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Please, Squeeze The Dollar Bill
by Linda Larsen, CSP
© Copyright 2003

Have you ever attended a great seminar or learned a new idea and thought, “Wow! This is it! This is going to change my life forever for the better!!” – only to find that a week later nothing much had changed? What happened? It really was a good idea. You had the absolute best of intentions but it just didn’t happen.

There’s a logical reason for this. And there’s a way to overcome the phenomenon.

It has been reported that as much as 95% of all our behavior is automatic and unthinking. Indeed, we are creatures of habit. It takes a lot of effort to learn a new behavior and even more to consciously practice it until it becomes a new habit. For most of us, it’s just too much work. It’s a lot easier just to go back to doing what we’ve always done. And, well, you know what that will get you…

At my workshops and keynote presentations I associate the subconscious mind to a horse. Once trained, a horse just continues to travel the same path and perform the same behaviors over and over without thinking. The same thing happens to us. Our subconscious is wired to perform, over and over, the same behaviors that were programmed a long time ago, regardless of whether we’re getting the results we want or not. I encourage my participants to get a little beanie horse and put it somewhere visible so that they can have a physical reminder that indeed THEY are in charge of how they think and what they do. It is a powerful metaphor. Before they leave, they have a very clear association between the horse and the possibility of changing old beliefs and behaviors.

It seems that I am not the only one who understands this system.

I started working out with a great trainer last week. He was showed me a technique to help me firm up the old bunda. He said to imagine that I was holding a folded dollar bill between my buns the whole time I was working out (attractive picture, don’t you think?) But if I did what he said, I would be flexing the exact right muscles.

So I started working out. And I kept forgetting to “squeeeeeeze.” That was until he pointed to the folded dollar bill taped to the wall. And sure enough, as I worked out I would forget, see the dollar bill and squeeze. Forget, see the dollar and squeeze. It worked!

A physical reminder is exactly what we need to help us consciously apply any technique or strategy that we are trying to make a new habit. It can be anything that works for you and you have associated to the new behavior. Make it fun, make it meaningful and put it somewhere that you can see it often.

Gee, I wonder what you’ll think of the next time you see a folded dollar bill…

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Tag line: Linda Larsen, CSP, helps individuals think strategically, communicate effectively, and celebrate success. She is an international keynote speaker, trial consultant and author of the book, True Power, and the best selling audio program, 12 Secrets to High Self-Esteem. She can be reached at www.lindalarsen.com or 941-927-4700.

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