With the discoveries in neuroscience, we now know that throughout your life, you are programming your sub-conscious mind. This section will show you how to program it for greater happiness and success in achieving your goals.
Think of a time when you became better at something just by practicing it. Now, recall a time when you lost a skill by not practicing it. We know that constant repetition improves physical skills, like making basketball shots and learning to type on a computer keyboard, but we also know that constant repetition improves mental skills, like learning algebra or a new language. So why does constant repetition work?
That’s because our mind and our body function the same way – in that our mind is made-up of neural pathways and our body is made-up of muscles – and they both get stronger with constant repetition and they both get weaker when not used. In neuroscience, this constant repetition is referred to ‘synaptic strengthening’.
Any thing that we repeat grows stronger. So the first thing to understand is that neuroscientist have discovered that constant repetition programs our sub-conscious mind, because the brain has the ability to rewire itself based on thought patterns. It is based on the Principles of Neuroplasticity: 1. Neurons that fire together, wire together; and 2. Neurons you don’t use, you lose.
Now please pause for a moment – and think of a full moon; next think of an oak tree by the bank of a river; and last think of a red triangle. OK. What did you learn from that? That mental exercise demonstrates that we are not our thoughts. Many people think that they are their thoughts, but you are not the full moon, nor the oak tree, nor the red triangle. We are the observer of our thoughts and that mental exercise demonstrates that as the observer, we have the power to control and change our thoughts.
Unfortunately, many of us have negative thoughts that, through constant repetition have programmed our sub-conscious mind to be negative, and we develop the mental habit of thinking negatively. Examples are thinking “I’m not smart enough” or “I’m not good enough” or “I’ll never be able to understand this”. This is referred to as ‘negative self talk’. Recognize that negative self talk causes low self-esteem and a lack of self-confidence, and both hold you back from being your best.
In order to program our minds to achieve our goals, we must first stop practicing negative self-talk. Otherwise our negative self talk will tell us we can’t succeed and we will give-up. This is a major reason why many goals are not achieved. Negative self talk acts as a significant barrier that actively prevents individuals from achieving their goals because negative self talk cause you to sabotage the outcome. So, let’s watch a video that will help us recognize our negative self-talk.
YouTube:The Honest Guys – Stop Negative Self-Talk
So the MOST IMPORTANT thing is to program our minds to be more positive because this will reduce negative self-talk. Let’s watch a video that explains how to do this. YouTube:Brendon Burchard – How to Reprogram Your Mind
It’s easy to program our minds to be more positive if we set our smartphone to beep a few times each day as a reminder. Each time we hear the beep, we ask ourselves, “Are my thoughts positive or negative?” If we notice negative thoughts, we consciously shift to more positive ones. Practicing this programs our sub-conscious mind to be more positive. This simple but powerful habit, known as “mindful thinking,” is one we should maintain throughout life. By practicing mindful thinking, you’ll enjoy a happier and easier life.
Next, we need to understand the power of positive emotions when programming our sub-conscious mind. Neuroscientists have discovered that emotions play a critical role in programming our sub-conscious mind because strong emotions influence both what we remember and what we believe. Your emotion acts as a tag, signaling to your brain that this is an important thought to internalize. A thought repeated with enough emotional intensity becomes a belief. By understanding this connection, we can harness the power of positive emotions to program our sub-conscious mind.
Neuroscientist have also discovered that when our mind is in the theta state, like just before falling asleep or right after waking up, it is the best time to program our sub-conscious mind because this deeply relaxed state enhances mental receptivity, allowing positive affirmations and visualizations to bypass conscious resistance and to be embed directly into the subconscious mind. The Theta mind-state is sometimes referred to as ‘The Gateway to the Subconscious’. That’s why hypnotist put their subjects in a theta mind-state to program their minds. People who practice deep Meditation sometimes put their mind in the theta mind-state. You can induce this state yourself by finding a quiet space and using a relaxation technique, such as counting backward or focusing on your breath, to relax your mind. Once in this receptive state, you can introduce positive suggestions or affirmations to program your subconscious mind.
If you program your subconscious mind to be more positive, you will enjoy more happiness. Why? Because it’s thinking negative thoughts that make you unhappy, and through repetition and emotion you program your subconscious mind and they become your mental habit. Recognize that stress, anxiety and anger are self induced by the negative thoughts that you think. So, if you program your subconscious mind to think more positive thoughts, they will become your dominate thought habit and you will be happier. That’s why you want to become the observer of your thoughts. So you can choose to think positive thoughts and, through repetition, program your mind to be more positive.
Now let’s put this all together and program your sub-conscious mind to achieve your goals.
The key is to visualize your desired goal while your mind is in a calm and relaxed theta state. Imagine yourself as already having achieved your goal, and fully embrace the positive emotions that come with this accomplishment. Allow yourself to feel the positive feelings of achievement and vividly immerse yourself in the mental image of success. Thinking in the present tense is crucial because the subconscious mind operates in the now. Repeating this process often, while in the theta state, will program your sub-conscious mind.
By frequently imagining yourself having achieved your goal with strong emotional intensity, you program your sub-conscious mind to generate ideas and insights throughout the day that guide you toward making your goal a reality.
The subconscious mind will generate these ideas and insights because the subconscious mind controls most of our thoughts. Some people find it hard to believe that their subconscious mind controls most of their thoughts, so here’s an example of how it works. Your subconscious mind is faster than the conscious mind because the conscious mind has to pause to ‘comprehend’ while the subconscious mind reacts immediately out of habit (like when you swear). Imagine you are standing in front of a window looking out and your conscious mind comprehends that it’s raining. Your subconscious mind immediately floods you with thoughts, feelings and meaning, depending on your mindset. If you have a positive mindset, your subconscious mind tells you this is a good day because now you don’t have to water the lawn and since it’s raining, this is a good day to meet with your friends for lunch. If you have a negative mindset, your subconscious mind tells you this is a bad day because it’s terrible outside, you’ll have a miserable commute, your clothes will get wet and your day is ruined. Your subconscious mind is working behind the scenes choosing what details you see, what emotions you feel and what meaning you attach to every experience by controlling most of your thoughts. That’s how your subconscious mind creates your subjective reality.
The last step is to follow through and take actions aligned with our goal. With each task our mind suggests and we complete, we move one step closer to achieving our goal. The key to programming the sub-conscious mind lies in vividly imagining our goal as already achieved and consistently focusing on it with strong emotional intensity while in the theta state. The magic ingredient? Repetition, repetition, repetition
Let’s watch a video that explains this whole process in detail.
Now let’s watch a short video that summarizes how to program the sub-conscious mind.
By using repetition and positive emotions while in the theta state, you now have the power to program your subconscious mind to achieve any goal you desire.
Your thoughts generate your emotions, your emotions direct your actions and your actions deliver your results. This cycle either keeps you in prison or sets you entirely free. When you consciously direct your thinking, you feel different. When you feel different, you behave differently. And when you behave differently, you begin receiving completely different results from life. This gives you the power to control your life.