In 1998 my dear friend, Maryann and myself became certified hypnotherapists. We took a course over several weekends which made taught us to hypnotize others for smoking cessation, weight loss, etc. I remember a moment on about the second day of class when we were working on weight loss. Maryann and I took our lunch break up the road at Bennigans. We sat down, chatted and when the waiter came for our order we both realized, we were not the slightest bit hungry. It seemed a morning of weight loss suggestions had worked (even though neither of us were trying to lose weight at the time). For a short time we had our own practice and had a wonderful time helping others. Working in health care we were able to even use our newfound talents to help some patients who were on their deathbeds be able to cope with their pain and allow them to be more peaceful in their last days. Sadly our business took a back seat to life's other plans for each of us.
In August of 2010, at the suggestion of my husband, I decided to pursue a career in hypnotherapy again. I decided to go a slightly different route this time and found the first nationally accredited college for hypnosis in the country and enrolled in their distance learning course. After successful completion of the Foundations course I decided I was hooked again and wanted to pursue my certification as a hypnotherapist. There were two ways I could do this. One way was to enroll in another 3 weekend course or I could complete my training with H.M.I. (Hypnosis Motivation Institute). The second option was going to require up to 18 months of my time. While the thought of the time commitment was a bit daunting, I knew it was my only choice. If I needed to see a professional for help, clearly I would choose the one with the most training and that is the person I needed to be.
Six months later and I am 75% of the way done. I plan to be finished by March which will put me a full year ahead of schedule. I realized today that if I never made one penny as a hypnotherapist, I more than got my money's worth. Everyday that I'm not working "for the man", I am studying. Today I got up an hour early because I couldn't wait to finish the lesson I started yesterday.
The information that I learn, I already use every day. I use it to help me deal with people and to figure out the reasons' for their behaviors. I have used it to improve my relationship (which was already pretty damn good) with my husband. Most importantly, I realize how important my job is as a parent right now. So much of our behavior later in life is shaped when we are the ages of my children. I hope I can avoid making mistakes now so they don't have to pay the price later.
I'm excited now to finish my course and to begin building a successful practice. Hypnosis is wonderful because there are literally over 100 practical applications for it. The thought of being able to help others in such a positive way is truly gratifying.
