You’ve probably heard of the subconscious mind and how powerful it is. Many of the coaches, speakers, and writers working in the field of personal development refer to theories and assumptions about the subconscious mind and how much it affects our daily lives. A common assumption is that the subconscious mind runs up to 95% (some people say even 97%) of our lives.
“The biggest impediments to changes in our traditional roles seem not to lie in the visible world of conscious intention, but in the murky realm of the unconscious mind.”
– Augustus Y. Napier
When you perform familiar tasks, like biking or driving, your autopilot kicks in. This means that your subconscious mind is running the show, that is, your actions. The same goes for all the automatic functions of your body. With each heartbeat, blood flows to all the veins in your body, without your having to give the command. Stretching your arm may be a conscious decision, but your subconscious mind is the one that makes sure that all the muscles coordinate their actions to make it happen. This is a good thing and is necessary for it to work. If you had to consciously think about all the processes that take place in your body or how to do all the things you do every day, you wouldn’t even get out of bed!
Your subconscious mind rules many of your thoughts and behavior patterns, often in ways that don’t serve you and without you knowing who’s in charge.
This is not your fault. Your subconscious mind is trying to protect you and keep you alive and it is doing so based on programs that are inherited or taught during your lifetime.
Much of the learning took place during the first seven years. Your teachers were your parents, family and friends, school, television, society and others around you. If an experience teaches you that the world is a dangerous place and that fear is with you, it may be triggered by a bodily sensation, something you see, hear or smell. You will relive the experience and your body will go into fight or flight mode even though you are in a safe place and your conscious mind knows you are not in danger. The subconscious mind will take over and run the program that has been stored to keep you safe!
The subconscious mind is also programmed with beliefs that have a profound impact on how you act (or don’t act) in your daily life, ultimately influencing what you attract into your life. If you’ve learned that it’s hard to earn money or that money makes people greedy, it will permeate your belief system. This will influence everything you do and, by extension, your financial situation. If you believe that money is hard to earn and that money makes people greedy and if you don’t want to be greedy, it will be difficult or even impossible for you to earn and keep money. Your reality reflects your beliefs.
Some sources say that we have about 1,000 thoughts a day and others that we have up to 100,000 thoughts. Most thoughts are repetitive, up to 90% according to some sources, and many thoughts are negative and limiting. Most thoughts are subconscious and based on our programming and we are often unaware of them. Neuroscience shows that repetitive thoughts strengthen neural pathways and make it easier for the same thought or thought pattern to occur again. You get stuck in a repetitive thought loop. The good news is that you can reverse this and get unstuck. By learning to notice these repetitive thoughts and moving your thoughts and attention away from the thoughts that are keeping you stuck, for example by practicing mindfulness, you begin to build new pathways. When you are no longer trapped in repetitive negative thought patterns, you are free to choose your thoughts. You take back your power and it is you who decides what to manifest.