1. Contemplate your choices. 

Close your eyes and think about what will happen within the next 5 years to 10 years if you don't make this positive change?  How will you look and feel—in 5 years and 10 years?  How will you be living?  Now think about what will happen within the next 5 to 10 years if you DO make the change?  How will you look and feel?  How will your life be different in the future?   Which choice brings the best outcome?  The answer to that question is all you need to know to make your change.    

2.  Replace hope with expectation.

Most people who come to me to quit smoking or lose weight hope that they will be successful.  The most successful clients are those who expect to be successful.  The most successful clients are those who can picture living free of the problem.  The purpose of guided clinical hypnosis is to create expectation and confidence within the deeper mind where habits can be changed.   Follow these steps to hypnotize yourself.

3.  Create expectation of your desired outcome.
Relax yourself daily and make a movie in your mind of yourself making the change easily and having the outcome you desire.  Use color, bringing the images in close and add feelings and sounds to the images.  Imagine that the outcome is complete and what that will be like.  How will you feel, what will you see, hear, taste, smell?  Enjoy the experience of success until you feel complete with it.  Over time, this installs your new belief and expectation.

A friend of mine told me that she quit smoking many years ago by spending a few minutes every day picturing herself throwing away her cigarettes and turning her back on the habit.  She imagined that it was easy and that she went right on with her life feeling great.  One morning she actually threw her cigarettes in the trash and went right on with her life just like her movie. 

4.  Befriend your critical inner voices. 

Once the new goal is in place, parts of you that are not in sync with it usually make themselves known.  Your critical voice may say things like, "You are too weak to do this, you've already tried and failed.", or "You are just like ____ (your Mom) and she couldn't do it."

The critical part always has a positive intent for wanting you to maintain your old habit.  In the case of losing weight, that part may believe you need the extra weight to protect you from attracting attention from the opposite sex, or maybe that part believes overeating keeps you calm or happy.  Talk to that sabotaging part of you and create peace with it.  Overweight and other issues are not usually the problem; they are the symptom of your programming. You can change your programming.

5. Create affirmations that support your goals. 

"I easily move toward my goal to be _________and a permanent healthier, happier way of being."  "I feel so happy that I am ________________ (getting slimmer, stopping smoking on _________ {date}, eating healthier, being more patient, going to bed earlier).  I see, feel, hear, taste, and even smell the results of my success now."  Write affirmations in present tense as if you already have the success. 

6.  Build your self confidence daily.  

Before drifting off to sleep, create a success movie with color, feeling, and sound effects.  As a side benefit you will probably go to sleep with a smile on your face and sleep peacefully.  

If you slipped up during the day, review the scene to gather information about what happened and determine whether your new "program" was operating or if you reverted back to an old program.  Replay the slip-up scene and imagine applying your new programming.  This will give you better results next time. Be kind and patient with yourself.  Encourage yourself like you would a best friend.

As you apply these tips, you will replace the old energy of struggle with the feelings of joyful expectation.  You will create a new and more successful future.