10 Jan How To Access Your Subconscious Mind for Success

To look into how to access your subconscious mind for success you have to first understand the subconscious mind.

How do you think a caterpillar knows to make a cocoon, and stay in there until it can break out? What does the caterpillar know of flying, it has crawled all its life and now it’s suddenly going to grow wings,look at the sun and take flight?  How does it even know that it has to fly? How can a change so drastic not disable its willpower and instinct?

The answer lies in this line: “ All animals operate on a subconscious level “. This means that animals use their subconscious mind more than their conscious mind, and that’s why no one has to teach them how to swim or how to fly(it’s all in a flash drive buried deep inside their brain and that flash drive is called- Instinct)

Although they do have an awareness and consciousness of some things- they are not like us. Us humans on the other side have a pre-frontal cortex, and the ability to make conscious decisions easily. We can understand complex things like empathy and have deep meaningful lives! But we are not aware of the fact that our beliefs, our likes, our habits have all risen from something deeper inside - the subconscious.Everything happening to us is based on the subconscious mind: our capability, our behaviour and our ideas are all in the subconscious. Whatever motivates you, is a part of the subconscious mind, contrary to what you may believe.

95% of what we do in a day is done subconsciously. What makes up things below the awareness level- your weaknesses and strengths, your values, things that motivate you on a deep level- is the subconscious mind. So it’s safe to say that the actions we take or the behaviour we exhibit is subconsciously motivated, right? Hence, it’s important to change the subconscious mind first and then move to the things we do consciously.

For example: When you wake up, do you think to yourself- This is a brush, I will apply toothpaste to it now, I will now insert it in my mouth and scrape it around to clean it. NO! You’re probably wondering what to make for breakfast, or thinking about something you saw on your phone after waking up or maybe you’re even thinking about going for number 1 or number 2. You always have something else running in your mind- you are doing something so naturally and so involuntarily like brushing your teeth(which you’ve done for years) while thinking about something totally different.

Animals would never do this- they only focus on the task at hand, not wondering about what to do after the sun goes down as they clean themselves. When they are hunting, they are hunting. When they are swimming, they are swimming. End of story.

So how do you access your subconscious mind for success?

The only way to make a positive change and get the results you want to see- whether it’s weight loss or being successful at something- requires the subconscious mind (that characterizes us) to change first!

If you were motivated subconsciously by some event that made you a good public speaker- then your character is one that is not shy. If you were motivated subconsciously by a parent to hate germs- then your characteristic is going to be germophobic. Sometimes the first thing that pops to mind when somebody asks “tell me about yourself”, might not be “hi, I’m a germophobe, nice to meet you”..but you know it’s there in the back of your mind. Subconscious decisions define your personality. We have habits and beliefs, and everything that’s going around in our lives, comes from an unconscious or subconscious mind.

Change happens on subconscious levels but it requires you to dig deep- it’s not just beneath the surface and it’s not going to happen with just one conscious input. But generally, just knowing or having some or barely any sort of awareness is like being the caterpillar. A positive shift in your subconscious will happen if you retain it by being consistent and persistent. You have to do it AGAIN, and AGAIN, and AGAIN and  AGAIN.

Positive people alter their subconscious by believing that change on the conscious level will feel good for a moment but change on the subconscious level will feel great for a lifetime. Also because they know that they lose weight involuntarily or achieve a milestone involuntarily - as easily as brushing teeth in the morning - by forcing the subconscious to ACT differently.

Let me leave you with this example: A week back, when I saw the ad for a new chocolate product: Cadbury’s Dairymilk(an Indian favorite) now with the addition of the classic cookie: Oreos, I wanted to eat that immediately.

Now even though I’ve been trying to eat healthier- the thought about not enjoying that chocolate, despite my lifestyle change, never entered my mind. This is because my subconscious mind made the decision to eat it a week back. An hour later I saw some muffins, but my conscious mind reminded my subconscious to stay consistent with my diet and not give in. I quickly thought of a quote that said what you eat privately, is what you wear publicly. 

I must say, training the subconscious mind may take a lot of time and consistent effort, but the payoff will come in multiple ways and you will be successful no matter how hard the challenge maybe( like me around cake).

 Nehita Abraham

Nehita is a mindfulness expert who writes extensively on lifestyle management, wellness and ways to lead a healthier and a happier life. She is a part of Aware’s expert team on meditation. She is also an avid artist who spends most her time dribbling amazing stories through art.