The Conscious / Unconscious Mind
New Habits – Three ways to keep it going!
Unbelievably, we are almost at the end of January 2023! Those resolutions and goals may have fallen by the wayside for many already as we wade through our daily lives of everyday lists of old and new challenges. The truth of the matter is that although we set all intentions with our conscious mind (our waking/ learning brain), our subconscious mind (our data storage facility) has prerecorded behaviours that it will always resort to. Therefore, it is the subconscious mind that we need to reprogram to see real and lasting change.
3 Ways to reprogram your subconscious mind:
1. Change thinking patterns with a 2 step process of using positive language.
- Acknowledge the difficulty and say to yourself,
“This may be hard, or, I don’t feel like doing this, BUT / AND…
2. Now add something positive and keep it in the present moment e.g.
…I am doing this, I do have energy, I am strong, I believe, I will continue, I can persevere, I don’t need it (the negative habit) …., etc”
By acknowledging our challenges instead of cancelling them, we work through them and feel good about ourselves when we achieve results.
Whatever language we use internally, determines how we feel and behave – so change that language and you WILL see results.
2. Make gradual progress towards your goals.
Having a forever plan can be very daunting and overwhelming. New habits take determination and stickability. Practice again and again, over and over and you will get there gradually as your brain records new responses and turns them into new behaviours in your subconscious mind. That is when you begin to do them automatically. Don’t focus on the days that you did not manage to do what you wanted, instead, focus on the days that you DID.
So, take one day at a time and congratulate yourself on small wins.
If you dropped your phone or something valuable, you would not bash it up even more, would you? Of course not – you would fix it!
Here’s another example, when you are anxious, you take yourself out of the scenario and focus on your breathing, but you only manage it 3/7 times that you were anxious over the week – that is okay because you are still mastering it remember – well done – be kind to yourself! At least that is 3 more times than before that you were in control!
3. Keep a progress journal
By writing, we can mirror our thoughts and release past emotions that were embedded in our subconscious onto paper.
We can also record progress for new behaviours so that we can see a steady improvement over time.
Always start with the negative aspects and end up with the positives so you feel good when you finish. You will be amazed at how it will help you. Read and add to it regularly so you can enjoy your ongoing determination and results. Addressing how far you have come will keep up your motivation levels much longer than you expected.
Here are a couple of really good books if you want to read some more on changing habits and discipline :
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
How to Build Self Discipline by Martin Meadows
Thanks for taking the time to read this blog. Please do share and comment on whichever platform you receive it. Sharing and commenting creates a dialogue that could make a big difference to someone.
