SELF-CONFIDENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 149, 21 December 1936, Page 10

SELF-CONFIDENCE

THE ROAD TO SUCCESS

USE OF AUTO-SUGGESTION

SCIENTIST'S ADVICE

In an article in the "Daily Mail," Dr. Leopold Thoma, of the University of Vienna, shows how one may overcome the difficulties of life and smile one's way through to success and happiness by means of auto-suggestion.

His play "Medium,, was put on at a London theatre a few years ago.

The beneficial effects of suggestion are at present neither sufficiently known nor applied, writes Dr. Thoma. Many people confuse suggestion with hypnosis, against which they often I have an. instinctive antipathy. This suggestion, however —also called "awake suggestion"—has nothing to do with hypnosis except that its curative effects: are the same; and, moreover, there is one type of suggestion, the so-called '.'auto-suggestion," which anybody may apply to his own advantage.RESULT OF APPLICATION. 'Most of us have probably experienced successful auto-suggestion, as in the following instance: You know.'that you have, to get up at 6 a.m. in order to catch a train. You give yourself subconsciously the order to wake up punctually at six the following morning. You will experience the strange phenomenon of waking up punctually at the time . prescribed, probably even slightly before the ringing of your alarm clock, which you set to the exact hour before going to sleep. This is the successful result of your auto-suggestion: your subconscious mind has registered and executed the unspoken order as would an obedient servant, without your conscious brain being aware of it. Those, however, who appreciate and understand the power of auto-sugges-tion and apply it to themselves" succeed in life, far better.than" others who do not. In times of adversity it may bo suggested by a complete concentration of will power: "It is of no account to mo that I have not succeeded this timenext time I am bound.to succeed —I must—l will—l shall succeed!" As a result of experiments extended over many years, I have observed that suggestion and auto-suggestion can cure unhappy love and restore lost youth. There is aii. old German proverb which funs: "There is no antidote against love"; but actually suggestion can perform miracles in such cases, as "my experience of twenty-five years has undeniably taught me. A CURE FOR JEALOUSY. It.Can destroy the memory of a disastrous outside influence: It can give one the strength to overcome instinc-i tive repression of emotions: It can enable one' to declare one's love to the object of affection. It can also cure the tormenting pangs of jealousy, to say nothing of its efficacy in dispelling the feeling o£ loneliness, which eventually leads to premature old age. It is difficult to believe' the number of people who have - missed their chance through lack of initiative and self-confidence, all such I would recommend -trying to remove psychic ill-effects by- autosuggestion., ;Xhis can be done, for'instahce, in the following way:— ' >' ■ '. '* Take a seat in front of a mirror and say to yourself, as you *would to a stranger: "How do you do? Take care, I want you to change from today! No more lack of self-confidence. Why on earth shouldn't you be successful when so many others are? You will be successful—whatever you begin, will succeed." (Smile-rrfor smiling does not only mean victory,; it also means success!) And, smiling and self-confi-dent, you will forge ahead to success in life, as well as in love, step by step. Now close your eyes and suggest to yourself: "I will and I shall!" If you will follow the above autosuggestion—not mechanically, but feeling it in your heart and soul, fully convinced of what you suggest to yourself—you will spon reap the benfit. YOUTH RECAPTURED. There are also cases—especially in wealthy circles —when women with little to occupy their minds age before their years and ' lose their , charm merely through"lack of inner excitement, or loss of joie de vivre. In these cases also youth can be restored. At the same time there are many elderly women'' who actually look quite charming, but who 'say to themselves every day: "Dear me, I'm getting terribly ancient!" This is a rather • dangerous autosuggestion which can and must be overcome by an opposing suggestion. To what extent suggestion acts on women can be demonstrated by the following example:.lf you suggest, to a woman, "You really look charming today!", she really will at the moment immediately react to the suggestion and look .charming. There. are ;rio.wadays many people who think too little of themselves. The victims of this inferiority complex have increased at an appalling rate in the course of the last ten years. A friend can do marvels in such cases if he continuously applies,a positive and restorative influence. There are only a few parents who. possess the psychological talent to be friends of their children in all phases of life. A certain shyness holds them back. Since,young people are especially susceptible t,o suggestion, a whole life may often be saved'from unhappiness by kindly, sympathetic treatment.

And, therefore, "awake suggestion" is a psychological remedy for the benefit of mankind not yet sufficiently recognised in its manifold and beneficial application. :