13. SELF-MOTIVATION. In the 1970's, 80's, and 90's many different forms of self- motivation techniques emerged. Bandler and Grinder (1979) studied the master therapists in the world and developed a new form of therapy called Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Neuro was related to the nervous system; linguistic described the language people used to communicate; programming was the manner in which the nervous system and language combine to effect the total human being's interactions with the world. Their work emphasized the ability of the individual to reprogram or create new "anchors" to replace those set into place over a lifetime. They maintained their search was for the "ten minute cure." What was new in NLP was the ability to systematically analyze exceptional people and experiences in such a way that they could become widely available to others through the use of NLP. Using the principles of NLP, it is possible to describe any human activity in a detailed way that allows a person to make many deep and lasting changes quickly and easily. The entire focus of NLP is much too complex to explain here. What it did, however, was lay the foundation for an entire generation of new-age therapies. One of the most recent is an approach called The Trigger Technique, a special kind of conditioned reflex, sometimes called, an anchor (a la Bandler and Grinder). By combining triggers with such mental self-help methods as visualization, relaxation, and mental rehearsal, exceptionally powerful mind programming systems are possible. This is what makes the trigger's technique go much further than just any of the above three individually. Mann's (1987) goal was to teach the individual to help him or her self. He quoted an old folk saying to illustrate his mission. Talking to a hungry man about food does not satisfy his hunger, giving him food feeds him only once, but if you teach him to raise his own crops, you feed him for the rest of his life. This is the essence of self-help. Once the individual realizes he can make changes in his life that last, he will be motivated to continue to maintain this new life style. Mann extracted the best of NLP, Gestalt Therapy, Transactional Analysis, psychoanalysis, behavior modification, and sensitivity training to develop his own method of self-help, self- improvement, self-motivation. Mann described how, by using the Trigger Technique (TT), an aspiring executive gained all the action-packed motivation she needed to change her career. After three sessions, a war veteran, suffering from recurrent combat nightmares, was able to sleep peacefully again. After two sessions, a salesman dramatically increased his confidence and soon became a star in his company. In just twenty minutes, a timid woman was able to talk to anyone effectively, from an imposing judge to attractive men she wanted to meet. He recounted how his previous work, using old techniques, sometime produced results, but over a period of months, and often, years. He believed he found the simplest, most successful method for increasing self-motivation in individuals. In order to make triggers available to all his clients, he believed that the technical language and jargon needed to be removed so that the average person could easily understand how to improve his or her own life. He said: Triggers does not just give you an intellectual understanding or insight. Exact methods are given to make the specific changes you want. Scientific jargon is stripped off and replaced with clear, everyday language. I include easy to follow, step-by-step instructions and detailed examples of how others have used these techniques to immeasurably enrich their lives (p. 12). Mann (1987) listed the following techniques as the foundation of his system for self-motivation. 1. Breakthrough Technique #1 - The Trigger - the powerful mental reflex that is the foundation for all mental programming. 2. Breakthrough Technique #2 - The Mental Blueprint - the technique to make mental blueprints of new skills you want to master. 3. Breakthrough Technique #3 - Multichannel Thinking - the mastering of all thinking "channels" and not just one or two that most people get by with. 4. Breakthrough Technique #4 - The Mental Pentagon - the directing of your own personal war against illness, and along with a physician's treatment, to help yourself get well more quickly. 5. Breakthrough Technique #5 - The Inner Power Generator - the breaking of the root of every habit and in particular the inner conflict, not the lack of motivation or willpower. 6. Breakthrough Technique #6 - the ability to hypnotize yourself and program into yourself and into your personality a new set of behaviors, and into your entire nervous system to make the kinds of changes you need to change and achieve success in all aspects of your life (p. 14). Mann (1987) described self-motivation as an inner idea or emotion that prompts the individual to take action. It is a vital ingredient of success. To achieve goals, the individual must work actively toward achieving them. They can't be wished for. They must be produced. Many goals flounder in the attitude, "I'll do it tomorrow." Mann blunted stated that people who are not motivated to do what is needed are "losers." Losers put off what needs to be done. The dream of dreamers can lead to great achievements. However, the world is not divided between dreamers who only dream and doers, but between dreamers who only dream, and dreamers who also do (p. 3). In describing the method Mann used to motivate himself to write, he listed the primary triggering mechanisms necessary to effect motivational change in himself. 1. Decide what outcome you want and then decide you can do this if you decide that it is something you could enjoy this more than anything. 2. Think of something you already enjoy doing. 3. Imagine yourself doing what you want to do and doing it well. Think about it intensely, seeing, hearing, and feeling yourself actively engaged in the activity. 4. At the moment of peak intensity, push down on one part of your body, like your left knee. This creates the trigger, or a one-trial conditioned reflex that can call up these same sensations whenever you press your knee in the same way again. 5. Imagine yourself doing the activity that you really enjoy doing. See, hear, and feel yourself intensely involved in the activity. At the peak moment of feeling, push down on your left knee. This creates the second trigger. 6. The next step is to fire off both triggers at one time. This is called, "double-triggering" and produces both sensations simultaneously. After some momentary confusion, the two opposing feelings merged. 7. Finally, imagine yourself doing the activity you wanted to do in the first place but were having difficulty doing. It is done. 8. The joy of doing what you originally enjoyed doing erases the old reluctance to doing what you have avoided, just like a new song, when recording on a used tape, erases the old song already recorded on it. 9. Negative feelings are replaced by positive ones. These positive ones are called, reservoirs. The new behavior is called the target (p. 5). A trigger is anything that elicits a memory or emotional feeling. There are five kinds of triggers: visual, auditory, sensory, gustatory, and olfactory. A marriage album is an example of a visual trigger. Couples with a special song have an auditory trigger that arouses emotions and evokes all the other senses in that set of memories. To use a sensory trigger, Mann suggested the individual first recall a memory from his reservoir. When the memory is clear enough for to see, hear, feel, touch, or even taste it in his mind, he merely has to apply pressure to himself. Mann suggested using a knee, squeezing a thumb, making a fist, bringing a hand to your forehead, or blinking the eyes. To awaken these memories, or reservoirs, he just needs to touch himself in the same way again, and those memories will come back instantly. Mann labeled this, "firing the trigger" (p. 7). If a person does not have a single memory in his reservoir, Mann suggested he can build one by combining a series of memories. Or he can use fantasies. A memory, Mann contended, is only a fantasy that has been defined as "real." Mann (1987) believed simplicity made the process unique. He attempted to make them as simple as possible so that any person could follow them and achieve a significant change in his or her life. This was in itself a radical change in the way therapy was delivered to those who sought it. Mann outlined the steps necessary to increase self-motivation. They are listed below. Eight Steps to Increase Your Motivation 1. Decide what your target and reservoir will be. 2. Imagine your reservoir vividly (fishing, dancing, reading, making love, or anything you enjoy doing). Create a trigger by pressing your right knee. 3. Imagine your target, and, when it is clear in your mind, create another trigger by pressing your left knee. 4. Using your intention, be sure your reservoir is definitely stronger than your target. 5. If necessary, build your reservoir's trigger until it is stronger. 6. Fire off both triggers at the same time by pressing both knees or whatever you chose as anchors, remembering both your reservoir and your target. 7. Allow a minute or two for these to combine. 8. Imagine yourself in the future, performing your target with your newly acquired eagerness. Adjust this image so it feels real. Imagine the rewards of performing your target successfully (p. 9). In Reframing, Bandler and Grinder (1982) described the same process only using different terms. Instead of triggers, they described the pressing of the body as anchoring new experience in a different part. When the two anchors are "collapsed" at the same time, the two merge, just like Mann described, and the negative and positive forces merge and what is left is a new, more powerful anchor (trigger). Imagining performing the process in the future, is called, future pacing. The processes are the same; only the terminology is different. Motivating yourself using this system can transform life, Mann contended, because inside each human being is a vast reservoir of strengths and abilities to draw upon. Reservoirs are internal human resources like enjoyment, trust, caring, enthusiasm, creativity, and courage. Resources come from human experience when the individual is determined, persistent, courageous, and confident that he can transform his life. Possessing such qualities is what is meant as having "character," "grit," or "the right stuff." Mann (1987) suggested that if an individual experiences difficulty in making the triggering method work, the following strategies might help. 1. Begin with an easy target. Try something easy until you gain more skill and success. This permits the mastery of skills. 2. Use strong reservoirs. Remember to use a positive reservoir that is stronger than your target. 3. Use three or more channels. Seeing, hearing, feeling, touching, tasting, are all channels of communication to the inner person. (Bandler and Grinder, 1982) refer to these as the VAK, or visual, auditory, and kinaestheic channels). 4. Mentally rehearse. Imagine yourself enjoying your target behavior in the future so that it feels believable to you. Include images of enjoying the rewards of performing your target behavior (p. 17). Mann (1987) believed the double-triggering method was more sophisticated than merely invoking willpower because it channeled messages to the entire being via the neurotransmitters present in the body (NLP purports the same notion). Phobias sometimes immobilize individuals to pursue their goals. Mann believed that the double-triggering method along with systematic desensitization, a technique developed by Wolpe and Lazarus (1966) could quickly and easily erase even the deepest ones. He called this "Fast and Easy Triggers" method for erasing, not just eliminating, phobias. He outlined nine steps for erasing individual phobias. 1. Prepare two cards. Label one "Reservoir." On it, list two or three experiences that have the positive feelings you want. These are you assets. 2. On another card, list five incidents during which you suffered fear, starting with the most recent incident and going back in time until you end with the first phobic reaction you can remember. These are your sub- targets. 3. Create a trigger for an asset from your reservoir by pressing your right knee. 4. Create another trigger for your first sub-target by pressing your left knee. 5. Compare your asset to your sub-target. If the asset is stronger, go to number 6. If it is not, build up your trigger with the rest of your reservoir. 6. Double-trigger by pressing both knees at the same time to evoke your reservoir and your first sub-target together. 7. Create a trigger for your second target. Double trigger your reservoir with your second sub-target. Wait until you feel settled. 8. Continue this with all of your sub-targets. 9. See and hear yourself performing your target with the new feelings you have just acquired from your reservoir (p. 29). Mann wrote that this entire process should take about 20-40 minutes from start to finish. If a person began to feel any return of the phobia later, all he or she would have to do is touch his right knee, or whatever was used for a positive trigger, in the same way done during the session. This will assist in evoking the positive reservoir to help erase the fear. He maintained this was seldom needed because the process works. Living in the age of "the information explosion" makes it imperative that we learn and retain new information. Although common sense and wisdom are necessary for the minimal amount of success, individuals need to keep well-informed in order to be able to speak effectively and engage in well-rounded conversations. There are small, but no less important, social benefits from being able to learn and recall certain details. For many people, their jobs are constantly being upgraded with new information. Younger people enter the work world with new knowledge, and new technologies are regularly introduced. Mann (1987) developed a "learning trigger" that could motivate the individual to learn and recall new information. Learning is complete only when an individual can recall information when needed. It is a two-phase process: acquisition and retrieval. To achieve this, the learning trigger (LN) is constructed in two phases. First, the reservoir is created. This is usually some powerful emotion that the individual anchors in his body. Then, the target is created, and like in the other double triggering process, they are fired simultaneously, and the learning mood is altered, and the individual places himself into an especially attentive mood motivated to concentrate and learn just as intensely as when he was in the reservoir state of being (p. 69). An interesting strategy Mann suggested for becoming a phenomenal speller involved creating a repulsive trigger. When an individual sees a misspelled word, he should associate some unpleasant feeling with it like rotten eggs. Then, whenever a word causes an unpleasant feeling, he will think the word is spelled wrong. Mann (1987) summarized the seven steps for the learning trigger system: 1. Create a trigger for a time you were enjoyably engrossed in some learning activity. Make this trigger stronger than any negative feelings you may have about studying. 2. Fire this learning trigger before each study session. 3. During each study session, fire the trigger and practice visually recalling your material. 4. Similarly, during each study session, fire your trigger and practice recalling your material with your hearing channel. 5. Indulge in fun fantasies about the material you are learning. Use as many channels as you can. 6. Fire your trigger and practice recalling your material with oral and written quizzes. 7. Whenever you need to recall the information studied, fire your trigger (p. 48). Paying close attention to learning triggers and reviewing material is a small effort to make compared to the real effort it takes took to originally learn the material. A good schedule is to review something right after learning it. After that, to remember something forever, the individual need only review it every year or two. Studies show, according to Mann, that much of what is learned is not lost if not used within three years. Mann (1987) listed four steps that would enhance an individual's creativity and motivate him to use his mind more powerfully. 1. Prepare by gathering information and images. This is the conscious process. Focus on a goal: the problem to be solved or the outcome wanted. Then collect all the relevant data. 2. Begin the incubation process. Release conscious hold of the problem. Allow the answer simply to happen. Don't judge the process and free yourself from habitual thoughts and ideas. Daydreams, night dreams, relaxation, self-hypnosis, and bridging exercises are conducive to permitting the unconscious to work out a solution. 3. Wait for illumination. Suddenly, seemingly from nowhere, a solution presents itself. With all five channels now strengthened their contributions will be greater. 4. Finally, verification takes place. In your imagination, test out whether the solution works and take out any kinks needed to make the idea workable. Again, with five strong channels, the kinks will be more obvious, and ways to take them out more readily forthcoming (p. 68). Mann believed individual motivation related to physical skills is one of the most difficult to maintain consistently. The mind is often willing to learn but the flesh is weak. He suggested nine steps for improving physical skills learning. 1. Decide what skill you want to practice. Then, use three channels in your imagination. 2. Study your models. 3. From a distance, see and hear yourself performing the desired sport or physical skill. 4. Step into the picture and repeat the scene. 5. If it doesn't feel right, step outside the scene and adjust your actions. 6. Go into the picture again and repeat it. 7. If it feels right, then create a trigger. Discard those behaviors that you cannot make feel right. 8. Imagine yourself in future scenes, firing your trigger and engaging in your new skills. 9. When really playing, concentrate on using your weaker channel (p. 76). Finally, Mann (1987) described "Gold Medal Winning" trigger methods for self-motivation to improve the quality of an individual's life. He maintained that these mental blueprints can make the difference between living a normal and an extraordinary life. Step 1. Decide what new behavior you want to learn. Then, using three channels in your imagination, and... Step 2. Study your models. Step 3. From a distance, see and hear yourself performing the desired behavior. Step 4. Step into the picture and repeat the scene. Step 5. If it doesn't feel right, step outside the scene and adjust your actions. Step 6. Go into the picture again and repeat it. Step 7. When it feels right, create a trigger (p. 90). Step 8. Imagine yourself in future scenes, firing your trigger and engaging in your new responses. Though Mann's triggers techniques are simple to follow and certainly unique, he did not indicate in any way his indebtedness to Bandler and Grinder and NLP as the foundation of his work. He called his techniques, "firing triggers" and Bandler and Grinder labeled theirs "collapsing anchors." The processes are both the same. Both used VAK (Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic) sensory acuity to change the way the individual experiences and interacts with the world. What is exciting about NLP and Triggers is that both methods provide the individual with methods to change behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, phobias, physical limitations, mental physical, and emotional disabilities. What they purport is that the individual is responsible for changing his or her own life. There is no need for professional assistance unless there are some true medical needs involved. Ideally, the individual, if he practices NLP or the trigger techniques, will be able to change those things which are impeding personal motivation. Robbins (1991) echoed the same strategies in his book, "Personal Power," and in his videos, audio tapes, and infomercials playing on late night television. He denounced the notion that only through intense counseling with a therapist can an individual attain health and well being. Avant-garde psychologists and sociologists, using the dynamic theories created by Bandler and Grinder, are demonstrating in their work that simple and effective ways for individuals to change their lives. These are but a few of the self-motivation methods available in America today. A comprehensive study of all of them would take more time and space than is available in this text. What is exciting about the possibilities of these new methods for self- motivation is that they remove the hocus-pocus from instituting individual change. They are erasing the idea that change takes years and that there must be some pain involved in effecting it. Rather than continuing to schedule patients for counseling sessions, they expound the adage from the ancient Greeks, "Patient, heal thyself." With a minimal amount of interpolation, the phrase can be rewritten to, "Human being, motivate thyself." The possibilities are unlimited and the next decade may see some truly unique technologies and techniques emerge which provide the individual with all the tools he or she needs to dramatically improve the quality of his or her life.