When my greatest flex became my biggest barrier (and what I did next)

One of the greatest barriers to progress can be formed in the messages we tell ourselves. Even really positive beliefs can lead to the kind of blockage that can be crippling and make progress impossible.

When I say I do ‘mind management’ with clients it’s more than just traditional hypnotherapy. We will engage whatever tools we need to move the storyline on. And I have found myself needing to engage the same process in recent weeks.

Since 2019 I’ve been able to say that I do no marketing, and that all of my clients come from word of mouth (apart from a tiny handful that found me online). This was quite a flex. We know how powerful word of mouth is, providing instant social proof and confidence in me as a practitioner.

This messaging, that 100% of clients came through word of mouth equated in my mind to being ‘elite’, and was a substantial part of my professional identity. I therefore sought to avoid any and all marketing; as soon as I did anything I’d lose my claim to being the hypnotherapist that was solely recommended.

Yet opening my City room was not going to be possible without spreading the word, and so I knew I had to address and overcome this unhelpful belief. I used a strategy that I introduce to many clients, and within 15 minutes, I’d got over myself and was able to start thinking about the best way to share my work with new clients.

Mind management isn’t just for people with trauma and phobias. It brings solutions where barriers were before. I see professionals, athletes, performers, and anyone else who feels they have something standing in their way. Perhaps hold that in mind; when something is causing you to stall, it will be time to talk.