Why creating lasting positive change can be challenging

This article appeared in M2 Magazine

We all know how it goes - you want to create positive change in your lives, whether it's to lose weight, eat better, exercise more, stop smoking, not get so stressed out at work, save more money, spend more time with friends and family and so on. You have the best intentions and the desire yet you don't seem to be able to follow through. Why?

The answer often comes down to not what you're thinking about but more of what you're not thinking about. While it's what you pay attention to that makes up your conscious mind, it's the sum total of all neurological and biochemical functions that take place below the level of conscious awareness that makes up the unconscious mind. Your emotions, imagination, memories, values and belief systems lie in your unconscious mind so as a result your actions and behaviour is driven by your unconscious mind, not the other way round. You simply make conscious decisions based on what's going on under the surface.

Your unconscious mind has to align with your conscious desire for change otherwise the change won't last. At some point you'll sabotage yourself and end up where you started but only more dejected. When it comes down to just having will power (conscious mind) to create change versus imagination (unconscious mind) - the imagination wins every time. So if you've ever tried to make a change and really wanted to make this change but didn't succeed, then there's a conflict occurring. You need both your conscious and unconscious mind working together to create long term positive change in your life. The way to achieve that is to take the time to self-reflect and tap into your unconscious mind and become aware of your strongest drivers in life.

Your unconscious mind is incredibly powerful. It is the very essence and core of how you experience yourself and the world you live in. It is active 24/7 and constantly takes in information even that which you're not aware of. The unconscious mind is impartial and takes whatever you put into it. It doesn't critically analyse the thoughts as it doesn't have that capability - that's role of the conscious mind. Now where this can work against you if you were told when you were growing up that you were stupid, fat, unattractive, or not going to amount to much then your unconscious mind would take this literally. It doesn't know how to take a joke. So what someone says to you especially when you were more susceptible at a younger age, could very well dictate your behavioural patterns to this day.

If someone said those things to you now, it probably wouldn't have the same effect. That's because you are much more rational now than you were when you were growing up. You may be hurt by such comments but you wouldn't take that person's belief on as your own. However, the part of your brain that is responsible for your rational, logical thought isn't fully developed until your mid-twenties (which explains a lot of the irrational behaviour of teenagers) so your unconscious mind believes what it hears. And voila - a limiting belief is born and lives with you. You won't lose weight if deep down you believe you're fat. It doesn't make sense, how can a fat person look and feel great? You won't try for great things if you truly believe you won't amount to much.

Are you stuck with such limiting beliefs? Only if you choose to be. There are tools that have proven to be very successful re-programming the unconscious mind. And you don't have to have limiting beliefs to re-program your mind for the better. Elite athletes, artists and business people do it all the time. What you have to appreciate is that just consciously thinking positive thoughts and using good old fashioned will power isn't enough. You need to get down and dirty with the source - all your emotions, values and beliefs systems that reside in your unconscious mind.

You access your unconscious mind whenever you bypass the conscious mind which acts as your critical faculty. You do this daily - every time you drift off to sleep, relax in the shower or bath, drive to work or just tune out and relax. Whenever that critical voice in your head takes a backseat, you have access to your unconscious mind. Ironically, the trick is to use this knowledge consciously. Make time to relax deeply and go about re-programming your unconscious mind. That is all hypnosis is. It's a deep relaxation where you are more open to positive suggestions. Those who say that positive affirmations don't work haven't been using them properly. There are some guidelines with affirmations. They need to be positive, practical, specific and in the present tense in order to work for you.

Ultimately your unconscious mind is there to serve you so you must take responsibility to not only monitor your thoughts but do a stocktake on what's currently in there. Taking time out of your busy daily schedule is a must if you want to access this powerhouse. It is possible to have your conscious mind working in harmony with your unconscious mind and when they do - watch out! They don't merely add to the other, but one is multiplied by the other. You get this happening and you'll create that long-term positive change and achieve your desired level of success and fulfillment.

Wade Jackson

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