Vision, Revision, Achievement
Beliefs are so powerful, governing how we feel, how we think, and how we behave. And all of these often come together to form the image of how we view ourselves, other people, and the world around us.
But, our beliefs are also often completely formed in our subconscious.* Our subconscious mind in turn is formed by our memories and experiences. These memories and experiences drive our beliefs and how we think and behave.
So, our beliefs and subconscious are intricately intertwined.
For now, it is good to know that our conscious mind which we are fully aware of, determines how we speak and behave. The thing is, our conscious mind is fed information from our subconscious whether we realise it or not.
Buried deep
We often hear about how memories are buried deep in our subconscious mind. This usually refers to memories which have happened a long time ago, which we have forgotten. But the event is still affecting us in small or big ways, without us realising we are still impacted most of the time.
The memory is buried so deep that we seldom get to “see” it.
But, the trauma or the feelings that these memories evoke, are powerful enough to be the basis for our subconscious thoughts and beliefs. This in turn form our conscious thoughts and behaviour.
But there is something else that it influences along the way.
That is our self-image.
Would it be possible to change our subconscious, alter our belief, change the truth of our lives, and create more positive mental portraits about ourselves?
We can’t change what has happened to us, much less erase the memories and trauma.
But our self-image is still a powerful variable in the whole equation of memories, beliefs, subconscious and conscious thought.
In 1960, an American cosmetic surgeon and author, suggested that we do and can have control over our self-image.
Self-image: the key to our subconscious?
Maxwell Maltz, is the author of “Pyscho-Cybernetics”, a book that shares why and how we can use our subconscious mind to our advantage.
The idea he proposes is that every single person has potential to achieve success. But limiting beliefs and less than positive mental portraits we have of ourselves, hold us back from achieving our ‘glory’.
We have an idea of how powerful our subconscious mind is. So, instead of leaving the subconscious mind to its own devices, and allowing it to keep driving our thoughts and behaviours, can we reverse the process?
According to Medium.com writer, Antonio Martina, one of the takeaways of the book by Maxwell Maltz is that we have to construct a new self-image, one which resembles us the closest.
“Thing is, most people let past experiences define them in a negative way.” Antonio interprets the book as saying this and also that it is a mental distortion that can be overcome.
According to Antonio, the book is about “adopting a new method for better defining ourselves and living life according to the person we were really meant to be.”
Which leads us to the burning question: who are we?
Peeling back the layers
Often, when we meet a life coach, we find that they also hold a hypnotherapy certification. This skill allows them to get to the root of many matters that may be stumping us. For example, hypnotherapy helps in answering questions like: “Who are we, truly?”
So, a chat with a life coach does not have to happen only when big massive problems start to manifest in our lives. Sometimes, coaches are good sounding boards to bounce our thoughts off with. Other times, they give a clue as to whether our life is on track, or whether there is an area we should be working on.
When life gets hectic, it can be pretty difficult to hear ourselves think, much less understand what we are saying to ourselves, or comprehend what we are going through.
That is when a life coach may appear, with a listening ear and the skills required to get to the bottom of our blue funk, and our discordant thoughts.
Understanding ourselves better, gives us important clues to what our self-portrait is meant to look like, without any of the shortcomings or negativity we accumulate over the years.
Having this more positive self-image of ourselves is an important first step to intentionally changing our thoughts and actions, to better thoughts and actions that are aligned to who you are.
Nobody is better at being you, than you.
When you find this harmony in yourself, no one can stop you.
REFERENCES
* https://www.thechangespace.net/articles/how-our-subconscious-mind-influences-our-conscious-mind
