Create a Positive State of Mind

Creat a Positive State of Mind

I have talked about this technique before, but it is worth repeating as it is a valuable tool when you are feeling dispirited.
First, if you have a number of rooms in your home, particularly if you are a crafter, have you noticed that when you go into your craft room you associate that room with feelings?  They may be a sense of relief, or a sense of freedom, or a sense of challenge, but could be any other feelings too.     Have you noticed also that when you walk into your kitchen your feelings change for you are likely to associate that room with food?    If you have a garden, what feelings do you notice when you go into the garden?   Almost certainly they will be different again.   This is called ‘conditioning’   Simply by repetition you have connected emotions with places.
Importantly, you can actively connect emotions to events.   And this is called ‘anchoring’.   This is particularly valuable if you want to change your state of mind.    
Most of us have no problem with recreating memories in our minds.   Imagine, now, that you are in a situation that brough you particular pleasure.  Create a colourful moving picture of that situation watching the movement of people, hearing the sounds, smelling the smells, and importantly notice the feeling that you feel as you create the image.  
I can’t underestimate just how powerful it is to do this with awareness of all the sensations.
Experiment with a number of situations: maybe you have achieved a particularly good piece of art; maybe you are remembering a particularly happy day surrounded by people; maybe you are remembering yourself in a particularly special place surrounded by trees, or views, or nature.   Make the images so clear in your mind that you feel the feelings.    Even attempt to locate where that feeling is in your body. 
Choose one of these situations and having recreated it with clarity notice that you can choose to keep coming back to that image.  As a result, actively return to it repeatedly until recreating that same situation clearly becomes easier and easier.
This is where anchoring becomes the key.   The most commonly used ‘anchor’ to use for this exercise is to squeeze a finger and thumb together.
Return to the situation you have created and when it is at its most vivid feel the emotion.   Once you recognise the emotion in your body, squeeze your finger and thumb together tightly for a few seconds holding them whilst feeling that emotion.   Release immediately the emotion fades and come back to the present time. 
Do this repeatedly: Recreate the situation, feel the emotion, squeeze your finger and thumb, and release.   
When you have done this a number of times, have a go at simply squeezing your finger and thumb together to see if the situation appears in your mind as you do it.     If not – keep practicing!
Why would you do that?  Dependent on the situation you can use it to change your state of mind. 
I used this more than once was when I was training in industry, to people who didn’t want to be there, and weren’t interested (!).  I had tried every trick in the book to get their attention and often felt deflated.  But when it got bad I squeezed my finger and thumb together (hand out of sight) and immediately the image (that I had previously created) came to mind.  I remembered a time when I was standing in front of a group who were giving me an ovation for such a brilliant training session!  My mind set changed so my energy was revised, and I continued positively with what I was employed to achieve.
You, too, can change your mind set if you persevere with this simple exercise and its subsequent use.