Hypnotherapy – It’s Like Tying Shoelaces
We all know, very well from our daily experiences, that what we do unconsciously, that is what we do without thinking about it very much, we tend to do very well or certainly very easily.
It’s not something perhaps we think about too often but when things are not happening in our lives like we would wish them too, when we are not getting the results we want, then we tend to examine our habits with a little more intensity.
So if you think a habit you have is one you would like to change then give some thought to the ability you do have, to make that change happen because in the past, you have certainly learnt many things that have been significant changes in your life and I suspect you barely give some of those changes or achievements even a passing thought these days.
As an example, as children we had to learn how to tie our shoelaces, and when we first 
started practicing, it was certainly a very difficult thing to do. For most of us, this task nowadays, as adults would seem like a most simple one to carry out successfully and that’s because, after practicing so many times, it has become something we do automatically and we no longer give it much thought, we just tie our shoelaces whenever they need tying.
However if you remember the learning process back then, when we consciously had to think of each step in the process, in the right order, with suitable co-ordination between each hand, the required level of finger dexterity, then all too soon we recall the levels of concentration it required along with the levels of frustration it engendered. Equally it soon becomes quite obvious that this conscious process, with its slow ponderous progression, once learnt, rapidly became an automatic unconscious fast process that remains with each of us to this day.
The same can be said for all of the tasks we do every day without really thinking about them consciously any more, cooking,driving, typing, playing a musical instrument, reading, writing, sports…if you practice any of these things, or anything else, regularly, you will get better and better at it until it too becomes an automatic fast unconscious process.
This automatic way of doing things occurs with our bad habits and traits as well as our good habits and skills. It is the way we are made, it is the way we live because it is the most effective way of living, because without learnt skills moving from the slower conscious to the faster unconscious part of our minds we would be forever burdened in our daily lives with endless scenarios exactly like the conscious shoe tying situation of our childhood.
The unconscious aspect of our mind doesn’t recognise what is right or wrong, what is useful 
or what is bad for us. It just knows learned behaviour and makes sure that those habits are protected and carried out in the most effective manner possible. The habits, good or less so, each time they are practiced create neural pathways in our brains that become stronger with each practice, therefore the more we practice or repeat the process the better we get at it, this means that anything can become our normal and preferred response, regardless of whether we deem it be positive or negative.
So when we use hypnosis and the trance state to change our thoughts, feelings or behaviour we gently by-pass the conscious part of the mind and communicate directly with this unconscious part of ourselves. By doing this we can make changes that are positive, seem effortless to achieve and bring about results in behaviours and feelings that we are pleased with and that we want rather than being trapped in a habitual re-run of unpleasant and unwanted results.
Therefore when you next want to make again a dramatic or as simple a change in your life as tying your shoelaces, remember to harness the power of your unconscious to make it happen more easily, more effectively and more successfully.
Graphics from http://www.sparklebox.co.uk
