Submodalities are the qualities of our thoughts. We have established in the eye-accessing cues section that we generally think using one of three representational systems; images, sounds and feelings. If you are a visual thinker then you will create a mental image whenever you think of something. This image will have certain characteristics and qualities, such as color, brightness, location in space and whether the image is a still or moving. For an auditory thinker submodalities include volume and pitch, and for the kinesthetic thinker, weight or density.
Submodalities change the way we think about something in remarkable ways. By learning how to use this efficiently you are able to program your mind for success.
Lets assume for a moment that you are a visual thinker. Whenever you think of a scenario you create an internal mental image. The submodalities of the image change depending on what it is you are thinking about. If you think of something that scares you, the submodalities are very different than those when you think of something that make you happy.
By using the submodalities of a positive or successful scenario on a future event you are programming your mind to achieve success in that future event. To do this you first need to elicit the submodalities that you use for success.
Think of a time when you were successful. Imagine it as clearly as you are able. Then ask yourself the following questions;
Am I associated in the memory or disassociated?
Is the mental image still or moving?
Are their any colors present? If so what kinds of colors are they? Are they
bright and clear or dull?
How bright is the overall image?
Where, in my minds eye, is the image situated?
How big is the image?
Are there any sounds present, and if so what are they?
What qualities do any sounds have? (Volume, tone, pitch etc.)
What do I feel in this situation?
Once you have elicited all of the submodalities that you have used whilst remembering a positive situation you have your recipe for future success! Now take your future scenario and mentally visualize it. Notice any differences in the submodalities of your positive memory and your future image. If there are any discrepancies, alter and tweak your future image until the qualities exactly match those of your positive memory. By doing this simple exercise you are programming your mind to succeed!
Because submodalities are able to change the way that we feel about things, they are very useful in dealing with 'problem' foods. We all have foods that we like a little more than we should, especially if we are carrying a few extra pounds! Using submodalities can change the way that you perceive problem foods and as a result you will no longer desire to eat them. Naturally, using similar techniques in reverse will enable you to develop a liking for foods that are healthy and nutritional. With a little effort it is possible to restructure your entire diet, making healthy eating something that you desire and enjoy, rather than something that you simply do because you feel that you have to!
Once you have completed this process once, it is easy to apply it again and again, and you will have a powerful tool that you can use successfully for the rest of your life. Developing the strategies that you require to complete this task will take just a few minutes, but the benefits that you will gain from these simple exercises will stay with you forever. If your diet is in any way not what you feel it should be in order for you to attain the level of health, fitness or weight that you desire then I strongly urge you to complete these exercises. You will save a great deal of time, effort and money.
To begin, you need to identify the way that you currently view certain foods. Think of a food that has no emotional charge for you whatsoever, choose something that tastes bland and is boring to eat. It doesn't matter what you choose, just be sure that it is something that, if removed from your diet, you wouldn't miss. Don't select something that you dislike, as this will have a different pattern, and very probably an emotional charge, just think of the most boring food that comes to mind.
You will need to make some notes here, so grab a notepad and pen and write the heading 'boring food'. Under your heading write three subheadings; visual, auditory and feelings. Here you will list all of the submodalities that you are able to elicit. Take some time doing this, and be sure to explore each of the representational systems thoroughly. Your completed list might look something like the following...
| Boring food submodalities | ||
| Visual | Auditory | Feeling |
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|
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Next complete the same exercise but this time imagine a food that you really dislike. You will notice many changes in your list, this shows how your mind attaches different submodalities to different stimuli. Complete your second list, with the heading 'dislike', in a similar way to the one you have just created for boring food. Once your second list is complete you need to produce a third list, this time choose a food that you do like. This one is usually the easiest! Make sure it is not a food that you feel guilty about eating! So don't select your problem foods here, but it must be something that you really enjoy. Make your mental imagery completely real so that it is mouth-wateringly tempting!
You now have your three basic lists, these are going to be used as recipes to enable you to change how you feel about certain foods. Particularly those that you should be eating less and those that you should be eating more!
To ensure your success we also have a secret weapon... list number four, the 'sick' list! Here you list all things that you would be disgusted to eat. So much so that and if your favourite food was even slightly affected by them the very thought of it would make you feel sick. Your list might include the following, but of course everybody is different...
Now, armed with your four personal lists, it is time to decide which foods you wish to change. Make two lists, one for foods that, although you may like, you really shouldn't eat so much, such as chocolate cake! And a second for any foods that you feel you ought to have more of in your diet, such as fresh organic steamed vegetables.
Now select a food from your 'Like but shouldn't' list and rate it's desirability, on a scale of 1 to 100. Be sure to write whatever number comes to mind down. You will want to have a record of your progress! To demonstrate the power of your submodalities, first of all notice how enhancing each of the qualities that come to mind when you mentally imagine this food, affects how desirable it appears. Some submodalities will have more of an affect than others, so take some time to play with this, as you do you are beginning to really understand how your mind works!
If your mental image is far away bring it closer, if there are colours enhance them, make the image brighter, turn up the sounds, if there are no sounds consider adding some. Many people find the sound of bacon sizzling in a pan irresistible! Once you are happy with your adjustments take another desirability rating. I will bet that your desire for this food has considerably increased! This simple, quick exercise demonstrates just how easy it is to change the way that you feel about something.
By adjusting the desirability rating of different foods your diet will automatically shift to accommodate your new preferences. When you are hungry you will be attracted to foods that have a high desirability rating, the actual food itself is irrelevant, it all comes down to the way we feel about it. This is the reason that we all have different tastes, yet, as you will no doubt have noticed, there are many problem foods that we all share. This is simply because we are already being programmed by others! Advertisers know how changing our submodalities affects the sale of their products, and some foods even include additives that actually make you 'feel good' this sensation is automatically associated with the food and as a result it earns itself a few more desirability points!
Knowing how to increase a foods desirability using submodalities will enable you to include more of those 'should eat' foods in your diet. You can simply take each one of these and adjust your mental imagery until you find it irresistible. Remember to record the desirability rating before you begin so that you can see your progress. Keep making adjustments in each of the representational systems until the rating reaches its peak. The 3rd list that you made earlier will help you to decide which changes to make, and in many cases each food also has it's own qualities that enhance it's rating, for example, you will probably find that increasing the crispness of salad will increase its desirability.
Once you have completed your adjustments you will want to test them. Take a desirability reading, write it down and then break state by doing something completely unrelated for a couple of minutes. Now think about the food and rate its desirability again, you will probably notice that it has dropped slightly but is still higher than it was originally. Go back to your mental image and continue to tweak it until your rating is once again at its peak! Make your image completely irresistible. Break state again for a few minutes and then think about your food and take another reading. Continue this process until your desirability rating remains consistently high every time you imagine the food.
Repeat this process for all of the items on your 'should eat' list. It will take a while but you are programming your mind for a lifetime of change. A little effort today will naturally create the diet that you require for the changes that you desire!
Our next step is to reduce the desirability of the items on your, 'like but shouldn't' list. This is exactly the same process, but you will obviously be aiming to reduce the desirability level rather than increase it. To do this you will need to use your Boring food list first. This will reduce the emotional attachment to foods, making them less appealing and bland. Once complete and tested you are ready to move onto the second stage, here you will be using your 'dislike' list to further reduce the desirability ratings of your problem foods.
Once you have completed these two steps, tested them and made any necessary adjustments, you are ready to move on to your sick list. Take each food in turn and apply your sick list to the imagery until your desirability rating falls into minus numbers. To give you an example you may like to imagine how it would feel as you bite into a soggy wet sponge cake, or maybe notice that the meat that you are chewing is filled with live maggots! Take you time to really elaborate on this for each item on your problem list. Break state to test your ratings and go back, making adjustments to each stage as much as is necessary to keep the rating consistently below zero. You will know when you have succeeded because if someone simply says 'chocolate cake' your immediate reaction will be, 'ewwwww!'