The Power of Choice

I quit smoking many years ago. I had smoked for about ten years. I heard on the radio that a hypnotist was doing a group hypnosis session to quit smoking. My daughter had been urging me to quit for some time so I decided to give it a try. There were about 20 people in the group. The hypnotist 

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explained that he could not make us quit smoking but he guaranteed that when the session was over we would leave having the choice to smoke or to not smoke. He did three hypnosis sessions with the group. During each session I was peaking around the room at the other people. When it was over I was sure I had not been hypnotized and had wasted my money. I remember going out to my truck and the first thing I did was put a cigarette in my mouth. I remember getting the lighter out of my pocket and I was about to light the cigarette when I thought, I just spent thirty five bucks, I should at least give it a chance. I put the cigarette back in the pack and the lighter back in my pocket. I went home and suffered with cravings the rest of the evening. When I got up in the morning I remember going through my same routine. On my way out the door I grabbed my cigarettes, my lighter, and off to work I went. Back then it was not against the law to smoke inside, and in fact most of the people I worked with did smoke. Our morning routine at work was to sit in a semi circle drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes while discussing the work for the day. That morning I sat in the same group drinking my coffee and it did not even cross my mind to have a cigarette. In fact it was only when a co worker asked me if I had quit smoking that I realized that I had not had a cigarette all morning. 

This sparked a deep interest and curiosity in me. Interestingly the curiosity was not in the power of hypnosis, but in the power of choice. If I would have lit that cigarette I would probably still be smoking today. When I made the conscious choice to not smoke, something very powerful happened. Knowing that the word choice is an action word, and knowing what a powerful message action sends to my subconscious mind, it makes sense that choosing to take action of any kind engages my subconscious mind. Any time I engage my subconscious mind the odds of my success go up dramatically. 

Another interesting thing to realize is that by not taking action, or choosing to not act, is seen by the subconscious mind as taking action. Choosing to not act reinforces the old belief. This makes not taking action easier next time. By the same token, choosing to take action and then taking action, no matter how hard it seems the first time gets easier and easier each time. This can be very helpful to remember when kicking a habit. Each temptation requires a choice. Each time you make the same choice, it gets easier to make that same choice.

So how powerful is choice? Make a conscious choice to take action on your goal and enjoy the ride!

Jerry Mutz
Achieve Today Coach