Do you remember the first time you tried to do anything? Walking, playing a musical instrument, singing, writing. Anything at all? Despite all of those skills being so different, each one goes through a similar cycle. When we first attempt it, we're terrible at it. We might even feel shameful or embarrassed about it later on. But after a while, things start to click. The movements feel natural. We require less mental awareness and energy. We do it without hesitation like a habit that we've long held. This is the power of the subconscious mind at work. Every automatic movement is guided by this force and it drives human behaviour. More importantly, it can be leveraged when we know how to.
What Is the Subconscious Mind?
To properly leverage the subconscious mind, we need to know what it is. Already, some of you may be saying you already know what it is. Indeed, I described what it was above. But it's so often that we overlook that aspect. We're not always aware that our subconscious is at work. Because of this, it's difficult for us to leverage it based on what most know. Going into more detail, the subconscious mind is, in reality, the second stage of a three-stage mind model.((The Mind Unleashed:
The Conscious, Subconscious, And Unconscious Mind - How Does It All Work?)) This model was developed by the famous Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud. He described the 3 levels like this:((iMotions:
What Is The Subconscious Mind?))
- Conscious - The first level. It defines all of our thoughts and actions within our awareness. Examples are our sense of smell, touch, and hearing.
- Subconscious - The second level. These define are our reactions and automatic actions. We are still aware of them when we think about them. Examples are driving a car. There comes a point where you don't need to pause and figure out how to turn it on or drive it.
- Unconscious - The third level. This defines all of the past events and memories we have. These are inaccessible to us regardless of how many times we recall them. An example is remembering anything when we were a baby or recalling the first word we ever said.
All of these minds are connected. As to how it affects our behaviour in specific cases, it's hard to say. It's one of the challenges psychologists and neurologists are addressing today.((iMotion:
Understanding Human Behavior - A Psychological Approach))
How Does the Subconscious Mind Work in Everyday Life?
Your subconscious mind is always in the background doing most of the heavy lifting of course. But how much is it doing? Here is a general overview of what our subconscious mind really does at the core:
It's a Memory Bank
The capacity for information in your subconscious mind is unlimited. It permanently stores every detail and everything that has happened to you. Whenever we are recalling something, there is good odds that we are using our subconscious mind.
It Is Also Subjective
Your subconscious can't think or reason alone. It obeys everything your conscious mind wants. That's at least one connection we know that works.
It Provides Balance
Everything from your body temperature to your breathing and heart beating. Your subconscious mind is what controls that. On top of that, it keeps a balance of all the chemicals that are your cells. Not to mention it has good control over your mental level too. Mental in that you will think and act in a manner that aligns with what you said and done in the past.
Our Subconscious Mind Is Our Comfort Zone
It's your subconscious mind that works on keeping you within the confines of that comfort zone. This is one of the reasons for us being so hesitant towards change despite our initial desires to stretch ourselves further and grow.
Our Subconscious Shapes Our Reality
As mentioned, our mind stores past events, though it uses those events to shape reality. Everything we've experienced - from beliefs, and good memories, to fears, and bad memories - forms our reality. Through this map, our subconscious mind can move us in various directions in life.
How to Leverage Your Subconscious Mind
Now that you have a grasp as to what your subconscious mind is and does, we can begin to leverage it. We know we can because we are aware that while our subconscious mind can do amazing things, it is hesitant when we try to do something different. Going back to those activities I mentioned, I'm willing to bet that some of you did those things but stopped. Whatever reasons you have are your own, but there are good odds that those thoughts sprang from your subconscious mind. So, in order for us to grow, we have to overcome this hurdle. How we do that is through four steps:
- Asking
- Believing
- Taking action
- Receiving
Here is how each one is broken down.
1. Asking
Remember that our conscious and subconscious is connected. Think of our conscious mind as the seeds and our subconscious like a garden. Whenever we have a thought or a desire, we plant a seed and our subconscious mind will begin growing it. This subservient tendency can be in our favour as we can fill our minds with desires and begin to ask ourselves questions. What do you want in life? What goals do you want to be achieving? It also pays to be aware of what's happening around you and how you act. Are you someone who is optimistic? Or are you always complaining about things? All of our thoughts shape our view of reality and can dictate our actions. With this in mind, work on being intentional with your life. Don't be afraid to ask but also offer positive vibes through excitement, joy, and peaceful thoughts.
2. Believing
What it means in this specific scenario is that you are maintaining a positive expectancy from day to day. That's not to deny there won't be failures or setbacks. But rather despite the harsh road, you know you can get to your end goal. This step demands you to stick to your plan and have faith that it'll pull you through.
3. Taking Action
This goes hand in hand with belief. After all, asking and believing isn't what will move you forward. Like with anything in life, you have to create momentum. But the thing with taking action is that it feeds on your request and your belief. Asking is more or less a plan and believing is a motivator of sorts.
4. Receiving
The last step is receiving. What I mean by this is being open to receiving whatever is coming your way. The actions, thoughts, and beliefs that you have are what will move your subconscious mind to push you to do what you want to do. So with that said, you want to make sure that you are prepared for what will arrive in your life. It's not so much as knowing what responsibilities or perks come with a new change in life. Rather it being able to maintain this change in your life no matter what. Anyone in the world can become a healthy person. But some can only keep it up for so long. Anyone can have a great circle of friends and people they can count on. But they can easily break ties after a while. Remember that our subconscious mind will do anything to push us back into what is comfortable. Receiving is a way of telling yourself that this is your new comfort level. Even if you had to go through a life change to obtain it.
Final Thoughts
Our subconscious mind has the ability to tap into any possibility that we desire. So long as we have the technique, we will be able to leverage it in all aspects of life. That doesn't mean that we won't run into failure. Like with everything we started off with in life, it took time to learn and become skilled. The key here is to not give up and continue to push. Soon enough our subconscious will catch on and we can work hand in hand to achieve anything.
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