Have you ever wondered why a seemingly trivial stimulus to a casual onlooker can trigger a very dramatic response from you?  I mean, so some jerk cut you off on the freeway or your husband left the dirty dishes in the sink… is this really an insult worthy of initiating World War III or driving your blood pressure sky high?

According to the theory of Time Line Therapy®, every significant emotional event adds onto the already existing “gestalt” of an emotion.  If you can imagine that emotion as a string of pearls, each new event is another pearl.  Further to that, if you can pluck off the first pearl in the string, all the rest can slide off easily, leaving you with no pearls of “anger” or some other negative emotion, on that string.

Tad James conceptualized and made famous the Time Line Therapy® theory and model in the 1980’s and since that time, this therapeutic process has been used worldwide to help people to rid themselves of negative emotions and limiting beliefs that had been plaguing them for years.  In fact, this is such a successful technique that Prince Charles mandates its use in the Warrior Programme in Great Britain to help Veterans overcome PTSD.

Time Line Therapy® and other NLP Coaching techniques are not only useful for releasing all the pent-up emotions of the past, but they can also keep us grounded with events occurring right now this minute!  I mean, why be at the “effect” of someone or something when it is so much more empowering to be in control of our own emotions and reactions?

When driving with my husband recently, another driver cut him off and his reaction was uncharacteristically loud and graphic!   I asked my husband why he would allow a perfect stranger to ruin his day, and he then realized that he had taken it personally.  “How dare he!!” When I pointed out that the driver didn’t know him and had no personal vendetta, he laughed and realized how silly it all was. When confronted with pure logic, it’s hard to argue!

Jayne Goldman, MBA, C.Ht. is Founder and Principal of Best Life Hypnotherapy. She is a Certified Hypnotherapist, Master NLP Coach and Master Time Line Therapy® Practitioner in the Los Angeles area.