You can use this technique for many bad habits, but today we will concentrate on the bad habit of biting your fingernails.
Ready? Make a picture in your mind of YOU biting your fingernails.
NO, WAIT, change that! You know why? Because I don’t want you to shatter anyone, much less yourself, and that’s what we’re going to do. I want you to shatter the FEELING, not the person. So don’t put the person, you, in the picture. Your hands are OK, or any part of your body that you can see without looking at your reflection, just not YOU.
OK, let’s start over. In your mind, make a picture of your nails as you are almost ready to bite them in fact, they are on their way to your mouth. Put everything in that picture that evokes bad feelings. Broken, brittle fingernails, people staring at them, maybe a picture of your hands trying to pick something up, but your fingernails aren’t even long enough to help.
Pick out a picture of the worst thing you can think of happening to you. When you see that picture, do you have thoughts of hopelessness, self-recrimination, etc.? Or are you thinking “I’ll never stop biting my fingernails.” “I wish I had the willpower to stop.” “I’m so wishy-washy.” “I don’t have any self-control.” etc.?
Now that you feel really terrible, put that picture on a piece of glass in your mind, because that’s what you’re going to shatter. And remember, if you use all of your senses you hear, feel, smell, taste, see everything that pertains to that picture that says you ALWAYS bite your fingernails, your brain will be drawn to it. And we want your brain drawn to it before we shatter it.
OK, now. Look at the picture on the piece of glass until it evokes all those feelings mentioned above and you are REALLY feeling out of control you HAVE to bite that fingernail again, then... SHATTER it!
Now, bring it back up, then SHATTER it! Bring it back up again, and immediately shatter it 6 more times.
Now, when you try to bring the picture back up, CAN YOU?
Most people can’t. Or if they do, it shatters automatically, or it’s faded. At any rate, it doesn’t have the same effect on you!
Sidebar When your brain is drawn to a picture, a picture you shatter again and again, it will have the same effect as a fingernail scratching a chalkboard. Your brain will not like it, and will not want to bring that picture back up again. If you can’t bring the picture up, you won’t have it to draw you to the old habit of biting your fingernails. End of sidebar
Now, after you’ve shattered your picture enough times and it doesn’t come up anymore, take some time to think good thoughts and visualize your fingernails nice and kept up beautifully.
Believe me, this works. So if the old feelings come back the next day, just SHATTER the picture 6 or more times. Pretty soon your brain will get the idea for good.
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Copyright 2002, Jan Tincher, All Rights Reserved Worldwide
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