Well, there you have it. Thanksgiving and Christmas have come and gone, and all we are left with is the New Year celebration.

Everybody says it is time to make those changes and to commit to New Year resolutions.

Every year we go through the same thing. Time to quit smoking, lose weight, quit drinking, get up earlier, find a better job, improve relationships, get a relationship, take a vacation, be nicer to others.

We always have the best intentions when making resolutions. Following up and making them into a reality is another thing.

We must remember that of the total brainpower available to us, we only ever use 5 percent. Of the 5 percent, 90 percent is our subconscious, 10 percent our conscious mind.

It becomes clear that to affect change, it must take place within the subconscious first.

There is no better way to accomplish that than through hypnotherapy.

Who Wants to Adjust?

Hypnotherapy helps us to focus on the changes we want, to place the image of what we want so strongly within the subconscious that the change occurs in spite of the conscious resistance that always is there. The resistance is called homeostasis, the innate desire for the body and the mind to remain the same.

It becomes clear that making a change may be too difficult for us to handle. Often we are more comfortable with old habits. It is easier to stay with them rather than face the discomfort of the challenge of change.

But it is possible to make those changes, and hypnotherapy can make them easier.

Changing the subconscious is like updating a computer software program. The hard drive holds the information and gives it when the user presses the right computer keys to give them the information or the program they want.

Like the software program, to affect a change, you simply update the program with newer software, so that when the user presses the appropriate keys the updated software responds as requested.

So it is with the subconscious. Our behaviors are learned and set by the time we are 12 years old.

For the rest of our lives, we respond in the way we did when we were 12. Only the challenges are more serious and complex than when we were kids.

Our conscious minds want to accomplish something. The subconscious gives you what you have asked for in the past, and it knows what you want based on previous behaviors and habit patterns.

Learning to Unlock

Remember, the subconscious does not determine if the stored information is good or bad, right or wrong. Like the computer hard drive, it holds the information and gives it when asked by the conscious mind. The key is to replace the old information with a newer image, more relevant to your situation.

If you want to quit smoking, you would want to see yourself in situations where you have smoked, but without a cigarette.

If you want to lose weight, you would want to see yourself going to a store and buying clothes that are appropriate for your new weight. You would see yourself standing on the scales reflecting the weight you want to be. You would see yourself as more active, eating healthier foods, responding to your increase in energy level and exercising more.

If you wanted to resolve panic and anxiety, you would want to see yourself responding to previously stressful situations with a relaxed attitude.

If you wanted more business success, you would create small goals that are successful to lead you to the larger goal for your success.

To ensure success, you must visualize yourself in those situations in minute detail. That way, the subconscious mind accepts them as real. This absolutely assists.

Since practice makes perfect, practice can be real by actually doing it. Or, you can visualize the actions in hypnosis and be even more successful.

Take, for example, two high school basketball teams who were asked to improve their ability to make 3-point shots. One team practiced every day for 30 minutes. The other team visualized the 3-point shot in hypnosis. The team that practiced scored 23 percent of the time and the team that used hypnosis scored 21 percent of the time.

The hidden potential within us all is not hidden for a reason, but because we do not realize how easy it is to access.

Once we learn, the success, happiness and prosperity we want increases dramatically.

Two weeks ago I had a major surgery, to repair a double hernia. Everyone told me how painful it would be. They said I would be in bed at least a week with at least 4 more weeks of recovery.

I thought about what they said and chose to completely ignore them. I had a strong mental picture of the success of the surgery as well as my ability to heal and to be walking within 24 hours.

Cautioned by the post-op nurse to take it easy for the first day, I did. Then without a second thought, I started to walk around. I continued with the things I needed to accomplish without allowing the obvious pain to prevent me from doing what I wanted to do. I did not attempt to lift heavy weights or run a mile or ride my Harley or to do things that would naturally create problems in my recovery.

By visualizing what I wanted to do and could do, my recovery has been fast and without setbacks. Just as I had visualized. The surgeon is impressed at the speed of my recovery.

With the New Year upon us, give yourself a mental and physical attitude adjustment. Stop putting the successes for your New yYar resolutions on hold. Visualize the changes you want, and make them.

Remember, you have been 100 percent successful in everything that you have put your mind to. Now is the time to create the greater success, happiness and prosperity that you want . and that can be yours.

Happy New Year everyone.

A clinical hypnotherapist, handwriting analyst and certified master hypnotist, Nicholas Pollak may be contacted at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net