Becoming Your Own Sherlock Holmes

Around fourteen years ago, I created something called the Sherlock Holmes Process. It came about when I was working with a client who was struggling to get to the bottom of the well. My unconscious mind came up with the idea, so I tested it with her and it worked. I ran it again and again with other clients and got the same results: each time, we got to the bottom of the well and uncovered their deepest unknowns. 

What is great about this process is that it removes you from the focus, allowing you to imagine another person and access information about this person. In other words, you see yourself from a different perspective. 

What did I do that first day? I asked my client to imagine that from our window, out in the garden we could see a woman standing on the lawn. She had her back to us and her arms folded, her head looking at the ground. Even though we couldn’t see her facial expression, we knew that she was deep in thought and not feeling so good. 

As we observed this lady out in the garden, we captured her thoughts. We could see them rising in a thought bubble from her lowered head. 

I then repeated some of the symptoms the client had shared with me: 

• I can’t take a compliment.

• I don’t think I’m good enough.

• Sometimes, I don’t think I have anything of value to say.

• Sometimes, I think people think I’m a bit silly. 

Whatever the client had shared with me as being the symptoms operating from their limiting belief, I spoke out loud, making sure I used exactly the client’s words and not my own wording. I didn’t interpret what each symptom might mean for me; it needed to be exactly as the client had said it. I then let this sit with the client. For each thing we observed the lady out in the garden thinking, I gently asked this question of the client. 

‘If you were to have a guess, what do you think that lady really believes about herself that has caused her to have that thought?’ 

There was a long silence as the client pondered this, then she responded with something that was real genius. She added all the symptoms together and came up with whatever was at the bottom of the well for the lady on the lawn. 

You’ve probably guessed it: the person out on the lawn was my client. 

I asked the client to say this to herself and watched her reaction. 

It created emotion; she had uncovered her deepest unknown and it felt so real and painful, but it also felt like the truth and made sense to her. 

This process works well every time, whether the client is working online or in person. My team and I can pretty much guarantee that we will be able to get to what is really going on for the client using the Sherlock Holmes Process. 

I’m now going to encourage you to do an exercise, a way of observing yourself in the Sherlock Holmes Process mode. If you really want to uncover your deepest unknowns, then this simple exercise, which you will do over the next forty-eight hours, will allow you to learn so much more about what’s really going on for you. 

It’s your turn to be your own Sherlock Holmes 

The Sherlock Holmes Process is great to run once you understand about limiting beliefs and how they operate in your neurology. This is exactly where you are right now. You know how damaging they can be. 

To run this process well, select a time that is your ‘normal’ life. You could be working or at home, but make sure whatever you’re doing is in your normal routine. Avoid a time where you’re away on holiday or doing anything that is out of the ordinary. When you are ready and the time is right, run this process. 

Over the next forty-eight hours, catch yourself every time you have a negative thought. Stop and, where possible, move yourself from the space that you had the negative thought in. For example, if you are sitting at your desk when you have the thought, stand up and move away from that space. Perhaps stand to the side of your desk. 

Now get your Sherlock Holmes on. 

You are not you; now, you are your own Sherlock Holmes and you are going to ask this about the person who was sitting at your desk: 

‘What is it that (insert your name) believes about themselves that caused them to think that?’ 

If I were running this process as the one wanting to find out my deepest unknown, I would have the negative thought, stand up, move to the side and say, ‘What is it that Amanda believes about herself that caused her to think that?’ Then I would wait. 

There will be some great feedback. Our brains are designed to answer questions and the quality of the answer will be determined by the quality of the question. 

When you take the time to pause, observe, and ask better questions, your unconscious mind will always reveal what it wants you to know.

It’s not about judging what you find - it’s about being curious enough to listen.

Try the Sherlock Holmes Process this week.

Step back, ask yourself “What do I believe about myself that made me think that?” - and then wait.

You might be surprised by what you discover.

After all, self-awareness is the first step to transformation - and you, dear reader, are your own greatest detective.