Your mind is the most powerful tool you will possess in your entire life. It helps you make decisions, plan for the future, and, most importantly, it is what keeps you alive. But, very few people pay attention to their subconscious mind and its importance. Have you ever asked yourself what percentage of your mind is subconscious? The answer is that it makes up about 95% of your brain power and it operates below the level of normal consciousness. And, the subconscious mind is the one in charge of running everything in your life, from breathing, to eating, and even making memories.
The subconscious mind is very unusual when you think about it. It’s not the creative or interesting part of you, yet it is in charge of storing all your memories and everything you’ve ever said or done. What does that remaining 5% of your brain power do? That is your conscious mind and its role is to establish communication with the physical world. For example, at this very moment, you are using your conscious mind to read these words. However, your subconscious mind is working at the same time while you’re reading this, deciding whether it will absorb or reject this information based on your own perception of the world around you.
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You can think of your subconscious mind as a gigantic memory bank and the greatest thing about it is the fact that its storage capacity is virtually unlimited. So, if you wonder does your subconscious mind remember everything, the answer is a resounding yes! Everything that happened to you is stored permanently in your subconscious mind.
The function of the subconscious mind is mostly storing and retrieving data. In addition, it ensures that you respond to physical events the way you are programmed. Your subconscious mind is quite subjective; it doesn’t act independently, it simply obeys the commands that your conscious mind gives. You can think of the relationship between your conscious and subconscious mind in the following manner – your conscious mind is the gardener who plants seeds and your subconscious mind is the garden in which the seeds grow.
Has it ever happened to you that you were optimistic and hopeful about something in your life and, even though it seemed unlikely, that exact thing you were hoping for happened to you? Or, have you ever spent time fearing that something unfortunate could happen to you, and, sadly, it did? That is because your conscious and subconscious mind constantly work together to help you achieve something you believe could happen, whether it is positive or negative.
Your subconscious mind makes everything you think of and everything you say or do fit in with a pattern that is consistent with your concept of self. And, that is exactly where the power of positive thinking comes in. Repeating positive thoughts and affirmations is powerful to the extent that it can help you achieve almost anything you want. And, the good news is that you can reprogram your thought patterns simply by slipping in some positive thinking.
Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality.
—Earl Nightingale.
After reading about the power that subconscious mind has over your life, you are quite likely to find yourself thinking “How can I retrain my subconscious mind?” The good news is that doing this is simple, but it may take some time and practice because your subconscious mind has already been programmed to a certain extent.
Every experience you had taught you a certain lesson; you drew conclusions from those experiences and stored the messages in your subconscious mind. Let’s say that you ask someone out on a date, and that person rejects you. Your subconscious mind will start hunting for other examples of rejection and you will probably draw a conclusion that you are not attractive enough and that you deserved the rejection. This is one of the greatest drawbacks of your subconscious mind. It may act negatively, but only because you programmed it that way.
If you experience something that conflicts with your established beliefs, your subconscious mind will immediately go on to reject or reframe it so that it fits in with your view of reality. The interesting thing is that you can change all of this if you know the proper ways how. Here are a few steps that can help you reprogram your subconscious mind.
1. Pay Attention to Your Environment
The best way to start your journey of reprogramming your subconscious thoughts is by paying attention to your environment. Whatever you do, your mind is absorbing information from your environment and forming beliefs based on that information. So, if you expose yourself to negativity frequently, imagine what kind of messages your subconscious mind is absorbing.
Your first step in this journey should be limiting the negativity you are exposing yourself to. Even the simplest things, such as watching the news, can have a negative impact on your mind. If there are people in your life who are pessimistic and constantly talking about negative experiences, try to limit your interaction with them. Instead, seek companionship from positive and successful people. By spending time in a positive environment, your mind will start absorbing encouraging messages which will help you change the way you see yourself and your potential.
2. The Power of Visualization
Your subconscious mind loves pictures, especially empowering pictures, and it responds incredibly to them. Visualization is one of the most powerful ways to fill your mind with positivity. Try to spend at least 15 minutes every day visualizing positive things that you would like to happen to you.
You can try thinking of your beautiful future home, a fulfilling relationship, a well-paid job, or even exotic vacations. You can think of anything you want to draw into your life. By doing this frequently, you will redraw the negative pictures stored from your past experiences.
When visualizing, allow feelings of peace, joy, and love to overflow you as if these experiences are already a reality. That way, your subconscious mind will absorb these messages and help you achieve them over time.
3. Affirmations Do Wonders
Affirmations can do wonders and help you install positive messages into your subconscious mind effectively. They work best if you stick to the following simple rules:
- Always word your affirmations in the present tense. Say “I am successful,” instead of saying “I will be successful.” Your subconscious mind only knows the present, and not the future. Also, make sure to use positive statements only. “I am not a failure,” is not entirely positive and the subconscious mind can’t transform negative statements into positive ones.
- Make sure that your affirmations correspond to your feelings. Saying “I am so happy” while you’re feeling down will only send confusing messages to your subconscious. Whatever you say, make sure that you feel the corresponding emotions so that your subconscious mind believes it.
- Repetition is the key to success. If you say your affirmations only a few times, it’s unlikely that you’ll see a result. Recite your affirmations as frequently as possible every day.
- Set goals in your mind, write them down, and think about them;
- Look after yourself so you could nourish your body and your mind;
- Surround yourself with positive messages and reinforcement (on your phone, on post-it notes, etc.)
- Write a gratitude journal;
- Don’t allow other people’s fears to cast shadows of doubt.
Takeaway
Your subconscious mind can either elevate you to high level of success or sabotage your every inclination towards your desires. Follow the tips above by setting aside a non-negotiable appointment to practice them every day. By doing this, you’ll cultivate a habit of getting rid of the weeds in your mind and instead, water the potential garden of flowers in its place. As this garden blooms into a speculator beauty, you’ll find that your subconscious mind will help springboard you to the life of prosperity and abundance!