Change Your Focus and Trust Again

Summary: Unlike a scaredy cat that shrinks back and hesitates due to a lack of trust, you can now pounce on goals.

This lesson is the last in this series on how to program your mind for success and simultaneously increase your internal trust levels.

In article one, “The Fine Art of Trusting,” we learned of a lady named Luanna; a smart, hardworking single mother who was not reaching her potential. Why not? She had hidden trust issues for both others and herself.

You’ll get an update on what finally happened to Luanna at the end of this article.

In the second article, “We Succeed in Direct Correlation to How Much We Trust,” we learned that traumas cause us to focus on negative unconscious visuals.

The third post was, “Fortunately, or Unfortunately, You Get What You Focus On.” Here we were taught that whether it is positive or negative, the focus of our mind’s unconscious eye automatically pushes toward that outcome.

In summary, we learned that hidden negative mental goals result in a lack of trust and instead of protecting us, these focal magnets force the automatic realization of undesirable outcomes.

What is the solution? 

There are three methods I recommend in my one-on-one professional practice.

The model you learn today is called “The Re-Focusing Pattern,” and it is a system you can apply on your own.

This pattern works directly on the mind’s hidden focus image.

Changing the mind’s focus is the simplest and quickest method that works almost every time.

(*For an outline of the other methods and processes I utilize, please see the end of this post under the heading, “Additional Information.”)

How It Works

How does changing your focus with this technique change your outcomes so effectively?

We are not talking about an intellectual decision to change your focus. That usually doesn’t stick. We want to change the emotional motivation. We want to change your unconscious intent because this is where the true motivation is.

Emotion fuels internal drive, and that’s why even negative outcomes happen, sooner or later, even when it’s against our conscious choice.

 

By using every step of this technique, an emotional shift happens because the human mind prefers to sample before it buys. Your mind doesn’t demand to undo the past, but it does want you to be safe, first and foremost, and it is always looking for a better way.

Safety First

The method you are about to learn provides safety and the luxury of allowing your unconscious mind to try out a better outcome goal to have as its focus as a test. When the test proves that you are both safe and the outcome is better, then your mind happily adopts the new way of doing things automatically.

In turn, this new sub-conscious mental approach creates restored trust, so that old trauma becomes a non-issue.

An Overview of the Re-Focusing Pattern

Here’s the general sense of how the Re-Focusing Pattern works:

First, you uncover the hidden negative focus image that, up until now, has been causing you to get the “less than ideal results.” You allow yourself to see the mind’s eye’s image that you probably were never aware of before now. It may shock you to see what you are focusing on unconsciously. However, it’s important to reveal this hidden target.

Remember, a lack of trust in others or with yourself is what causes this negative visual focus. That’s why it is such negative imagery.

You then design a better replacement image for your mind to have as its focus.

Next, you make an internal agreement with yourself to “try out” the new image for a short time to see if it is safe and if it works better. If it ends up working better, and it almost always does, the mind will automatically adopt it because it has a safe and trustworthy goal to reach now.

Are you ready to learn the Re-Focusing Pattern?

Here are all the steps of the process.

The Re-Focusing Pattern

Step 1 –The Category

Be specific as to what context or category you want to improve.

As an example, is it the amount of your income that you want to better? Or, is it something more specific, perhaps one of your work habits such as making telephone calls to prospective customers? Is the context centered around when you go to bed or wake up? Is it about drinking too much alcohol? Do you want to find a suitable romantic partner or is it about keeping the one you already have?

The more exact you can be in defining what you are working on, the better.

Step 2 – The First Question 

When you have the topic specifically identified and clear in mind, ask yourself, “What am I scared of?”

Step 3 – The Negative Visual 

It may seem counter-intuitive to visualize a negative image, but “pulling the monster out of the shadows,” is an important step of the process.

Before you do this phase, remember, you want to do this step safely. If it’s a traumatic image or memory from the past that pops out in front of you to see, be sure to distance yourself from the imagery quickly. Imagine it small, in black and white, and far away. Disassociate by seeing yourself in the visual. When you can see yourself in the image, you feel less intensity to what may be scaring you.

Now, do this step. Sit up with good posture. Look slightly upward where the ceiling meets the wall and blur your eyes.
Allow yourself to imagine what scary picture you just may be focusing on at a level of your consciousness you didn’t realize before now. If you don’t see anything scary, make something up.

Step 4 – The Second Question 

Next, move the old negative pic or video aside and out of the way and then ask, “What is a better visual for me to focus on?”

Step 5 – The Beyond Image 

Design a more positive image of you after everything turns out well; this may be either a still image or a moving video
I call this a “Beyond” image because you are looking beyond the time of success. Using this style of imagery and goal setting has two benefits. First, by designing a visual of what it looks like after you have accomplished the positive outcome that you want to attain, it provides a type of image that represents that you are now safe and that everything turned out well.

The “Beyond” imagery practice is not something commonly taught, even in the world of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. However, this style of visualization works effectively because of a second benefit it provides as well; if the mind focuses on an outcome that is beyond the goal you would like to achieve, then achieving that goal is just part of the process instead of the ending. This technique helps to eliminate getting too concerned about whether you accomplish the outcome or not.

Step 6 – The Third Question – A Request 

Once you have a “Beyond Visual” in mind, ask yourself, “Is it okay to try out moving toward this visual focus for 48 hours?”

We are not even saying we want this result in the absolute sense. We are just asking if we can navigate and move toward that direction.

Some call this type of programming, “North Star” goal setting. You may never get to the North Star, but you always know in what direction you are moving. This type of goal setting is much less stressful. It sets things up to happen safely and in a more automated way.

Step 7 –The Agreement 

When you sense it is a good visual focus to try on for 48 hours, your mind will be happy to do it for you unconsciously during the test period. After, because it proved to be safe and work better, your psyche continues to pursue that outcome automatically.

As a mini ritual, imagine shaking hands in agreement with this decision to try this new image as your mind’s eye’s focus for the next 48 hours. Do this by seeing another version of you eagerly shaking your hand.

Step 8 – The Mini Test 

Now you want to test to see if your mind is doing what it agreed to do.
First, break state. Think of your phone number or your zip code and recite the numbers backward, so that your mind resets. Imagine, cold water being thrown on you and shake it off so that you have a new state of mind for this mini test.

Second, get your context or category in mind again. What specifically did you just concentrate on as the theme to improve?

Third, what do you think of first? If your mind very quickly sees the new “Beyond Imagery” that you just created, then you are set to go. If not, you may be experiencing a block.

When a block happens, shorten the length of the test time from 48 hours down to 24, or even as low as 12 hours, or even just one hour at a time until your sub-conscious mind is sure it’s safe to try out for that period.)

Step 9 – The 48 Hour Test 

Now just give it a couple of days, (or however long your mind agreed to), to see how well this Re-Focusing Pattern Process works for you.

After this test period, your mind adopts the new focus automatically, and you continue to your goal inevitably.

  CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A CHEAT SHEET OR “THE RE-FOCUSING PATTERN”

What You Can Expect

Surprisingly, it can be just that easy to re-program your neurology.

As long as there is internal agreement to focus on your new image on a trial basis, your mind will usually have no problem switching over to the much-improved fixation.

Luanna, the lady, mentioned at the onset of this series, used The Re-Focusing Pattern first for her business. Within the first six months, the business was profitable and was making a reasonable enough income to meet her basic needs and give her self-respect back.

She also used this strategy successfully for her eating habits and her weight.

The most astonishing difference for her was what happened to her old habits of drinking alcohol. She now considers herself a non-drinker. She lost interest in drinking altogether.

What’s more, Luanna says that for the first time, she now has a partner she feels she can trust.
Can a simple visualization process do all of that for you?

You may be surprised. Try it and see. It’s time to stop being a scaredy cat. Use the Re-Focusing Pattern today. It won’t take long for you to get the new outcomes you desire.

When It Doesn’t Work

If you need help with this, please feel free to reach out to me for assistance. Plus, there are additional intensive NLP processes that are available when you run into a block or want more clarity on the issues at hand or want better defined time frames with deadlines.

This post was the last of the four “Don’t Be a Scaredy Cat” series.

What could help you to change your unconscious focus from negative pictures to something more helpful?

 

Additional Information

There are alternative approaches that can help with the mental programming that this series has considered.

First Alternative Tactic: Identify the original trauma event that is associated with the problem context and neutralize the emotion that has come from that trauma by changing the mind’s perspective on the event.

An effective modality for this tactic is a Neuro-Linguistic Programming process called, “The Trauma Process.” Another is a tried and proven process called, “Re-Imprinting.”

(Note: This approach only works if you can uncover the original event that caused the trauma. That is why I suggest trying out the Re-Focusing Pattern first for most people.)

Second Alternative Tactic: Still, another strategy is to focus instead on the “lack of trust” feeling surrounding the problem context.

You can use an NLP process such as the “Dynamic Spin Process” or “Time Line Therapy” to shift to a more resourceful state of mind.

I designed a technique I regularly use with my coaching clients when doing shift work at this level; it’s called, “Tree Climbing.” If you are interested in learning this simple process, let me know, and I’ll get it to you.

(Note: This approach and all three of these NLP processes only work for those that can get in touch with the feeling of not trusting. Unfortunately, there are many that have a difficult time identifying feelings. That is why I suggest trying out the Re-Focusing Pattern first for most people.)