How to silence the sneaky snarky Saboteur so you can become the You that you really want to be

Your inner Saboteur plays a leading role on every stage in your life, always looking to distract you, stop you. You don’t get what you want. Ever

You have a problem. Or three. And the worst of them is that you keep killing your self-esteem.

Why does that matter? Easy answer. Because then you don’t get what you want.

• You don’t get that great job that you know you would be so good at, if only they would call for an interview you and hire you.
• You don’t get that relationship you crave; the one that fills your heart with joy and satisfaction.
• You get the bad relationship, the one that you complain about constantly.
• And the empty bank account? Yeah you get that one too.

And you know the yummy food… that donut — that cheesy gooeyness — that mouthwatering sweet confection? Well, you might get lots of those plus you get the fat, too. You know — the fat that’s a thick layer all over your body, bulging around your middle, giving you issues about your body image. Makes you feel bad when you look in the mirror.

They all hit your self-esteem, your self-confidence, your self-assurance. I’m going to use the word self-esteem because — well, what does esteem mean?

According to the dictionary, esteem is respect and admiration, typically for a person.

So you oughta ask yourself, how much do you respect yourself? What is it about yourself that you admire? What do you esteem about you?

Good questions!

Back to my original thought. You kill your self-esteem every day. Remember that your self-esteem is how you think about You.

One of my psychology textbooks had a sidebar titled Gunnysacker. And it really stuck with me because it’s a great visual that makes so much sense.

A gunnysacker is someone who is wounded or hurt in some way, who stuffs their wounded feelings into a gunny sack and carries it around. Forever. Grudges Forever.

Now we’re not talking about a backpack with straps that help you carry it. We’re not talking about a tote bag with straps that help you carry it.

No, this is just a rough woven bag as big as you need it to be and you have to carry it with your hands, with your fingers.

A gunnysacker holds grudges. I know people who think that holding a grudge is something to brag about. Something powerful.

But what does that really get them? For one thing, it gets them bad relationships, or no relationship at all.

I know people like that. They take that one wound and they hold on to it so tightly that it can’t go anywhere. It’s like a huge heavy rock in a gunny sack and they drag it along behind them wherever they go.

They may be trudging uphill (like streets in San Francisco — straight up), but by golly, they’re still carrying that gunny sack, dragging it proudly along behind them, and bragging about it while we’re all thinking that’s nuts.

Now let’s take a detour here. What else could you be gunnysacking?

What if we applied the idea of the Gunnysacker to your personal baggage. Those beliefs you have about yourself that really are not helpful.

In fact they’re so unhelpful,

• They stop you from having a wonderful relationship.
• They stop you from having a great job.
• They stop you from having a fit and toned body.

These beliefs stop you in your tracks.

It’s like you’re standing on the corner when the walk light blinks into walk walk walk. But you stop stop stop!

Everybody goes around you. Some of them may bump into you. Some of them may smile at you. Some of them may say, Hey how about a cup of coffee? I’d like to get to know you.

But there you are standing stiff and unmoving on the corner with a heavy gunnysack slung over your shoulder, weighing you down. Stop stop stop.

By now you’re wondering how you can make the traffic light switch to go go go. And how you can make your feet go go go.

There is a solution. And it’s fairly easy.

You overwrite that sneaky snarky, critical, self-esteem killing message that you keep telling yourself.

What can you do about it?

So now that you’re down in the bottom of the rut, crawling along in the muck, lugging a 100 pound gunnysack. Let’s talk about what you can do about it.

• Write some affirmation statements, tape them to the wall or mirror and repeat them as often as you can
• Avoid people who talk down about you
• Stick to your health plan — exercising, eating right
• Every time you think something bad about yourself, turn it around and think something good.

These are simple solutions, but they’re not easy. You already know that, right?

One reason is because you must be consistent and do it daily for 30 days. Neuroscientists have discovered that it literally takes 30 days to create a new groove in your brain — a new belief, a new habit. If you miss a day, skip it for whatever reason, the groove smooths out and you have to start again.

What you need is someone to help you stick to your plan.

Hypnosis is an excellent answer

The best way I know of to overwrite that self-critical, self-esteem killing, personal message that your sneaky snarky Saboteur keeps telling you is with hypnosis. Because it works.

I believe in it so strongly that I do it for myself.

Hypnosis is the easiest way I know of to become the person you really want to be.

It’s actually fairly easy. We talk. I compose your hypnosis meditation. You listen to it. And to make it even better, you listen to it at bedtime so it’s not taking time out of your busy day.

These new, affirming, intention statements seep into your subconscious, your unconscious mind.

Plus, you get your Soul involved and say,

Hey Soul. I want to make this change. I am committed to making this change. I want to … become…

Your soul laughs delightedly and says, ‘Yeah. Okay. Let’s do this!’

It doesn’t happen overnight, but you already know that because the way you are now didn’t happen overnight.

It happened in increments with each snarky thing somebody said to you, some critical comment that you took as being your truth. Whether it was true or not.

And when you hear the same thing over and over, you begin to believe it. (You know who I’m talking about, right?)

I could go into my relationships and tell you how my self-esteem was shredded.

Like running a paper doll and all her pretty clothes through the paper shredder. But you all know what I’m talking about because you’ve been there too. Maybe it was a husband or wife, a mom or dad, a sibling, a co-worker.

What they have in common is that they said some sneaky snarky untruth that you believed. Or they said something in such a way that you felt so ashamed you internalized it, turned it into a rock and stuffed it in your gunny sack.

My job is to help you pull that gunnysack open, yank out that rock and toss it out into the canyon. Stuff it in the rock grinder and crush it.

Take that whole gunny sack, the one filled with sneaky snarky comments, and dump it over the edge of the cliff. (Doesn’t that make you feel better already?)

And replace your gunny sack with something beautifully true. The cutest tote bag ever! The best backpack with just the right pockets. Kind of like a beautiful hat, one that shades your face and makes you feel pretty. A lovely jacket, one that’s comfortable and makes a statement about how strong you are. How about a gorgeous pair of shoes? Comfortable, too!

Changes may seem scary — but they’re not

Your changes might seem scary but I promise you that once you start your hypnotherapy program you’ll be comfortable. You’ll be able to see where you’re going!

You’ll start out with a goal in mind — a simple goal involving health, relationships, career, money.

And then you’ll get there in increments. Believable increments. It’s not like saying, ‘Oh I’m going to win the lottery and be a millionaire tomorrow.’ Some people do manage that but then their sneaky snarky Saboteur helps them lose that money, fritter it away and end up broke.

With hypnosis you make the changes in increments in a responsible way, one that changes your life.

Now please understand that, yes you can change your life totally — leave everything behind and go live in the city or the country or the beach — someplace you’ve dreamed of. Yeah, you can do that.

Or you can change yourself within the life you already have. You don’t have to leave your family and job behind.

Because what changes is inside of you and how you view yourself. How you hear yourself. How you feel about yourself.

And when you start treating yourself with respect and love, other people also fall in line because you won’t tolerate being disrespected.

Because you’ll stand firmly on the platform of your values — what has value to you, and we’ll talk about your values so you’ll know exactly what they are before we even get started. You’ll be able to describe them in a few words.

I know it works exactly like this because, as I said, I’ve been offering my signature technique in hypnotherapy programs for more than 20 years and I’ve seen it. My signature technique will guide you through your process, increment by increment, in do-able steps.

I have seen women with tears in their eyes so happy and joyful at the changes they’ve made in their outlook, and how they live their lives, and how they think about themselves. So happy about who they’ve become.

It’s all because they rebuild their self-esteem from the inside out.

The best part is that you become the “the good you” that you’ve wanted to be. This new you becomes your reality.

Questions? I love talking about my work, and love answering your questions.

Coming soon! Embracing the Saboteur women’s group.

Lotsa hugs,
Peg McMahan, HHP, CHt, LMT
Silencing the sneaky snarky Saboteur so you can be the You that you really want to be

Photo Credit © Can Stock Photo Inc. / lucidwaters [ File # csp8194301, License # 12513107 ]