Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind and Achieve Your Goals Today
Are you ready to make your next big move or start your dream career? Do you have the desire to feel comfortable and confident in your body this summer but aren’t practicing the proper diet and workout that would make this possible? Are you ready to take your life to the next level but don’t know how? Do you have huge dreams but can’t shake the nagging feeling that you might be standing in your own way? Well, you’re not alone and you may need to reprogram your subconscious mind to achieve your goals.
Many people struggle in an endless battle between their conscious goals and unconscious or subconscious limiting beliefs. The truth is we’re communicating with our subconscious mind all of the time. Through our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs we reinforce messages to the subconscious about our self-worth, fears and even who we trust.
This means no matter how much you desire your ideal summer body or dream career, if you subconsciously believe you don’t deserve them, you will continue to create barriers between yourself and your goals. Thankfully, we can reprogram the subconscious mind with affirming beliefs and emotions that better help us accomplish goals.
What is the Subconscious?
A storehouse of all our beliefs, skills, memories and experiences, the subconscious mind controls our automatic bodily processes, emotional responses and learned behaviors. It is believed that by the time we reach 21 years old, the average person has stored in their subconscious more than one hundred times the contents of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
The subconscious mind stores and retrieves information but it is mainly concerned with safety and pleasure. According to an article entitled The Power of Subconscious Mind,
“Because the process of learning is linked with safety and survival, your subconscious rewards it with a dose of pleasurable chemicals so you repeat the behavior. Indulging in life’s pleasures, especially when related to survival, such as eating and sex, are also rewarded biochemically.”
While we may think we consciously control routine behaviors like waking up, walking or driving, these activities are actually controlled by the subconscious mind. Sigmund Freud believed the subconscious was responsible for performing much of our daily activities. The best way to understand the subconscious is to look at the example of the student driver. While learning to drive, we are using our conscious mind to focus completely on the road. However, as we practice and become increasingly comfortable in the car, our driving becomes more automated and requires less of our attention. As the subconscious takes control the conscious mind is free and we are able to do multiple things as we drive like hold a conversation (*however we do not recommend multi-tasking while driving).
How does the Subconscious Work?
The subconscious mind has a lot of influence over our behavior. If someone annoys you, they may trigger an automated response (like anger) that has been programmed into the subconscious from the past or similar situations. The Power of Subconscious Mind article adds,
“[Your subconscious mind] does what it has been taught and holds beliefs you have about yourself and the world to be true. It directs your thoughts and actions according to its programming as a means of keeping you safe and happy. This holds true even if you consciously realize something you choose to think or do is not for your immediate or ultimate good.”
The subconscious mind works hard to make sure you maintain mental homeostasis, which allows our behavior patterns to remain consistent with our beliefs. Just as your past experiences and behaviors are stored in the subconscious so is your comfort zone. When you try something new or attempt to change past beliefs and behavior patterns, the subconscious causes you to feel tense or uncomfortable.
The subconscious mind may even affect how we perceive things, according to Lizette Borreli’s article The Human Brain: Your Subconscious Mind Processes Habits To Feel Like ‘Second Nature’, “A 2008 study published in the journal Science asked some students to briefly hold either a hot or cold beverage and afterward describe the personality of a fictional character based off of some facts on a sheet of paper. The students who held the cold beverage described the fictional character as being much colder and selfish than their counterparts.”
Reprogram the Subconscious Mind
By habitually controlling the messages we send our subconscious, we can influence our thoughts and transform our beliefs and behavior. Brian Tracy, author of Understanding Your Subconscious Mind says, “Your subconscious mind grows either flowers or weeds in the garden of your life, whichever you plant by the mental equivalents you create.”
Unfortunately, unlike the logical conscious mind, the subconscious does not understand the language or rational thought. We can only reprogram the subconscious mind by communicating through visualizations, emotions, and feelings. According to Colin Robertson of Willpowered,
“This is why athletes and high-performers spend time visualizing success. It’s more than just a practice of building confidence, it is a way to influence their subconscious minds and help them make those split second decisions on the field.”
Use Visualization to Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind
Thankfully, we can reprogram the subconscious mind in the comforts of our living room through creative visualization. Start your day with this 25-minute creative visualization at home:
Step 1:
Go to a peaceful area of your home. Turn off any electric devices that will distract you. Sit quietly and breathe deeply for 20 seconds or until you feel relaxed and centered. Then lie flat on your back.
Step 2:
Relax and gently focus on the ceiling while continuing to breathe deeply. Close your eyes as you relax further.
Step 3:
Feel yourself drift deeper and deeper into a relaxed state as you take 5 deep breaths. Then begin to visualize your ideal day.
Step 4:
What would your ideal day consist of? Does it involve drinks after work and a green smoothie in the morning? Does it involve attending a play or being “on your game” at work? What would it feel like to live your best self? Take your time as you go through your day. Can you visualize yourself happy and healthy?
Step 5:
When you’ve finished your creative visualization, gently bring yourself back into a sitting position as you settle back into a normal wake state.
To successfully reprogram your subconscious mind do this meditation daily. On his blog Willpowered, Colin Robertson says, “This exercise will reinforce to your subconscious mind (which accounts for roughly 85% of your total brain power) that you are the ideal version of yourself. So when you get to the actual decisions in your day like accomplishing sales goals or accomplishing your workout, your subconscious mind will begin [sic] identify with the best version of yourself.”
To help you be the best version of yourself, we also recommend using positive affirmations, which can also help combat those negative thoughts that are affecting the quality of your life.
Look…. achieving our goals is not an easy task but with practice, patience and time we can do so. What are you waiting for? Start Today.
Sources
Borreli, Lizette. “The Human Brain: Your Subconscious Mind Processes Habits To Feel Like ‘Second Nature,’” Medical Daily, [Website] Available at http://www.medicaldaily.com/pulse/human-brain-your-subconscious-mind-processes-habits-feel-second-nature-343538.
Robertson, Colin. “How to Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind to Achieve Your Goals,” Willpowered, [Website] Available at http://www.willpowered.co/learn/how-to-influence-the-subconscious-mind
“The Power of Subconscious Mind,” Holistic Mindbody Healing, [Website] Available at http://www.holistic-mindbody-healing.com/power-of-subconscious-mind.html
Tracy, Brian. “Understanding Your Subconscious Mind,” Brian Tracy International, [Website] Available at http://www.briantracy.com/blog/general/understanding-your-subconscious-mind/ Reprogram Your Subconscious mind.
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