Find your hidden power!

In this extract from his latest book, Paul McKenna shows you how to tap into your positivity, and transform your life for the better

All day long, human beings give themselves suggestions in the form of an internal dialogue, a kind of self-hypnosis. We criticise the way we look or tell ourselves we really must do this or that and we do it without stopping to really notice if the suggestions are helpful or not. We navigate our way through life with a running commentary in our heads and this can be positive or negative, helpful or damaging. Many of us critique and analyse what others say to us, but we don’t question our own internal voice. This system, outlined below, allows you to do that to liberate yourself from negativity or what is holding you back.

REDUCING STRESS & CREATING CALM

If I could give people one gift from all the techniques that I have, it would be for them to be able to have more control over their mind and body so that they weren’t unnecessarily stressed. Psychologists refer to thinking about all the worst things that could possibly happen to us as ‘catastrophising ’ – worrying about things that will never happen, preparing for emergencies that are never going to occur and getting worked up about imaginary threats, instead of focusing on the moment and the reality. Not only is this exhausting, but it doesn’t allow for us to be creative, optimistic and happy. If you are in a state of stress, you are looking for threats everywhere.

SO MANY OF US HAVE A NEGATIVE INTERNAL VOICE...

...running self-destructive messages that hold us back. From looking in the mirror and hearing the dialogue of ‘your bum looks big in that’, to the confidence-chipping inner voice of ‘I can’t’, it’s time to stop that negative bad talk and that’s a key part of learning the power of internal positivity. However, it’s not just what you say to yourself, it’s also how you say it. I’d like you to consider how the world sounds when you’re stressed. What does your internal dialogue sound like? Is it worried, or anxious? Do you speak calmly to yourself ? Or do you sound frightened or concerned? So, if we are talking to ourselves inside our mind in a way that is stressed and frightened, it will naturally make us feel more wound up.

INSTANT CONFIDENCE & SELF-BELIEF

Since the pandemic, many people have experienced uncertainty. In surveys into what people fear most, ‘the unknown’ is usually in the top 10, sometimes even higher than death. So, confidence and self-belief are what many people really need right now and this is all about giving you inner selfconfidence – a strong belief in yourself and your abilities to handle life’s challenges. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work with some of the highest achievers in the world of sports, business, the arts, politics and other fields and while I am convinced that confidence is ultimately a state of mind and body, it’s also a habit

– a habit that can be learned and turned on at will. Imagine the power that will give you – being able to walk into a meeting, give a presentation, or handle a challenging situation in a state of total selfconfidence.

MOTIVATION POWER & YOUR POSITIVE FUTURE

Far too often, people tell me what they don’t want – they don’t want to be overweight, they don’t want to be frightened, they don’t want to be awake all night long, they don’t want to procrastinate. They are focusing way too much on what they don’t want, rather than what they do want. Most people spend more time making a list for what they want from the supermarket each week, than on what they really want to achieve in the next five years of their lives. My friend Michael Neill, the renowned success coach says, ‘If you just tell a lamppost your plans every day, they are more likely to happen.’

CHOICES

One of the simplest ways to motivate yourself is to actually make a decision. Choice is one of the most powerful things we have as human beings. Sure, some choices are tough and some require thinking about the consequences before you make them, but in any moment, you can decide to do something different, you can choose a better path in life. Sometimes, when I am asking someone to imagine a better life, they say to me things such as, ‘I just can’t see myself doing that,’ which tells you everything. They need a little help visualising a better life.

THE GRATITUDE JOURNAL

One of the simplest and most powerful things you can do to elevate the baseline of your mood is a daily gratitude journal. It really struck me how well this process works during the pandemic, when people I knew who were feeling a bit low simply made a list of everything they are grateful for and it gave them a fresh perspective. It can be big things such as health, friends and family, or small things like the first cup of tea or coffee in the morning. When you start to consider all the things that you feel grateful for, you are re-enforcing in your mind things that make you feel great. Of course, we get more of what we focus on, so you are training your brain to search out things that improve your mood. It takes just a few minutes to do each day and then if you are feeling a bit low, just read back through your lists and you will start to feel better.