When was the last time you received an injection (or a ‘jag’ as we call it in Scotland)? Maybe before a holiday, or because of an illness? You might be one of those people that have syringes as part of your daily life and routine or maybe you’ve not had one in ages. What I’m actually wondering, as you read this, is if you would say, when faced with the prospect of an injection, that you are scared of needles!

The reason being, in my experience people are very rarely scared of needles. In reality, they are scared about what the needle might do to them! It’s true isn’t it? People who say they are scared of needles are, generally speaking, absolutely fine when the needle is sitting on a table and nothing to do with them or if they see a nice, innocent sewing needle. It’s when the needle is pointing at their arm, leg or other fleshy area that the fear kicks in.

IMAGINATION

Our minds are superb at imagination and we have the incredible ability to imagine in all our senses. We can imagine how good something might taste, we can imagine how something might smell, we can imagine how something might look or sound and, most importantly, we can imagine how something might feel. But, there is one really important word in all of those phrases…might!

The reality is we can never know for certain what something will look, sound, taste, smell or feel like. It is near impossible to imagine something and not be at least slightly off. In fact, in almost all cases when we imagine something we are wrong, to some degree at least.

So when we are there, our arm exposed and the needle approaching, we begin to imagine how this super fine, ridiculously sharp needle might feel when it penetrates our skin. Our minds begin to turn the tiny needle into something resembling the size and width of a sharpened drinking straw, we imagine the searing pain as this HUGE needle rips open our skin and this, as you would expect, this causes our bodies to react in preparation for this torture. Our muscles tense, our breathing goes haywire and, before we know it, we’re in a terrible state telling people how we are scared of needles…when actually we’re scared of our own imaginations.

I NEED A…

This is true for our whole lives. We imagine how painful things might be when, in reality, we can handle them easily. For instance, we tell ourselves that we need to have a partner/cigarette/drink/holiday (delete as applicable to you!), when in reality we have lived, are living or could live a perfectly good life without it. It is the thought that is causing the pain, not the reality of the situation.

For many people the only thing that stops them getting all the success they want, the partner they want, the job they want, the life they want is their own imagination. Our own minds are the force that holds us back, nothing else.

SOMETHING TO DO

So here’s a wee exercise that I do on many of my courses to start the ball rolling on taking back some power over your own imagination:

1. Think of something you have really wanted for a long time and haven’t got yet

2. Write down anything bad, negative or painful that you imagine might happen if you went and got this now (take about 3 minutes, write quickly!)

3. Check the time

4. Imagining that you have this thing you want in your life right now, write down anything good, positive or pleasurable that you imagine having it might bring you

5. Looking at the 2 lists, ask yourself. Which is more important to me and which would bring me more of what i want? Avoiding the painful things or going for the pleasurable things?

6. Realise that you are not scared or anxious about the actual thing itself but only about the thoughts you have about it and go take some action!

It is often the case that we imagine more pain with going and getting the things we want than is actually there in reality. When we focus on the end game, imagining the great things that will occur then we can create some incredible things.

Now, go take your medicine and I’ll see you back here next time!!