The Conscious and Subconscious Mind

We are only conscious of our actions about 5% of the time, which means that the other 95% of the time, our actions are controlled by an autopilot mode known as the subconscious. This is crucial; if we do not make effective use of the remaining 95%, we will be in big trouble.

The Subconscious Mind

Our subconscious mind is like a massive library that stores everything we've learned and been affected by due to factors such as our environment, culture, family, and all thoughts and emotions that these environmental factors cause us to experience. These experiences or learned behaviours formed what we called "memories," and they shaped how we felt about ourselves in general and how we responded to specific inputs in particular.

From the time we are born until the age of seven, we subconsciously believe everything we are told or experience in our surroundings as if it is true, without questioning whether it is good or bad, true or false. This is because we have not yet established our analytical skills. Between the ages of 7 and 12, analytical minds develop, creating a barrier between the conscious and subconscious minds.

The Conscious Mind

Our conscious mind acts as the library's keeper, analyzing all information contained within. Without the conscious mind to contemplate these experiences and thoughts, the information stored in our subconscious is meaningless. And without the subconscious mind storing the information, the conscious mind has nothing to think about.

The Relationship between Subconscious and Conscious Minds

When we are younger, we are much more active with our conscious mind as we try to fill up the memory space in our subconscious, but as we get older, we tend to rely more heavily on our subconscious program to function in our daily lives.

When you first learned to ride a bike at 5 years old, for example, your conscious mind was completely focused on the action because you were still learning how to do it. But now that you're an adult, you can jump on a bike with very little thought; it's automatic and instinctive. This is because when you first learned to ride a bike, the knowledge was stored in your subconscious, so you don't have to re-learn every time you get on one. In other words, you have been subconsciously programmed to ride a bike. Furthermore, because you already know how to ride a bike, you free up your conscious mind to concentrate on things like surrounding traffic to ensure your safety.

Scenarios to Consider

• Scenario 1: You picked up undesirable behaviours before the age of seven that aided in developing victim mindsets, poor mental capacities, and interpersonal issues.

• Scenario 2: Something happened to you, either directly or indirectly, that totally changed your perception of yourself, causing your insecurity, lack of confidence, low self-esteem, and body image issues.

• Scenario 3: You want to stop engaging in unhealthy habits including self-harm, procrastination, addiction, and eating disorders.

• Scenario 4: You've been unhappy for a long time, which has resulted in depression, anxiety, phobias, and other mental health problems. Also, you are displaying negative emotions and thoughts that could put you and other people at risk.

I believe you don't want anyone to get hurt, including yourself. Let's take a minute to consider those scenarios. If you're aware of what's going on in your life and truly want to change it, how do you go about doing so, and where does transformation take place? The answer is that if you want to break bad habits, unlearn undesirable behaviours, and regain control of your life, connecting with your subconscious is where you should begin.

Willpower Myth

Early on, we learn to navigate the world with our conscious minds, which include logic, reasoning, analytical thinking, willpower, and other skill sets; yet, conscious mind-driven change has its limitations. Why do we keep falling back into old patterns when it is possible and easy to break them using logic and mind talk? For example, if you are aware that a healthy diet and exercise are beneficial to your health and that this is a reasonable conclusion, why aren't you able to stick to the healthy eating habits and exercise routine at least twice or three times per week? We may have a lot of logical thoughts in our heads, but action is what really counts. Between thoughts and actions, there is a huge gap. If this gap exists, there is no reward, and it is obvious that reason and willpower alone are unable to close it.

Processing Power

The conscious mind has limited storage space, and it can only process 40 to 50 bits of information per second. The subconscious mind, on the other hand, has an infinite amount of storage space, is capable of processing about 20 million bits of information per second, and can be magically accessible while hypnotized. Scientists have demonstrated that during the hypnotic state, information in this part of the mind is easily accessed, and the mind is very suggestive to change. To put it another way, in order to change and give up old habits and create new healthy ones, we have to communicate with our subconscious mind.

— Q