Irrational Optimism

Ever hear of Stephen Curry? You know: the guy who just completed the best individual and team (Golden State Warriors) regular NBA season of all time? It does not matter whether you have heard of Curry or not, there is a HUGE lesson in what he did for every single one of us.

In his article entitled “How Stephen Curry Did the Unthinkable: Irrational Optimism and Incredible Success,” Inc.com contributing editor Jeff Haden notes that in order to be successful, you must first “embrace belief, which means pushing aside all those self-doubts: Feeling you aren’t smart enough, dedicated enough, adaptable enough, or simply that, in spite of your best intentions and efforts, you won’t succeed.” You can read the article in its entirety here.

Despite our best intentions, our subconscious minds thwart our ability to achieve the goals we want. This is not done in order to make us failures, but in fact because our subconscious mind, in its role as our protectors, enacts behaviors, thoughts and physical manifestations it believes we desire and which are in our best interests (in terms of safety, security, ego, etc.)

When you “feel” an emotion related to something you heard, saw, felt or did, real or imagined, it anchors in your subconscious mind and the next time you find yourself in a similar situation, your subconscious mind will reproduce that original feeling and more than likely a “protective behavior.” Here’s an example: A recent client in my office who came to see me on a totally unrelated matter revealed to me that he has a fear of flying. Mind you, this is not why he came to see me. He explained that he is a licensed small plane pilot, so a fear of flying definitely does not comport with that activity! He told me that one day, while flying, he looked down at the ground, looked at his propeller, and came to the realization that if that propeller stopped turning, he would very likely die. He then prayed that he would make it to the ground to land safely, and has never flown since!

He FELT an emotion (fear) when he came to the realization about flying being a potentially dangerous activity, and his subconscious mind enacted his desire to not die while flying, creating a fear of flying which will guarantee he will not participate in that activity again. Changing his feelings about flying would remove that fear, but he would have to want the change to happen first.

The lesson here is that your mind has way more control over your life than you may realize, for good or for bad. In Stephen Curry’s case, his belief, or what Haden called his “irrational optimism,” gave Curry a confidence to achieve what no other basketball player has ever done, statistically speaking.

You too can achieve results you never thought possible previously! First, you have to believe it. That often means we have to “untrain” ourselves from believing the limitations others placed upon us which we took as fact, and replace those thoughts with positive messages and images, just like Curry. Hypnotherapy is a very effective way to reprogram your subconscious mind in order to help you achieve those lofty heights – and many people have done just that.

For more information about how hypnotherapy can help you be more successful or to make an appointment at my Surprise, AZ office, contact me through my website at www.skipnotherapy.com .