Alexander Technique Principles in Selling: 6. Inhibition

“Inhibition is the activity that doesn’t allow the old habit to take place.”

I love that definition, and have lived by it since Marj first uttered it on a hot, sultry day in Sydney, 26 years ago. I scribbled it down in my note book, thinking at the time “oh, that’s significant. I want to think about that…”

Ultimately, that one short comment supported evolutionising my entire teaching practise: over the next 20 years I pivoted from being the “no” man to the “yes” man.

You may think it sounds awfully like “positive thinking” but positive thinking starts out as a push back against unhealthy beliefs. It is declaration of opposition to a long held belief: “I am ugly - no! I am beautiful.” The opposing idea motivates the positive thought - they are co-dependent. That is not inhibition, because nothing has been inhibited!

An act of opposition heralds division, not unity. If inhibition is conceived as opposition to old habits, then how can it restore unity? Just as cold water can not arise from a hot flame, unity and wholeness can not arise from inner conflict.

So what is an activity, to quote Marj: “…that doesn’t allow the old habit to take place.”?

The old habit doesn’t take place when there is no desire for it to be there. My new activity includes within it the experience of not wanting my old habit. It happens in Alexander lessons all the time. How many times have you heard a pupil say “Oh, I just want keep this forever.”? Of course you do, there is no desire to go back.

This is also the state of the successful seller, whereas inner conflict is the saboteur of success. If you experience conflict when it comes to selling, then isn’t it a wonderful activity for you to explore the true meaning of inhibition?

A successful seller is all about yes.