Nature works inherently toward definite ends. Humans are ‘teleological’; that means we operate most effectively when we’re oriented towards a goal, an objective or a specific ambition or outcome. We move towards targets.
A goal ambition can become very real for us in our imagination. A wise hypnotherapist friend once said to me,
“Nick, so long as we have our imaginations we can really disturb ourselves, or make ourselves feel good. Which would you prefer?”
The future ambition may form in our mind as an imaginary visual image or video, an imagined auditory representation, hearing sounds, voices, or music, or a kinaesthetic feeling – an internal or external feeling, or an imagined smell, or imagined taste. When this happens then the goal ambition becomes real for us. Our minds are masters of imagination.
A future orientation ‘imagination’ question asks the coachee to think about Future Feeling and what, specifically, achievement will stimulate for them. Will it be a movement-towards-pleasure feeling, or a movement-away-from-pain feeling. This can be powerful leverage for stimulating decision, action and change within the coachee.
Future Feeling is a powerful way to help people transport themselves to a future time when they are performing new Begin To ambitions with elegance and panache! Helping people access their imagination of future performance excellence will help make achievement a teleological inevitability.
We can help people access Future Feeling very simply, by including a carefully crafted question in our New Code Continue & Begin Fast Coaching® question framework:
“So, as you imagine a time, soon, when you are doing this really well, elegantly, professionally, skilfully… how will you feel?”