I have just finished making my way through Jenni Murray’s A History of Britain in 21 Women, a rather fitting read given the fact that incredible women are dominating our news currently, moving and shaking a sadly still unequal world.
Murray chooses twenty one women who changed the world with their extraordinary achievements.
The first two in the book are Boadicea and Queen Elizabeth, which made me smile as these women were my inspiration as a 10 – 12 year old young girl. They had determination in spite of life’s circumstances, and they stood for what they believed in, in spite of what would have been easier for them. They dug deep within themselves so that even when people around them chose not to believe in them, there they were anyway, standing strong and staying true to what they believed in.
The women in Jenni Murray’s book were ‘change makers’ and the thing they all have in common is that none of it came easy – but they knew it was their right to be full and true versions of themselves. I always wanted that for myself, so I modelled those qualities – in many ways I pretended that I was who I wanted to be already, which made me believe it could come true.
When studying with Judith Lowe on a NLP Practitioner Course, I realized that I have used ‘modelling’ all my life. In Joseph O’Connor & John Seymour’s book Introducing NLP, they say ‘Modelling can be simply defined as the process of replicating human excellence’. They go on further to state ‘By using our mind and body in the same way as a peak performer, we can immediately increase the quality of our actions and our results. NLP models what is possible because real human beings have actually done it’.
Modelling is a way of practicing success by imagining it; by holding it in your mind’s eye, it becomes so much easier to reach your aims and achieve what you want. Life is to be lived, and being brave in the face of long-term pain or a sport injury that stops you from reaching your pinnacle isn’t always easy.
We often ask people when they visit the practice ‘Who inspires you’? Could you imagine those qualities in yourself? Sometimes, if this feels too difficult, we ask simply what makes you feel good? Can you ‘dance it out’ to lift your mood, or walk your dog, listen to music? Next time it feels your doubts are defeating you, have a go at imagining how brilliant and brave you actually are – start by making one step on the right direction.
We can all get to where we want to be with the right kind of support, and that’s what we aim to give at Flexible Healing.