Do You Know How To Stop?

Do you know how to stop something? I do. You just stop.

What? You say you can't? You say you've tried? You say you've tried and tried, and you just can't? I'll bet you have before.

I'll bet you've been in the middle of reaching for something, doing something, or having something, and you've stopped, stopped right in your tracks. For instance:

Have you ever froze in the act of doing something? You hear your mom or dad's voice saying your name in that special way that they have, and you actually FREEZE? I do. JANIS ANN! Several years later and I still go YIKES!

Or how about this? You are ready for bed, you've brushed your teeth, and you go to reach for some pop corn. Suddenly, you remembered that you'd brushed your teeth, and you don't want to brush them again. A little voice says *Stop!* or *Don't eat that! You just brushed your TEETH!* and you yank your hand back immediately! Right?

Have you ever wanted to buy something, but you knew if you did, you wouldn't have enough money to do something? Something like fix your car, remodel the family room, go on a vacation, or whatever it is that you have planned? Of course you're not going to dip into the funds for anything that doesn't help with your goal, especially if you're serious enough about it.

How about another time when you've saved up to buy something. You've been looking forward to getting it forever, the time has finally arrived and you take your best friend with you to purchase the item. Your best friend doesn't like it. He or she points out everything that's wrong with it. Of course, you're going to think twice about buying it now, and you may NOT even buy it now, even though you've looked forward to it *forever.*

You stopped, didn't you? Each of those times, or times very similar to them. So, let's see what we can do with our mind to simulate or replay those instances to our advantage, so we can STOP again, whenever we want.

Let's say we always snack, but we want to quite snacking. How serious can we be? Can we make it a point to brush our teeth right after each meal, and act like it would be the most horrible thing in the world if we dirtied our teeth before the next meal? If you want to try a different way of thinking about something, try imagining what you are about to eat as little bitty pieces of dirt and disease that is going to walk around your clean teeth and embed itself in all the little crevices. Yuck. And then you'll have to go to the dentist and have all those cavities filled. Who would want to do that?

Let's say we always *lash* out at people and we know we shouldn't but we can't seem to STOP. How serious can we be about this? Can we easily and automatically hear our parent's voice? There they go. They've said *our name* again.

Let's say we always buy too much, or too often. How serious can we be about this? Can we easily and automatically hear our best friend say he or she just doesn't like what we are buying, that it's crass, that it clashes with everything, that it's so un-you, so we put it back? We STOP.

Everyone is different, so if these situations don't make you stop, find what will. That's how we change. We find that something doesn't work for us, and then we find out what does. We CHOOSE the one that does.

Can you STOP? Can you stop NOW? Great!

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Learn unique strategies and techniques for personal success from Jan Tincher online at http://www.TameYourBrain.com While you are there, sign up for her free e-zine *Tame Your Brain!*

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