Milton H. Erickson - "I'll Go Swimming Tomorrow" -excerpt from In The Room with Milton Erickson 

bazouka19 Well put. Same here. So...Did you go swimming yet?

The same feeling for me.

What

I have not watched ME on video for 20 years or so but i immediately go into a hypnotic state the minute I hear his voice.... this man was the father of all psychiatrists... the trainee psychiatrists and therapists should all listen, watch and learn. His many techniques are all so powerful.

...it looks like you've been literally hypnotized

The guy seemed creepy to me. And slurred his words as if drunk.

@@terryeverson9820 That's just one of the things that nearly dying of polio did to him. I wonder what made you so judgmental, such a poor observer, and so lazy that you didn't take the necessary 10 seconds to look this fact up.

@@terryeverson9820 The slurring is because of post polio syndrome.

Thank you!

Richard Alpert he is so soothing, he sent me off to sleep, amazing, he could heal just by talking and just by being present.

what is the “limitation placed on hope”?

@@greenzaku8791 I'm guessing that while hope is a good thing to have, you can't rely on it to solve your problems without lifting your end of the log. Maybe something along those lines. Hope is nothing without action.

@@timharper4246 Nicely put Tim

Take chances, take responsibility, live your life fully today, now. even if you are uncertain. Or tomorrow will be too late.

And lost chances.

You are missing everything. There is a difference between telling things in a emotionally distant analytic manner and using anecdotes and engaging techniques to anchor the lesson into the subconsciousness of the listener. There are always many different ways of expressing the same issue. And Milton Erickson was a genius of finding exactly the right way of phrasing that his patients need to hear to learn the lesson. Watch the video about the "little girl who lied and lied and lied" do you think it would've been enough to tell her: "It is wrong what you are doing and there's always someone watching"? No! Then she would've refused to change, because it is too obvious, and most people with psychological problems are stuck in their situation and afraid of change.

Absolutely @@TKLevis - absolutely! The whole point is that the Master never ever states the obvious. That would be FAR FAR too simple .....and not nearly as effective for the patient.

@@BiancaTait Referring to the original comment, watching this video of him talking about how a guy that procrastinated all the way up to his death bed made me want to get stuff done right now. Perhaps the message is received differently to each of us

You don't.

Like many people, those who put things off with a "I'll do it tomorrow" or something similar will never do what they say they will. It could be a clue for those of us who do this. Why tomorrow? Let's do it now.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procrastination

Are you simply afraid of something about marrying her ?

Yes, good question. The inch of water in the bath sounds questionable but I think it reinforces the message of Max's fear of taking a chance, facing a fear... always "I'll do it tomorrow" is the same as saying "never!" ... except that the speaker will not admit that to themself..

err it's a metaphor