Are We Scared to Fail?

Are we scared to fail? Do we stop ourselves from trying something just in case we fail? Do we project failure, seeing ourselves fail at something before we have even tried it?

No matter how hard you work for success, if your thought is saturated with the fear of failure, it will kill your efforts, neutralize your endeavors and make success impossible. Baudjuin

The more I work with different clients the more I see a growing pattern of fear. Society is teaching us from a young age that to fail is wrong. Our school days carry the fear of the big F being put on our papers for all to see, F for FAILURE. But is failure a necessary step for learning to occur? Are we stopping ourselves from achieving things due to the small chance that we may fail? If we never fail at something does it mean that we never learnt anything from it?

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. Henry Ford

Some of the biggest discoveries were born from mistakes/failure. One of the most famous ones in medicine is the discovery of penicillin. In 1928, bacteriologist Alexander Fleming made a chance discovery from a discarded, contaminated Petri dish. The mould that had contaminated the experiment turned out to contain a powerful antibiotic, penicillin.

Even a mistake may turn out to be the one thing necessary to a worthwhile achievement. Henry Ford

One of the biggest lessons we can learn in life is it is ok to fail at something, to let go of the fear of failure. You may not learn the lesson the first time or even the second and third time, but each time we fail at something we learn something. We learn a different way to succeed, maybe even discover a new path altogether. Everything we learn we can use later in life for the next task we tackle.

No-one starts off by being the best at something, all the greats did it through hard work and being brave enough to try something and fail. Even ourselves; we came into this world being able to do nothing for ourselves. Slowly we learnt how to walk and talk and eventually we became fully independent people. If we had the same fear of trying new things as a baby that we do as adults we would still be in nappies.

So many of the great names today could have given up at the many hurdles they faced but instead they kept trying and failing until the found the right way.

Winston Churchill failed sixth grade. He was subsequently defeated in every election for public office until he became Prime Minister at the age of 62. He later wrote, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never, Never, Never,Never give up."

Sigmund Freud was booed from the podium when he first presented his ideas to the scientific community of Europe. He returned to his office and kept on writing.

Albert Einstein did not speak until he was four years old and did not read until he was 7. His parents thought he was"sub-normal," and one of his teachers described him as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams." He was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School.
Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he succeeded.

Michael Jordan and Bob Cousy were each cut from their high school basketball teams. Jordan once observed,"I've failed over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed."

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. In fact, the proposed park was rejected by the city of Anaheim on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.

The Beatles. Decca Records turned down a recording contract with the Beatles with the unprophetic evaluation, "We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on their way out." After Decca rejected the Beatles, Columbia records followed suit.

Elvis Presley. In 1954, Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, fired Elvis Presley after one performance. He told Presley, "You ain't goin' nowhere, son. You ought to go back todrivin' a truck."

One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do. Henry Ford

Let go of the fear of failure and trust in your abilities. Calculate the risk sand make wise decisions, but take the plunge. Whilst we may end up on adifferent road than we expected, if we never try then we will never succeed. Yes we may need to “fail” once or twice to discover the right path but far better to try, and fail, than spend your whole life wondering "what if."

To find out how hypnotherapy, CBT& NLP can help you to let go of your fears and achieve your goals please give Erika a call for a no obligation chat.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Therapy Rooms on Wednesdays all day, please contact Erika for more information. 

© EKTherapies

Happy Boxing Day!

This is my 49th blog of the year ( click here to see them all ). I started on the 13th January 2011 and have managed to write a post a week, publishing every Monday at 9am. Writing the blog has made me look more deeply into the wonderful world of hypnosis, looking at how it is portrayed in the news, how people’s  perception of it is changing, celebrities that have used hypnosis, different areas where hypnosis can be used, and approaching people with new ideas.

On a personal level it has also made me realise that I can write. Having dyslexia, I never felt that writing was my strong point, but I let go of the fear of failure and started to write.
I feel extremely lucky to do my job. I love the challenges I come across and find myself humbled by the people I meet and the strength they manage to find as they work with me to help themselves. I have worked with wonderful people this year, helping them to see that they can change the way they think and approach a situation to turn their life around. Many times I have walked out of the clinic with the biggest smile on my face, feeling very lucky to have been able to help someone help themselves. 

I am looking forward to the clients I will work with in 2012 and to continuing on this wonderful journey.

Thank you! Enjoy the rest of the Christmas break and have a brilliant new year. Make 2012 the year that you start working with the most powerful tool you will ever be given, the power of your mind.

“Erika has helped me more than you can imagine possible. I came to her in the middle of a nervous breakdown suffering from deep grief and traumatised by my loss. She helped me work through all the pain, the complex issues, build on all the positives in my life with a calm gentle manner that has within months enabled me to look forward to Christmas with a smile on my face and genuine happiness. But more than this she has left me not needing her anymore!! – That’s what I call a good therapist!” M, London


"Erika has helped me to regain my positive outlook on life! I've gone from being stressed and confused a month ago to now feeling more focused and confident. With Erika's help I've become decisive enough to make some big changes that have set up an exciting future for me. The results of our sessions have been better than I could've expected!" A, London


“I haven't touched a cigarette!! Today is my 16th day as a non-smoker - I'm so proud of myself but don't want to get complacent. The first few days were really tough, but since then it has got easier and I think about it less and less. I've even been out with people at work or pub and have just stood with them whilst they smoked and it’s actually been fine. I'm starting to feel better in myself, have a bit more energy and plan to start jogging next week. So thank you very much! I'm still taking it one day at a time but those days are getting easier.” L, London


"I just wanted to say thank you for all your help and excellent advice. I’m certainly feeling a lot better generally and couldn’thave done it without you. Thank you!" G, London


By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Therapy Rooms on Wednesdays all day, please contact Erika for more information. 

Stress: Can We Look at it in a Different Way?

The more I work with clients the more I realise that so much of how we feel is down to our perspective. We can be sat in a room and nothing can change and yet we can make ourselves feel stressed as we allow our minds to worry about all the things we have to do. With Christmas round the corner a lot of people feel under an extreme amount of pressure and stress, but if we change the way we view things could we feel less stressed? Christmas is meant to be a time to spend with loved ones and have a few well-earned days off.

I came across this description of how to deal with stress and I thought it was worth sharing.

"A young lady confidently walked around the room, explaining stress management to an audience. She raised a glass of water, and everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, 'half empty or half full?'. ...She fooled them all... "How heavy is this glass of water?" she enquired with a smile.
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz.to 20 oz.


She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

She continued, "And that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden - holding stress longer and better each time practiced.
"So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night. Pick them up tomorrow.

"Whatever burdens you're carrying now, put them down for a moment. Relax, pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it, and conquer that stress!"

The power of the mind means that we can create stress from either a perceived threat or a real threat. If we never put down that glass of stress and allow our minds to be free to enjoy the moment we are in, we are never giving our body or mind the chance to unwind. The more we put down the glass of stress and allow our minds to unwind, the lighter the glass will become as it starts to empty, releasing the stress from the day.

It sounds so simple and it can be. I have worked with MDs of companies who seem to be carrying the world on their shoulders and no doubt have stressful jobs; even after one session they begin to see there is a different way, they can feel differently, they can feel calm and enjoy the success of their carriers. You can start helping yourself to manage your stress levels today - with a Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP session with Erika, you can learn the tools to manage your stress and bring back the feeling of relaxation and happiness in your life. With 2011 nearly at a close it is time to enjoy the festive period and start to put into practice how you want to being 2012. You don’t have to have a life full of stress and anxiety.

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing over the Christmas period, have a wonderful Christmas.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Therapy Rooms on Wednesdays all day, please contact Erika for more information.

How to Choose the Right Therapist for You

The benefits of hypnosis are becoming more and more recognized, with the NHS using hypnosis as the main treatment for certain conditions and a supporting therapy for many more.


But how do you find the right hypnotherapist for you? With the knowledge of the internet at the click of the button, the amount of information we can access can be overwhelming, and which person to see can become a hard decision to answer. Just because someone has a flash website or is at the top of the search engines doesn’t necessarily mean they are the best therapist for you.

When I am asked by my clients how do I find the right therapist for me? I always say the best option is to have someone recommended to you, but this is not always possible. Even if you have someone recommended it is always very important to talk with the therapist and make sure you can see yourself working with them, that you like their working style and approach.

Any therapist should be happy to have a phone conversation with you. Talk with the therapist and see if you like how they sound. It is important that you feel comfortable with the person, that they fill you with trust in their abilities and also that you trust them to keep your sessions confidential.

Lots of therapists including myself offer a discount for the 1st session. I offer the first session at half price. The reason I do this is so that people can come and meet me, find out more about what hypnosis is and my working style and how we can work together.The first session normally contains a short hypnosis so that you can feel what hypnosis is; you leave the first session with a new excitement, empowered that you can achieve your goal.

To find out more about how I work please give me a call for a non-obligation chat and see how Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP can help you to take the steps to achieving your goals.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Therapy Rooms on Wednesdays all day, please contact Erika for more information.

Hire a room at Waterloo Therapy Rooms

A tranquil therapy room with two windows available to hire just 100 yards from London Waterloo train station.

The room is located on the 1st floor and has 24 hour access, reception, lift, internet connection and a waiting area. There are also kitchen facilities within the building. Half day and full day rates available.

The room is available from January 2012, for more information or to book a room at Waterloo Therapy Rooms please email: info@waterlootherapyrooms.co.uk