2. Visualization: second key to mental programming for success. Through relaxation you enter a state of creativity, essential for your success. You can induce new thoughts and new beliefs to your subconscious. And now you hold image of what you really want and act as if you already possess it. Remember, imagination rules your lives, frightens you, excites you or undermines you. Pictures make you worry or happy. Clear pictures, and rich details, of what you really want is one of critical factors for your success.

3. Affirmations: third key to mental programming for success. You can induce new thoughts and new beliefs to your subconscious by affirmations or suggestions. One of power principles of subconscious mind is compliance principle meaning that part of mind complies to where you direct him to go. In book, one minute millionaire" from Robert Allen and Mark Victor Hanson, one of affirmations they encourage us to say is "I walk like a millionaire, I act like a millionaire, I'm a millionaire". When you add feelings, it doubles or even triple result. Really believe what you're inducing.

You can program yourself for success. It is all about using same tools and techniques that high achievers used. Relax, visualize and affirm what you really want out of life. You can win and you deserve to win. It is reserved only for those who really want to go for it. Are you ready to take your personal and professional life to a whole new level?

Step two involves making sure that you achieve small incremental victories. Little by little. From one small victory to next 'little bit' bigger victory. It might be necessary at this stage to achieve as many 'baby victories' as possible. Until you feel more 'confident' to handle bigger situations. In NLP they call it 'small chunking'. Break down your challenge into smaller, manageable components. Achieve success in each little components. Haven't you heard how you eat an elephant?

Self-talk

What do you say to yourself and about yourself when you are under pressure? Think about a particular incident? Was what you were saying then helpful, resourceful or was it discouraging?

Watch your words, because they might have a tendency of sabotaging your efforts at building self-confidence.

Your words communicate one of two things. They either communicate images of failure and helplessness or they communicate images of success and resourcefulness. If you communicate helplessness to yourself, especially when you are under pressure, you are not doing yourself any favor. Which would you prefer while you are building your self-confidence: a rhetoric of past failures or a message of hope and resourcefulness?

You can change tape you want to hear. You can change what you tell yourself by:

a. monitoring your self-talk b. using positive, concrete language and c. maintaining perspective.

Ok, title of this discussion is 'Forget Positive Thinking'. I bet you my last penny, positive thinking does not work. Especially if you are under severe pressure.

For me what has worked is practicality of building my self-confidence, monitoring my self-talk, and maintaining perspective.