If you’re always apologizing and saying “sorry”, even if it’s not your fault, then it’s time to stop apologizing. But how can you do it?

It’s probably a habit. You maybe even start your sentences with an apology and everyone knows that you’re probably going to say it’s your fault.

So just how can you stop apologizing?

Think before you speak

Which is easier said than done.

The trick is to think about what you’re going to say in general. There isn’t time to pause between every word so it’s the general direction your conversation goes in that’s important.

Make a mental note of the apologetic phrases you use most often. Chances are there’ll be a handful of these that you use most often. Then use the next option to change that.

Replace your excuses

Once you’ve got your list of common excuse phrases, take some time out to work on some replacement wordings. So if you’re always starting your sentences with “I’m sorry…” take a bit of time to choose a different filler phrase. Then whenever you catch yourself in time, replace “I’m sorry” with your new phrase.

Don’t beat yourself up

You’re probably on autopilot with your mouth opening before your brain has a chance to kick in. Which means that there will be times when your apology slips out before you even notice. This will happen so don’t start mentally beating yourself up when it does. Just accept that it’s happened – you can’t press the rewind button in real life – and let the angriness at yourself melt away.

Get more positive

To a large extent, apologizing is an outward sign of being a negative person. Maybe not totally negative – there’s a good chance you don’t go around moaning all the time – but there’s certainly a good chance you’ve got a negative outlook lurking somewhere. Work on turning that outlook round – there are lots of self help books on Amazon and other places that you can get hold of them inexpensively or there are courses online that will help you turn a negative attitude around.

Once you begin to crack the idea of having a more positive outlook, you’ll find yourself naturally starting to apologize less. Once that starts to happen, you will find that it turns into a virtuous circle where you apologize less and that automatically helps you reduce your apologies even further.

Use hypnosis

You can get hold of an inexpensive hypnosis track to help change your mind around and start you on the road to stopping apologizing all the time. This works on your mind from the inside out and is an excellent way of reinforcing the other techniques we’ve discussed.

Download a hypnosis MP3 on how to stop apologizing here.

Lots of cultures take a nap at lunchtime. Sometimes it’s because of the heat of the midday sun, sometimes it’s just cultural. But there’s a lot to be said for incorporating a lunchtime nap into your daily routine.

If you’ve ever come back from eating lunch and felt tired then you’ve experienced something that’s really common in the western world. This state of semi-exhaustion is brought on by lots of things. Dieters will probably tell you that it’s too many carbohydrates taking their toll on your system. And if you’ve had a liquid lunch then the alcohol will almost certainly be causing your drowsiness…

But regardless of the reason for your tiredness, it’s nothing that a short rest won’t take care of.

You could try curling up in the corner of the office but chances are that you’d be disturbed by other people. So it’s better to find somewhere that you won’t be interrupted.

Of course, you don’t want your short power nap to turn into a full-on afternoon sleep either. So you’ll need to set some kind of alarm to bring you back into the land of the living once your body has had a chance to recuperate.

If you’re pushed for time then take a look at power naps. These are ten to twenty minutes of concentrated relaxation (if that’s not a contradiction in terms) and have been used over the centuries by powerful people the world over. They’re used by business men and women nowadays to give themselves an edge. You may need to practice to get the most benefit from a power nap or you may decide to use a power nap hypnosis track to take the worry out of whether you are doing it right or not.

Whether you decide to power nap or just take a leisurely lunchtime relaxation session is up to you. Both have similar benefits and will allow you to approach your afternoon with new vim and vigor.

Another important thing to remember is that we are creatures of habit. There’s no point in taking a short sleep one day and then forgetting all about this option for a week or whatever. It’s much better for you to get into a routine along the lines of taking a relaxation break every day (or every weekday) at around the same time. This will help your body to get used to the idea of taking a break and will reinforce the benefits.

One other thought is to use a hypnosis lunchtime relaxation track. This will have the benefit that it lasts for a set amount of time, stopping you from overstaying your brief sleep, and it will also be pre-programmed to bring you out of your sleep feeling bright and ready to face the rest of the day.

You can download a hypnosis MP3 for lunchtime relaxation here.

There are times when even the biggest egos in the world suffer from an inferiority complex. It’s one of those things that humans seem pre-programmed to do. Much like the grass always being greener elsewhere, we often see ourselves in the worst possible light. Everyone else around us is better and that sows the seeds of our inferiority complex.

So, what can you do to get rid of an inferiority complex?

Start by working out whether it’s you that’s putting yourself down or whether it’s the people you’re mixing with.

Chances are that most of the feeling is coming from you. Other people are generally too worried about what still other people are thinking of them to be in the least bit worried about thinking about you.

Sure, back at school it may have been the case that you were taunted but that happens to almost anyone at school. The trouble is that memory stays with us far longer than the sound of the words.

Next, work out what is the cause of your perceived inferiority. It’s unlikely to be all of you…

It could be that you’re comparing yourself with the high end of whatever the inferiority problem is. So if you’re used to watching adult films, those spam emails saying you’re not up to scratch will likely strike a chord and give you a complex about either the size of your appendages or your stamina or both.

Or you could spend time comparing your wit against the top comedians on television. Not caring for the fact that the shows you see are rehearsed and often heavily edited.

Whatever the source of your inferiority, analyze it in the cold light of day. Chances are if you actually take the time to do this with your supposed inferiority, you’ll chip away at its edges. Dissect the area into smaller and smaller pieces until you find some that you’re actually superior in.

Another option is to decide “so what”. We can’t all run four minute miles or travel to space. Put your focus on areas where you do excel – there will be some if you take the time to think about them, even if your initial reaction is that you’re the worst at absolutely everything on the planet.

If none of those options work, take a look at using hypnosis to sort out your inferiority complex. The success rate is high because it delves into the recesses of your mind where this kind of problem loves to hide. But once our fears are confronted they tend to run away. And hypnosis can help encourage them to dissolve – give it a go!

You can download a hypnosis track to get rid of inferiority complex here.

At first glance, self discipline seems to be one of those things in life that you either have or have not got. Some people are just mega organized and appear to fit twice as much into their day as us mere mortals manage.

But it is possible to develop a better sense of self discipline if you know what to do:

Avoid distractions

You probably know what distracts you most often. Whether it’s checking your email relentlessly, browsing the web rather than researching or watching “just a bit more” television. We all have distractions that we allow to creep into our life. Don’t go cold turkey and cut them out altogether but do restrict yourself to certain times and an overall weekly allowance. Sure, you might go over the allowance occasionally but you’ll still spend less time on the distraction than you did before. You can tighten your allowance over time if you need to.

Schedule your time

You’ve probably got a diary of some sort – maybe a “real” one, more likely an electronic one. Use it more often. Start to schedule your time and make appointments with yourself. And, of course, keep those appointments! There’s no point in blocking off an hour for an important project and then goofing off for most of it. Again, you’ll probably mess up in the initial stages but rather than use that as an excuse that “it’s not working”, instead vow to improve next time. And the time after that!

Avoid the timewasters

You’ll know who these are. The people who distract you from your purpose. They may ask dumb questions, they may keep you longer at the water cooler with conversations about last night’s television, whatever the reason they waste your time, cut down on them. Obviously you’ll need to do this tactically – you probably can’t just tell them to go away and stop bugging you. But you can be polite and cut the conversation short. Any excuse will work – use the word “because” before it and they’ll almost certainly accept that it’s a legitimate reason. Go on – try it!

Set milestones and reward yourself

Most people work better with deadlines and goals. If your projects haven’t already got these built in – or if the end is too far away – set yourself a target. When you reach that target, give yourself a reward. It doesn’t have to be a big reward (although it could be if the goal was big enough) but it definitely has to be a reward of some sort. You’ll know what incentivizes you so feel free to choose something that fits that.

Use hypnosis

Self discipline is a state of mind and hypnosis is a good way of training your mind to do more of what you’d like it to do. There are affordable self discipline hypnosis MP3′s that will put you on course sooner than you’d imagine.

We’ve all done it occasionally – turned into a nervous wreck when someone else is driving the car. Sometimes it’s justified (after all, not everyone is a world class driver). But when your first reaction is to constantly hit that imaginary brake, you know you’re a fully fledged nervous passenger.

So, what can you do to calm your nerves?

Start with a reality check. If the person who’s about to drive you is a reckless driver or is not in a fit state to drive a car then you’ve got every reason to be worried. And you probably should turn down the offer of that ride.

But when their safety record is good (or at least, no worse than yours), then you need to find a way to calm down.

Start with your breathing. Chances are that when your nerves start jittering, your breathing gets shallower. Focus on taking deeper breaths and holding them for slightly longer than usual. Exhale slowly as well. This exercise alone is a good way of calming your nerves and stopping you worrying about every small variation in speed or course.

Sometimes being a nervous passenger stems from your need to be a control freak. Not being in charge could be the trigger that turns you into someone who wants to outguess their driver at every move.

This isn’t as easy to deal with – you need to work on changing your mindset. Which you’d likely have already done if it was easy. A shrink is expensive and probably overkill in this situation. So a lot of people turn to the idea of hypnosis to help them adjust to being a more regular car passenger in the future, rather than one who wears out the carpet in the passenger footwell, pumping on that invisible brake pedal.

Hypnosis is a good way of dealing with this kind of fear as it can tackle the parts of your mind that are tucked away from everyday use. The rules you live your life by as well as all the small details that allow you to live a normal life without having to think how to breathe, how to beat your heart, that kind of thing.

Your nervousness as a passenger is almost certainly deep rooted and hypnosis can help by digging around the recesses of your mind and changing your overall approach to the issue. It may take a few days or weeks but gradually you’ll notice that you’re less worried when you sit in that passenger seat.

You can download a hypnosis MP3 to help stop being a nervous passenger here.

Fears come in all shapes and sizes. And the things we’re afraid of vary in size as well. The fear of germs is one the more awkward fears to have. After all, germs are pretty much everywhere.

Taken to its extreme, the fear of germs can take over your life – it was one of the things that turned the late Howard Hughes into a recluse. If you’ve seen the movie The Aviator, you’ll have seen him almost constantly washing his hands to keep them free from dirt and germs.

So, if you’re unfortunate enough to suffer from a fear of germs, what can you do to overcome your fear?

Well, believe it or no, the fact that you’ve recognized your phobia of germs is a good start.

It’s much easier to treat something you’re aware of than something you’re in denial about.

Rationalizing your fear probably won’t work. After all, most humans survive very well despite being surrounded the germs we can’t see. If you could accept this idea, you wouldn’t be reading this.

Instead, you need to work on your fear from the inside out.

Our subconsious mind carries out most things in our life, including fears. Your worry is designed to protect you but once it reaches the stage of a full blown phobia, the protection is overkill.

Hypnosis is an excellent way of changing how your mind deals with these things. It can work on the parts of your mind that you aren’t able to consciously reach.

There’s a good chance your fear is deep rooted. Maybe as a result of knowing someone who became ill as a result of a virulent germ attacking them. Your body then puts up a defense mechanism as it thinks this is the best way to protect you from a similar problem.

With regular use, hypnosis will help to change this reaction. You’ll begin to notice that you aren’t forever worrying about every speck of dust or potential place that germs could linger.

If you regularly listen to a hypnosis MP3 designed to get over your fear of germs, you’ll find that your outlook changesfor the better.

Sure, you’ll still clean things. But that’s just a sensible thing to do anyway. But you won’t have to clean and scrub them for minutes or more every time you encounter something that is possibly unclean.

You’ll find yourself starting to take a more commonsense approach and before you know it, you’ll be living a more regular life, free from your phobia of germs.

You can download a hypnosis track to remove your fear of germs here.

You know the feeling: confrontation is looming up on the horizon and your stomach starts twisting itself into ever tighter knots. But the conflict isn’t going to stop just because you don’t want a head on collision with it. It’s coming to get you whether you’re ready or not.

So, is there a way that you can use to deal with confrontation and come out the end of the argument with some semblance of humanity still intact?

Maybe…

You need to start by realizing that the normal rules of engagement won’t apply.

Voices will get raised, tempers may flare.

Start by accepting that these nasty things can – and probably will – happen.

Some people actually enjoy these conflicts and will go out of their way to provoke people. Others just seem to have a knack for rubbing people up the wrong way and setting off an argument.

Whatever the cause, you need to escape the clutches of the pending conflict and come out the other side without being turned into a quivering, shaking, wreck.

A tall order I know.

Sometimes, even though it seems to go against your nature, it pays to meet shouting with shouting. This trick of matching the volume of the person who’s confronting with you can allow you to take control of the situation. You can then lead the volume and aggressiveness downwards. A calm voice often just winds up the other party.

Other times, it may pay you to admit that you were wrong. Even if you weren’t. It can be that the person confronting you is only out to “win”. Providing your apology doesn’t appear false or condescending, and providing you don’t capitulate immediately (which could be seen as a sign of weakness by the other party), then this may well work. The fact that you probably weren’t at fault doesn’t matter to the other person – they’ve won the argument as far as they’re concerned.

Of course, if you do this too often then you could be seen as a pushover which in turn could lead to the other person walking over you more often. You’re the only person who can judge whether or not that’s likely to happen.

Another possibility is to defuse the situation before it comes to a head. If you can spot patterns which lead to confrontation then this can be a good path to follow. Chances are that you know the other person’s weaknesses (yes, they will have some!) and can use those to change how the situation develops. Following this path can often lead to smaller and less frequent eruptions.

If all this is too much, another option is using hypnosis to deal with confrontation. A specially written will help you to re-train your mind so that you are better able to cope with these high tension situations.

You can get hold of a hypnosis MP3 to help deal with confrontation here.

It’s happened. You’ve sent off your resume and the firm has invited you for a job interview.

You’re happy. But your stomach is churning. You’ve got a bad case of interview nerves…

This happens to all of us. Actors call it stage fright but most seem to have an uncanny knack of overcoming it.

But for a job interview, nerves can affect your performance and since you only have a handful of minutes to impress your potential new bosses, it’s important to be as on the ball as possible.

Remember to breathe

Sounds simple. But you’d be surprised how many people mess this up when they’re faced with an important interview. Take slow, deliberate breaths. Not heavy breathing – that would be weird and would make you seem like a madman – but long enough for you to be able to get oxygen into your lungs.

Stay calm

Your nerves will almost certainly try to supress this action. You may well need to practice to achieve this. Use a friend, a family member or even a recording to help you to practice to stay as calm as you possibly can during the interview process.

Be yourself

Unless your interview is for a movie or stage show, in which case it’s possible you’ll be asked to act, you should be as close as possible to yourself. Act naturally. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. Don’t try to bluff your way through the interview – chances are that you’ll give yourself away and then you won’t get offered the job anyway. If the firm you’re applying to find that they get a completely different personality the first day you turn up for real work, they won’t take kindly to this and your career there is likely to be cut short anyway.

Don’t take pills

There are over the counter medicines that you can take to calm your nerves but they’re not recommended. Most all medicines have side effects and they almost certainly won’t be the kind of effect that you want.

Don’t take alcohol either

The dutch courage that a swift drink gives you will soon wear off. You need a clear head for an interview and knocking back a quick drink to calm your nerves won’t help when the questions start hurtling towards you.

Practice

If all else fails and your nerves really do get the better of you, don’t panic or beat yourself up. Nowadays, there are so many nearly perfect candidates that even if your interview goes perfectly, it doesn’t mean you’ll land the job. So although practice sounds a bit defeatist, it’s also realistic. You’ll get better as you go to more interviews and following these simple rules as best you can will help you to improve your chances of getting the job.

You can also use a hypnosis track specially designed to reduce your interview nerves – download it here.

You know how it is: you want to calm down but your mind is chattering at you, nineteen to the dozen. It happens to all of us sometimes. Fortunately, there are a number of ways that you can quiet your mind:

Shift your thoughts

Some people find this easy, others don’t, so it’s a matter of trial and error. Whenever you encounter your mind starting to babble away at you, simply ask it to shut up in exactly the same way as you’d ask a child to stop whining about something.

Some people find this direct method to be one of the best they’ve used. The shock effect on your mind chatter can work wonders although you do run the risk of answering yourself back. The thing to remember is that whatever is going on inside your head is something that you have created. This can be hard to believe when you can barely get a word in edgeways inside your own mind, but it’s true.

Meditation

This has been used by mankind over the years and is an excellent way for you to quiet down your mind and begin to relax.

There are a number of different ways of meditating and it’s worth experimenting to see which you get on best with. Some people prefer the more traditional methods such as mantra meditations and breathing meditations whilst others (myself included) are lazier and prefer the more modern binaural beats method of meditations. Experiment to see which you get on best with. Or take a local class if you prefer more support.

Hypnosis

Because hypnosis works near enough directly with your mind, this can be a very effective method of quietening the chatter that seems to constantly be going on inside your head.

The advantage of using hypnosis to quiet your mind is that, similar to meditation, the effect tends to linger. You likely won’t instantly go back to full-on mind chatter mode the instant you stop your hypnosis session.

Similar to meditation, you’ll find that the effect is cumulative. The more you listen to a hypnosis for a quiet mind track, the longer your mind will stay on a calmer level.

There are other ways that you can quieten your mind, but the three ones listed above are the ones that seem to have the most success for most people.

None are expensive to try, so it’s worth seeing which particular method best suits your personality.

You can download a hypnosis track to quiet your mind here.

Hypnotizing yourself is both fun and useful. But how can you actually do instant self hypnosis? Does it take years of practice or are there short cuts you can take to make the process as quick and easy as its name suggests?

Here’s how you can get a head start with instant self hypnosis:

Find a quiet place

Whilst it’s possible to hypnotize yourself with background noise happening, it’s easier without it. So find somewhere quiet where you’re unlikely to be disturbed. Let others around you know if they’re in the habit of knocking on your door or otherwise invading your personal space.

Close your eyes

OK, make sure you’re sitting or laying down first. But let your eyes close themselves. Start to breath deeply and let your whole body begin to relax…

Relax, bit by bit

Especially when you’re starting out it’s a good idea to consciously relax your whole body. Work your way up from your toes or down from your head, it doesn’t matter which. In your mind, address each part of your body in turn and ask it to relax, deeper than it’s ever relaxed before. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at just how deep a state of relaxation you can achieve this way.

Start on your hypnotic commands

Hopefully you’ve already decided on a subject to tackle (if not, just enjoy relaxing this time).

Work on one subject at a time – it’s better this way, especially when you’re first starting – and repeat your hypnotic suggestions to yourself.

Make these suggestions positive: “I am thin and healthy” works better rather than “I am no longer overweight” because our minds struggle to process negative thoughts. Memorize a few similar suggestions and go through them a number of times in your head.

With each suggestion, do your best to picture an image in your mind’s eye that fits the suggestion. So if you’re working on losing weight, see yourself slimmer and wearing clothes that show off your new, slender, self. Visualize others congratulating you on achieving your target and maybe even asking for help to do the same themselves.

Repeat thse suggestions several times each. Some people find it easier to go through them in turn, others find that repeating each suggestion a number of times works well – seven is often the number of repetitions chosen. Experiment to see which works best for you.

Then count yourself out of your hypnotic trance and back into the real world.

For more help with instant self hypnosis, check out this instant self hypnosis MP3 download.