How Do You Shower?
Yesterday, my seventeen year old daughter was looking at her phone and started freaking out the way teenage girls do. “NOBODY showers that way!” She started yelling. I asked her what she was talking about and she showed me a picture on her phone of a woman facing the shower head. “What do you mean, that’s how everyone showers.” I responded. She told me that no, everyone faces away from the shower head. Of course, this started a need to find out the truth for both of us. We promptly started asking everyone we knew which way they showered.
Surprisingly, most people answered with a very solid “I face away” answer and only a few answered towards. My own solid answer started to come into question as I thought about my own shower habits. Well, I do face away and allow water to run down my back in order to help relax my back muscles, but I mostly face the head; I begin to think was my real answer.
As the night went on, I began to wonder how much time I really spend facing the shower head and how much time I spent facing away from it. I tried to visualize myself in the shower. Finally, all the thinking about showering made me long for one and I decided I would take a shower before bed. In the shower, I spent a lot of time allowing the water to hit my back. It was a long day and my back was tense. I had cleaned myself earlier in the day so were my shower habits different based on the need? I felt like I spent equal amount of time facing the shower head and away from it. Thinking about it in the shower, I thought that realistically that is probably the truth on any given day.
So why was I so sure I shower facing the head? Why were so many people adamant about how they shower? I can’t speak for others, but I bet the real answer is that they aren’t fully aware of their shower habits either. How can this be and why am I sharing this?
The answer is simple, this experience is a perfect example of why hypnosis works and why it is so hard to change habits. I always tell new clients about the difference between our conscious minds and subconscious minds. We usually think that most of what is do is a conscious decision. Honestly, almost nothing we do is done consciously. Our subconscious mind is doing most of the work throughout the day. Once we master a skill or a task, our conscious mind no longer needs to be in control and gives it to the subconscious mind. This is how we develop habits.
Not all habits are good or bad, some simply are. The daily things that we do are just habits. This is why it is sometimes hard to recall certain details. We are simply functioning and not really paying attention to what we are doing. This ability is really an amazing power that we all have. It allows us to free up mental energy for important things. However, it can also be problematic when we decide to create change.
One of the first steps I often help clients with, is paying attention to what their habits really are. Often times, when asked about a habit, our answer is not always right. We are not trying to be deceitful, we just honestly don’t pay that much attention to what we are really doing.
So I ask you this, which way do you shower? Answer this now and then pay attention the next time you’re in the shower. Perhaps the truth will surprise you.
