvement. We work with the intellectual rather than the emotional part of the brain, which enables us to work together to put tangible steps towards a happier and more confident you.
What we do during hypnotherapy
The great thing is that just making that decision to see someone like me creates a sense of achievement and of taking back control.
Let’s take a closer look at how hypnotherapy techniques can help you become the best version of you.
- We work together to set realistic goals, then take steps towards actioning them by working with the intellectual part of your brain. This aids more conscious decision making, reducing the noise caused by unhelpful or negative thoughts.
- This more positive focus helps your happy neurotransmitters to kick in, including serotonin and dopamine. This more positive outlook on life improves motivation and creates a virtuous circle.
- We’ll also work together to understand the impact of neural pathways, and how these can be re-routed to break unhelpful habits (such as dependent relationships with food or alcohol).
- If you want to address a specific concern like public speaking or interviews, we can use various NLP techniques. Another example of this is working with phobias, we looked at this in our blog about hypnotherapy for simple phobias. “Rewinding” forms a dissociation between any previous trauma and the present, while “reframing” uses techniques to create a positive future goal.
- As we progress, your stress bucket starts to empty, and as it does, your thoughts will start to feel clearer. You’ll be more relaxed and less anxious, and if you’ve been having trouble sleeping, you’ll see improvements here, too.
How long does it take to become our best selves? Arguably, it’s a lifelong journey as we pass through different phases and undertake new roles. However, for an improvement in feeling confident and comfortable in our skins, it typically takes between six and twelve weekly sessions. The exact time depends on your own circumstances, as every journey is different. My main advice is never rush long-lasting change – take as long as you need.
My story
I’ve experienced both sides of the therapy room when it comes to growing confidence and becoming the best version of myself. My background started in software training and consultancy, and then selling computer software to businesses (25 years!). Mostly, I enjoyed the high-pressured environment that demands a lot. However, I struggled at times with stress, the occasional crisis of confidence, and work-life balance.
I worked through this using similar techniques to the ones I mentioned above. This is how I came to study NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), becoming an NLP Master Practitioner. The rest, as they say, is history, and I now feel hugely honoured to help others on a similar journey.
Become The Best Version Of You Through Hypnotherapy
If you would like to make positive and lasting changes to your life, please contact me for a confidential chat. I also offer counselling and specific sessions as required (such as NLP to help support you through something like a presentation).
