How to break through the patterns holding you back

I want to talk to you about how to break through the patterns that are holding you back.

Get a rubber band. Well, you can wait till you read why you need one.

A rubber band around your wrist (any color you want is fine) can help you breakthrough the annoying outdated behavior patterns that get in the way of success.

“Oh” I hear you saying, “It can’t be that easy.”

I didn’t say easy. All I said was “Get a rubber band.”

Here is how the OUT Technique I have developed works.

• Observe your behavior patterns and they automatically lose the vast hold they have.
• Understand where they started and they fade even more into the background.
• Transform them to their positive opposites and watch the magic happen.

So, what’s with the rubber band?

It’s a reminder that the time for change is now. Right now while you are in the middle of the change process. Next time you catch yourself being a pleaser or a procrastinator the rubber band can remind you to stay strong and not fall back or even lean back.

Let me share a quick story about how Tom used the rubber band technique was able to break through the patterns that were holding him back.

Tom who was a procrastinator and was always waiting to finish a project tomorrow he learned the rubber band trick and now, he will stay with a task till done. Tomorrow is for what is fresh and new. No more guilt and excuses, he is really using his time wisely.

Find a pattern you are sick and tired of repeating. It can be from mood eating to keep you from feeling sad to angry responses when your buttons get pushed.

Have a thick rubber band comfortably over your wrist. It needs to be loose so you can snap it. No, not to hurt yourself, just as a reminder.

When you are doing the same thing over and over without getting the results you want it’s time for a snap!

Like Tom, every time he would make an excuse about getting his work done he would pull the rubber band back and yes, there would be the ouch factor and sting.

So what, it’s not life-threatening. It’s life-enhancing.

Right after you snap it tell yourself you no longer want the negative in your life. Be very clear and keep it simple. For example, Tom would say “I am good enough to finish my work and not be afraid of criticism.” He would then add an important positive sentence “I am a creative person and my work is valuable.”

When Tom learned the OUT Technique he needed a stimulus to remind him not to stay in the outdated negative place of feeling he was always making mistakes and his work would not be appreciated. That was what used to happen in school and he told me “I hate handing anything in at work, even though I am good at what I do because now I see how I am reminded of the red marks on my homework that made me feel like crap.”

Memories are never truly buried and when a strong stimulus comes along to tap into old, hurtful thoughts it is so easy to go back to being the child or teen who was not good enough or afraid to speak up.

We do, all of us, bring to work in our computer bag what was in our school backpack. Here is one way to help you stay on the positive side of the road.  Try the rubber band technique to help you break through the patterns holding you back and let me know what you think!

More good techniques to come so stay tuned.