In this 4th post in this series, we’re going to continue discussing Flexibility when it comes to goal achievement using PATTERN INTERRUPTS & how this relates to flexibility for weight loss!
What does the NLP concept of PATTERN INTERRUPTS relate to?
To efficiently get through each day with the myriad of tasks we need to complete, we develop patterns of behaviours that over time become automatic – habits.
With these patterns of behaviour, a trigger occurs and we automatically respond on auto pilot – without thought, via our powerful unconscious mind. We execute our series of behaviours to respond to this trigger.
Simple examples include washing our teeth before we bed. We do this task automatically, without even thinking about what we are doing consciously. Other examples include driving, work related tasks, playing sports, playing a musical instrument etc etc.
Most of these automatic response are v useful, eg driving our cars.
But some of them are not! For example:
- When I get stressed, I have chocolate
- When I am upset about something, shopping always makes me feel better
- When I get home from work after a busy day at work, a wine helps me relax
- When I get bored, I watch TV & eat snacks
- etc etc
Clearly, when it comes to reaching our ideal weight, these patterns of behaviour are not going to serve us in helping us achieve our goal.
So this is where PATTERN INTERRUPTS become v useful. They helps us break our current automatic response and move to a new pattern of behaviour and serves us better moving forward.
So how could we interrupt some of the negative patterns of behaviour shown above?
For 1) we could remove all chocolate around us and then when we get stressed, simply take 3 deep breaths or do some meditation instead. With no chocolate around us, we cannot perform the old pattern, even if we wanted to.
For 2), when upset, we could put on some nice relaxing & inspiring music, maybe from our favourite movie. For 3), when you get home from a busy day at work, why not go for a relaxing walk with your kids or the dog. This would be much more relaxing & much healthier for you! For 4), why not play some sport & exercise when bored.
With 3-4 weeks of repeating these new responses to our triggers, these would become habits/patterns of behaviour that we would then do automatically moving forward.
The first step in this process is to identify all these automatic patterns of behaviour that you do instinctively, without thought, that no longer serve us. Step 2 is to work out (a) how to make it is difficult as possible to do the old behaviour, and (b) how to make it as easy as possible to the desired behaviour. In the first few weeks, you may even want to put reminders up everywhere around that make it even easier for us to remember to do the new behaviour.
So my challenge for you for this week is to identify all the negative automatic patterns of behaviour you currently have and start thinking about how you can (a) make it as difficult as possible to continue these patterns & (b) make it as easy as possible to perform new healthier & more appropriate behaviours.
As stated in our previous posts in this series, the importance of flexibility for weight loss is paramount. My aim with these posts is to help you introduce more & more flexibility into your thinking and your life & see how this has a huge impact on your progress towards achieving your goals – esp your ideal weight!
To your optimum health, well being & ideal weight!
Dr Ian Kaminskyj
Melbourne NLP Hypnosis Centre
1300 983 717
