There’s a quote by Thomas Dewar that says, “Minds are like parachutes; they work best when open.” And I think we’d all agree with that. However, what if I told you that your mind isn’t as open as you think it is? That as it turns out, your brain has actually been wired to sabotage your biggest goals. Let’s talk about how our brain is wired and Why It’s So Hard to Make Change In Our Lives.
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Positive Thinking is #goals
We’ve talked in the past about the power of positive thinking, and why it’s crucial to getting what we want in our lives and avoiding what we don’t, because our thinking holds a crap load of power. What we think about, we manifest. Right? But if thinking more positively was so easy, wouldn’t we all be manifesting the lives of our wildest dreams on the daily? Exactly. So, it’s safe to wonder if there’s something going on UP IN HERE, that’s responsible for screwing up these manifestations. And if you were thinking that your brain might be holding you back from creating your dream life, you were right. It’s the reason Why It’s So Hard to Make Change In Our Lives.
Celebrating the Power of our Brains
It’s not the first time you heard of our brain doing wildly weird things right? Take for example, the fact that two people can look at the same situation (like a crime scene, for instance) and see two completely different things! Or, do you remember that dress that everyone was raving about a few years ago? Remember how some people saw it as black and blue and others saw it as gold? It was a phenomenon that revealed differences in human color perception, so people didn’t see it the same way depending on how their brain was wired. and people still don’t really know the answer to the dress question.
My point is that the brain is a pretty freaking crazy thing. And the more we know about how our brains are wired, the more we can start to implement some strategies to help us make changes. Because that’s what we’re all trying to do right? (i.e lose weight, make more money, be more organized, be less stressed, do more of what we love, and essentially just BE happier people right?)
So if I told you that the reason you aren’t manifesting all of your biggest and wildest dreams, and Why It’s So Hard to Make Change In Our Lives, is because of your brain. Would you want to learn more? I thought so.
Introduction to our Conscious and Unconscious Minds
Let’s examine our conscious and unconscious minds, because here is where we’ll learn the fundamental reason Why It’s So Hard to Make Change In Our Lives.
Our subconscious mind stores and retrieve data. And It’s the part of your mind that notices and remembers information when you are not actively trying to do so. It’s basically in charge of making sure your whole body lives to see another day. So for example, it makes sure your heart is beating, that your lungs are working, so that you don’t actually have to actively think about doing those things, and you can instead focus on…well, all the things. I mean, have you ever thought about how incredible it is that you don’t have to actively think about how to heel that scab from the zit you picked last week? That’s because your subconscious (or unconscious mind) does it all for you.
The conscious mind is the part of your mind that is responsible for logic and reasoning. So if I ask you how much money you’ll need to make this month to pay for that Loui Vuitton bag you’ve been eyeing, it’s your conscious mind that is going to be used to do that math. The conscious mind also controls all the physical actions that you do, like moving your hand or leg. Basically, whenever you’re aware of the thing you’re doing, you can pretty much be sure that you are doing it with your conscious mind.
Why It’s So Hard to Make Change In Our Lives: Automation
As you learn how to do things, consciously, you store your learnings in your unconscious mind so you don’t have to actively think about how to do them again.
You can think of drying your hair with a hair dryer as a great example. When I first got layers in my hair back in junior high, my stylist made a big deal about how I was going to have to learn how to dry my hair with a hair dryer if I was going to be able to rock this new style. Can anyone remember the first time they did this? It’s a disaster right? You’re hitting yourself in the head with the dryer, you don’t know what hand to hold the brush in. It’s so hard! But now, a number of years later, it comes easily and I don’t have to think about it. That’s because it’s been programmed into my subconscious mind.
This is the reason It’s So Hard To Make Change In Our Lives
So why is this important? When we’re born we have a completely unprogrammed subconscious mind. We had no preconceived notions about anything. But in the first few years of our lives, our brains get programmed by observing the behaviors of people in our immediate environment, like our parents, our siblings, our close relatives, and so on. Kids learn what’s acceptable and unacceptable in terms of social behaviors and what the general rules are in our households, schools, churches, and nations. Think about it like this. Your subconscious mind is an empty open bucket. It get’s loaded up in the first 6 years of your life. And then the bucket is sealed shut and you’ve programmed your subconscious mind for life.
Automation is great when using a hair dryer. But while you save precious getting ready-minutes, what else do you think you have programmed in your mind? Have you ever stopped to think about it?
What is most important about this is to know that your unconscious mind actually controls 95 percent of your behavior, thoughts, and beliefs that you have every day. That means that what you directly downloaded into your subconscious mind as a very young child is programming your life as you know it today.
So if you’re looking to think differently than you have your entire life, it’s going to take some work.
Example Your Unconscious Beliefs
So my question to you today is, Do you think that if you examined some of the beliefs and thoughts that you have about yourself today – the ones on repeat – the one’s you’ve automated like drying your hair – that they would really serve you?
I’d encourage you to take a little bit of time to listen to your internal dialogue. What’s something you’ve been telling yourself for years that has now become automated, but is actually completely and utterly false? Maybe it’s something your father said to you in passing, maybe it’s something your grandmother said. The key here – and a running theme with this podcast – is to start becoming aware of your thoughts. And asking yourself the question, where did that come from? Why do I think that? Is this REALLY true?
Once you start to uncover these unconscious beliefs that you’re living by, you can start to change them, which is the first step to transforming and celebrating your life.
Let’s Connect!
Lastly, thank you so much for taking the time to read about this Why It’s So Hard to Make Change In Our Lives! I love to help you celebrate life through party decorations and personal development! But above all, I’d love to connect with you. Reach out to me on Instagram and let’s chat. Start transforming from the inside out on The Celebration Effect Podcast. You can also get more value by signing up to get my FREE gratitude journal printable to help you start celebrating your everyday life through gratitude.
xox
Lindsay