Do you ever wonder how some people are able to easily accomplish their goals? Or, how do some people make life look so easy?
It is because they understand the difference between their conscious and subconscious mind and put their subconscious mind to work for them.
Be sure to read to the bottom so you can get your free download, “My Goal Smashing Worksheet” as well as watch the accompanying YouTube video on this topic.
Let’s start with a better understanding of both:
What is your conscious mind?
The conscious mind is always aware, awake and thinking. A visual depiction of your conscious mind could be picturing yourself sitting at a work desk writing a proposal. You are radar focused, concentrating on just this one thing, using your intellect to write the proposal, and thinking about exactly what you are doing and writing. You are in a state of beta brainwaves during this time. We are in beta during most waking states of our day when we are alert and attentive.
Specifically, your conscious mind is:
- Rational and reasoning
- Thinking and intellectual
- Always aware
- Analyzes incoming information
- Has limited space
- Can only process about half a dozen bits of information at a time…is this why people say they cannot chew gum, listen to music, and walk at the same time?
What is your subconscious mind?
The subconscious mind is your life-long memory bank that stores everything, is extremely imaginative and insightful, and incredibly powerful. A visual depiction of your subconscious mind could be picturing yourself at five years old holding a tea party with all your stuffed animals sitting around the table with you, all of you are deep in conversation, and a baseball, a Lego, a plastic donut from your play kitchen, and a Barbie shoe are used as a Danish to accompany the tea…and they are delicious!
Another visual depiction could be your morning routine: waking up to the alarm; getting out of bed after hitting snooze twice; turning on the shower; while you wait for the water to warm up, you brush your teeth; while brushing your teeth you walk to the kitchen to start the coffee pot; you take a shower and get ready for the day, etc., etc., etc. The first example was pure imagination and creativity. The second example is pure routine and habit.
Both use the subconscious mind. The second example is using the alpha brain waves, which is the first step into a meditative state. Since this is your routine every day, you do not need to think about it and can flow through the process with ease and calmness. The first example is using the theta brain waves, which is dream-like, very imaginative, and withdrawn from the external world, relying on our intuition and what we know from within ourselves.
Specifically, your subconscious mind is:
- Imaginative and insightful
- Powerful and self-protective
- Very literal and doesn’t question
- Holds all thoughts, feelings and emotions, behaviors and habits
- It has permanent memory
- Has unlimited space
So How Does This Help Me Reach My Goals?
Using the facts of the subconscious mind, you tell it what you desire very specifically. This is setting an intention or programming your subconscious mind for what you desire. Once your desire is clearly determined, you bring it to the present…to now…with your words, actions, and beliefs.
Because your subconscious mind is literal, it does not know if what you are saying is true or not or if it has happened yet or not. Therefore, you should always speak out loud (i.e., affirmations) or write out your goals in the present tense. Specifically, “I am an international best-selling book author changing and inspiring lives with my content while receiving a minimum of $250,000 annually from royalties.” Since your subconscious mind is literal, it does not know that “I am” has happened yet or not. However, when you state it this way you are programming your mind for that to become your reality.
This next step is where the conscious mind and subconscious mind work together to make your goals a reality. Using the “I am” statement as written above as the example, you say it, write it, and act like it has already occurred as often as you can. This helps to reaffirm the programming for your mind. And now you need to take action! You do this by using your conscious mind to create a schedule to make time to sit down and write. Let us say you decide waking up at 5:00 a.m. every morning and writing for two hours every single day is the action you plan to take. Your conscious mind needs to determine this schedule, set your alarm every night, and have your writing space set up and ready for you to immediately sit down and write with no excuses getting in the way.
Once this is your schedule for a while, your subconscious mind takes over and this is now your new habit and daily routine. This is no different than the example given above regarding the morning routine of taking a shower, brushing your teeth, and starting the coffee pot. When you do sit down to write, you are using your conscious mind. This is very similar to the visual depiction example at the beginning of this article.
Do you see how they are intermingled?
We use our conscious mind to determine our goal and why it is our goal. We then start programming our subconscious mind for it to become a reality by talking, writing, and acting as if it is true already. Allowing our mind to believe that we already have our desire, allows our desire to become a reality. We then go back to our conscious mind to create a schedule to work on our goal. After doing this schedule for a while, it becomes a daily routine and habit that will now reside within our subconscious mind until our goal becomes a reality. Once that goal is achieved, use your conscious mind to determine your next goal!
I know that reading this makes it sound easy, and for the person that has been trying to reach a goal for the past 20 years may not understand why they have been unsuccessful. I think many people under-estimate the importance of feeding their subconscious mind. People may feel “silly” saying daily affirmations looking at themselves in the bathroom mirror every morning. Or they may feel “goofy” talking out loud stating their “I am” statements to themselves in the shower or on their daily commute. Or some people just do the programming but do not put the action behind it. These steps do go hand-in-hand and lend itself towards successful completion of goals.
The very last step – and arguably the most important step – is to express gratitude once you have achieved your goal. Express appreciation for your success. When you do this, the Universe appreciates the “nod” and will give you more of which to be proud of. Reaching your goal is a gift. Yes, you worked for it, but it is still a gift. And much like not telling Aunt Agnes thank you for the birthday card with a $20 bill in it, the longer you do not show gratitude, the odds of that stopping may happen sooner than you wish. Give thanks!
Don’t Forget Your Free Download!: To help you determine an important goal you may wish to work on and identifying how to use your conscious and subconscious mind to support you, please download the free worksheet titled, “My Goal Smashing Worksheet.”
Thank you for visiting BU2BFULL, the place where you learn to be YOU to be FULL and live a fulfilled life. I have openings for one-on-one coaching clients if you need support with desiring to be the best version of you. Feel free to schedule a 15-minute consultation to share your desired outcome and to learn how I may best support you.
There is also a YouTube video which accompanies this blog post. Check it out today to learn even more.
Until the next blog, may you be well, happy, hopeful, and strong in mind!
Let’s go from reacting to life to owning life!
This is the path you are on with me right now. For the next few months I will be doing a deep dive on a person’s mind, body, and spirit because having them all in alignment is essential for a balanced life. Having a balanced life is the start of owning your life! The schedule for this 3-part series is that the 2nd and 4th Friday of every month I will share a blog, a YouTube video, and a free download on the topic. January and February will be dedicated to mind, March and April to Body, and May and June to Spirit.
Stick around for this very fun, productive, and informative ride.
Please share this information with others who you feel could benefit, and who you may want to have as an accountability partner as you do the work together.
Thank you and Enjoy!
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Connie Jo Holmes is an author, certified life and health coach and certified hypnotherapist. Connie offers her specialized expertise as a mindset mentor helping individuals align their mind, body, and spirit to live a balanced and renewed life in home, heart, and career. In addition, her 30 years of corporate managerial and leadership experience supports her expertise with self-leadership, personal organization, life planning, and strategic goal-execution.
Connie has specialized training as an anxiety and panic specialist and in removing negative emotions and limiting beliefs. With this specialized training, she is able to help her clients reset themselves for a life of confidence and momentum. Coaching self-acceptance and confidence is the foundation for all that Connie does, including her business name, BU2BFULL, Inc., and her book titled, “Be YOU to be Full: Learn the Art of Self-Acceptance for a Life of Confidence and Fulfillment” which can be found on Amazon as a paperback and eBook.
