Auto-Suggestion: Influencing the Sub-Conscious Mind

Autosuggestion: planting seeds in the subconscious mind. The hypnotic or subconscious adoption of an idea that one has originated oneself, e.g. through repetition of verbal statements to oneself in order to change behavior.
by Mike Corthell

Autosuggestion is a psychological technique that was developed by Émile Coué at the beginning of the 20th century. It was then popularized by Napoleon Hill and others. It is a form of self-induced suggestion wherein the thoughts, feelings, or behavior of an individual are guided by oneself. This technique is often used in self-hypnosis. He found that the main obstacle to autosuggestion was willpower. For the method to work, a person must refrain from making any independent judgement, meaning that he must not let his will impose its own views on positive ideas.

''The subconscious mind resembles a fertile garden spot, in which weeds will grow in abundance, if the seeds of more desirable crops are not sown therein. AUTO-SUGGESTION is the agency of control through which an individual may voluntarily feed his subconscious mind on thoughts of a creative nature, or, by neglect, permit thoughts of a destructive nature to find their way into this rich garden of the mind.''
— Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

So, autosuggestion, which is one of the major tenants of Napoleon Hill’s philosophy, is a method of conditioning and reprogramming your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind is that part of your mind that imagines and creates. If you are not conditioning your subconscious mind purposefully, then you’re probably either getting the same thing or something much worse. You are, in fact, opening yourself up to negative or self-destructive programming from outside sources like negative people, literature and even the news media.

Decide what it is you want to change. Choose something that you really want and truly desire. Is it consistent with your other goals? Be realistic.

Make it something believable. Make sure the autosuggestion is believable, not some crazy, unattainable goal.. If you don’t believe it, it doesn't have much chance of entering your subconscious mind. Leave greed and/or pride out of your desire.

Feel it, use emotion!  For autosuggestion to work, it must trigger emotion, deep desire and passion. And the more meaningful the suggestion is to you, the more effective it will be.

ALWAYS use the first person. Say ''I''. Make suggestions for you and you alone. Don’t make your suggestions based on what you want other people to be or how they think you should be. Make the suggestion about YOU and what you want to be.

ALWAYS be positive. Suggestions are always more effective when combined with your positive thinking. Positive statements keep you motivated too. Always avoid negativity. Don't use negative phrases like as “I can't” “I will not.” Also, don't say ''I wish I could'' say, ''I will.''

Suggest, suggest, suggest! Using meditation and visualization to tell your subconscious mind what you've decided is your burning desire. The more tell yourself (your subconscious), the faster it will ingrained, and be come part of your behavior and your life.

All of us, possess within us, a powerful force. This force is the God given power to decide what our thoughts will be like— the free will to be positive in our outlook on life or to be in the dark by choosing to be negative thinkers. When we direct our subconscious in a positive way with definite purpose we cannot fail, in fact, it is impossible.
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