Advanced Silver Solution

How many of us would go to an interview for a professional job in t-shirt and jeans?  The phrases, “dress for success” and “power-dressing” are very well known.  However, all of us know intuitively that how we dress does not directly effect our capabilities or make us do a better job, but we still feel better when we dress the part. 

Our pagan ancestors and primitive tribes often adorned themselves with furs or sometimes even skulls of power animals, believing that they capture some of the spirit or essence of that animal.  It is basically the same thing, power-dressing.

There is an Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) technique that takes this a stage further.  NLP believes that the unconscious mind is very powerful and controls most of our behavioural patterns.  Yet conscious exercises can actually train our unconscious mind to help us achieve behavioural patterns that are more beneficial to our goals and our success in life.  Hence we can change unhelpful behavioural patterns for positive ones.

One of these exercises is to first set yourself a goal(s) and allocate a time period for achieving that goal(s).  Then picture yourself, standing in front of you, at the end of that time period having achieved your goals.  Form a picture in your mind of how happy you will be having achieved your goals. 

How will you be standing?  Does your posture indicate success, with you head head high and your back straight and proud with your chest out? 

What will you be wearing (especially for financial/business goals)?  Do you have a new tailored suit indicating more money/promotion, are you in wedding dress/suit if your goal was romantic, are you in beach wear if your goal was to be able to afford a holiday?  Make the picture as strong as you can, imagine the accessories you might have, maybe a new hair style to go with it.

Imagine what it would feel like to have all your friends, family, workmates, whoever looking at you with new found respect and admiration for achieving your goal.  If you plan to be somewhere like a new office (promotion), holiday location, church (wedding), or whatever is relevant to your goals, try to see your new surroundings.  Try to hear the sounds that you might hear and smell the scents that might be there. 

Make the whole picture in your mind as powerful, as bright and as colourful as you can.  Make it life size and moving.  Use your imagination to use as many of your senses as you can.  Now taking in this splendid picture of yourself with all your senses stimulated, step forward into where this image of yourself is standing and turn around as if you are putting on this picture of you.  Feel the feelings of success (whatever success means to you personally).

This is why I call it mental power dressing.  Whereas real clothes have no direct effect on your abilities but make you feel the part; this type of exercise allows you feel the success that you want to achieve.  Actually “feeling” that success makes it more obtainable to the unconscious mind.  It will help the unconscious mind to change your behavioural patterns to other patterns more in line with your goals.  With the changed patterns comes a greater chance of success.

Finally, remember that success is a personal thing.  You don’t have to set goals for great riches or promotion to be successful.  If your goal is to live in seclusion on a mountain side and feed the birds every day and you achieve it, then you are a success.  Don’t sell yourself short, but don’t let others dictate what you should think of as successful.