Having Pervasive Self-Esteem

This technique takes any unwanted behavior and transforms it into a desire to become more the person you want to be. It is useful anytime you want to change unwanted bahaviors or feelings.

1. Determine the unwanted behavior, feeling and/or attitude you want to change.

2. Identify a specific cue - a behavior, an image and/or a voice that is always there before the unwanted behavior. (For example, a cigarette in hand before smoking ... or a critical voice before feeling bad.) You are associated in this experience.

3. Create a large, bright and colorful image of yourself, as you would look having already resolved the difficulty contained in the unpleasant image. You don't know how you resolved it. It's like a portrait photo with no background. Looking at that image of you, you know the difficulty has been resolved because of the sparkle that's in that other you's eyes, and the relaxed smile on that other you's face. You can hear that other you's internal dialogue, which is saying supportive, appropriate things like, "I feel good about myself."

4. Do you find that other you attractive and appealing? Would you like to become that other you? Does any part of you object to becoming this image? If so, adjust and change the image until it incorporates the positive intentions of the objection. If the image is not appealing to you, let a fog or mist conceal the image. Shrouded in the mist, let the image spontaneously adjust and change until it combines the positive intention of those objections with having already resolved the problem. When the mist clears, see the enhanced, attractive self-image.

5. Shrink that self-image down to a dot.

6. Place the dot containing the other you that has already resolved that problem in the bull's-eye center of the image you identified in Step 2 - the cue that manifests itself just before the unwanted problem.

7. Now, rapidly exchange the two images by having the image for unwanted behavior (the cue image) lose color and shrink into the distance until it disappears. At the same time, the self-image dot will get closer and bigger and brighter, blossoming out until it's life-size in front of you, filling your vision. You've just Swished (exchanged) the images.

8. Now, see a blank screen in your mind's eye.

9. Repeat the process (Steps 6 and 7) about five times, seeing a blank screen at the end of each repetition. Next, run through the same process five more times, only faster. Finally, do it five more times. faster yet, until you can no longer get those unpleasant experiences.