Do you have the right mindset to help you learn the skill of hypnosis?

We all know that practice makes perfect, that we get better the more we repeat something. This is the same for hypnosis too. It is a skill. One that you can learn, develop and expand upon. I teach all my clients self-hypnosis and recommend that they practise it as often as possible.

The Carleton Skills Training Programme, as well as later hypnosis studies, show us that hypnotisability (our ability to go into hypnosis) increases the more we practice it and even more so when hypnosis has been explained thoroughly to us as well as what we are expected to experience during it.

Mindset is everything when it comes to learning new skills! Earlier in the year, I wrote a guest blog post on the right mindset for running a business for a local business coach. Having the right mindset when approaching a course of hypnotherapy is also important. It can determine whether we succeed or fail.

Carol Dweck, author of Mindset: The Psychology of Success, coined the terms fixed mindset and growth mindset to describe people's beliefs about their ability to learn and develop. Her research on students found that when they believed they could become smarter, they put extra time and effort into their learning and development. As a result, they had higher levels of achievement at school. The converse also occurred.

People with a fixed mindset view intelligence as static, which impacts on how they approach their day-to-day life. They might avoid challenges, give up easily when things get in the way, won’t see the point of putting in the effort, ignore useful negative feedback, and feel threatened by the success of others. As a result, they achieve less than their full potential. So let’s look at how a fixed mindset can impact your progress with hypnotherapy.

For the most part, when clients come to see me, they’ve never experienced hypnosis before. It’s completely new to them. Embarking on something new, especially when so much hinges on it, can be a challenge. And if you have a fixed mindset, you might find yourself avoiding that challenge altogether. So perhaps you don’t make contact with me or another hypnotherapist to book an appointment and if you do, perhaps you find yourself cancelling sessions or not engaging in the process fully.

Things don’t always g according to plan. Maybe your mind keeps wandering off when you do self-hypnosis. Also, unfortunately, we don’t get to press ‘pause’ on life while we’re in therapy, so things might crop up that are unexpected and unpleasant. And change isn’t always linear either. Whilst all of these are completely normal, if you have a fixed mindset, you might find yourself giving up on your self-hypnosis practice or the hypnotherapy process as a whole.

If you don’t ‘get it’ on your first attempt at hypnosis or self-hypnosis, if you have a fixed mindset, you might believe that there is no room for improvement. That you’re not hypnotisable, that you can’t be helped, and there’s no point in putting the effort in.

I often give feedback to clients on how they might improve their self-hypnosis practice or how they can successfully incorporate the techniques we go through into their daily routines. Whilst this is always constructive feedback, if you have a fixed mindset, you are more likely to ignore it and just keep doing what you were doing.

Doesn’t sound conducive to learning the skill of hypnosis and gaining the most benefit from it, does it?

Now, people with a growth mindset believe that intelligence can be developed. As a result, they are more likely to embrace challenges, persevere when things don’t go according to plan, recognise that effort leads to mastery at what they do, learn from criticism, and learn from and be inspired by the success of others. So let’s look at how a growth mindset can boost your progress with hypnotherapy.

Change is one of the biggest challenges of all. Even when we’re moving away from something that no longer serves us, towards a more satisfying life. When you have a growth mindset, you rise to the challenge. You embrace it. You know it won’t be easy, but you’re committed regardless. Because you know that you can change.

Things aren’t always plain sailing but when things crop up, with a growth mindset, you persevere. You keep going, always with your goal in mind. Setbacks and obstacles are just part of the process.

When I teach you a technique to help you with one thing or another, if you have a growth mindset, you recognise that putting time, effort and energy into practising the technique for yourself will lead to you gaining mastery over it. You will build and develop your skill at hypnosis, getting better and better all the time. And you’ll benefit so much more from the process as a result.

When you’re not doing something quite right with regards to a technique and I give you pointers on how you might improve what you are doing, if you have a growth mindset, you'll take my feedback on board and learn from it. Consequently, you will notice the improvements that you make.

Approaching hypnotherapy with a growth mindset is the way to go, isn’t it?

So what if you have a fixed mindset then but want to make positive changes in your life and use hypnotherapy to do so?

Well, the good news is that we can change from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. Our brain is malleable and when you understand that you can change your mindset, you can go about doing so. I’m not saying it will be easy, but by changing your beliefs about your ability to learn and develop, you’ll start to make that move from fixed to growth. Dweck’s research showed that when that transition occurs, it leads to an increase in motivation and achievement. And I think we can agree, that would be very beneficial in the hypnotherapy process!