In my last few articles, I’ve been peeling back the layers of how your subconscious mind shapes so much more of your life than you probably realize, and how most of your choices each day come from subconscious programming, even when you think you’re in full control.
To give you an example… When most people feel stuck in life, they tend to assume they have a motivation problem, thinking, “I just need to push harder, or get more disciplined.” But the truth is, willpower is almost never the real issue. What’s truly holding you back when you can’t move forward is all about what’s happening within your subconscious.
That’s why in this article, I want to give you an opportunity to experience what takes place inside of you during these moments of internal conflict, in real time, by walking you through a simple exercise that’ll let you clearly witness how “subconscious blocks” can show up in your body and mind – this will help make it so you can start to recognize your subconscious patterns for yourself.
The Exercise (do this before reading on)
Take a minute to close your eyes and think about something you really want in life but that you’ve consistently stopped yourself from taking action on (do this now before reading any further).
Do you have it?
When you have that “thing” in your mind, put yourself fully into the thought of already having it. Imagine what your life would be like if you literally had it right now… (let your mind play out all the scenarios of what it would be like to achieve it). Take your time. You’ll want to really get into internally experiencing what it would be like to have it (don’t read on until you do).
Now close your eyes and pay attention; as you did the above, what came up in your “inner world”?:
- What did you see in your mind’s eye? Did you see yourself achieving what you want, or did you see yourself failing?
- What did you hear in your inner ear? Did you tell yourself you’ll be able to have it one day, or that you’ll never have it? Maybe you heard someone else’s voice talking to you?
- Where did you feel emotions in your body? Were the feelings positive or negative? Was there just one feeling, or were there more than one? What emotions do those feelings represent?
Take some time to go back and focus on those “inner happenings” that took place and ask yourself, “When I think about achieving what I want, do these inner responses support me in moving forward – or do they convince me that I’ll never get there and should stop trying?”
What You Just Experienced (how blocks surface)
If during this exercise you noticed you felt negative emotions like fear or self-doubt, you continuously imagined yourself failing, or you heard inner commentary that told you you’ll never have it, then these are all things that make up what I call “subconscious blocks” – mental and emotional patterns that are coming up from your subconscious mind because it’s trying to get you to stop yourself from moving forward.
And if I were to guess, all of the things you just noticed are probably the same things that come up inside of you all the time when you think about what you want – and they probably always stop you from taking action.
Your subconscious mind uses thoughts and feelings as ‘prompts’ to direct you.
In this case, it’s using them to internally tell you not to go for what you want, because it thinks you’re better off if you don’t, all based on your belief systems.
Basically, without realizing it, your subconscious mind is always prompting you via these “internal happenings”, and you’ve been unknowingly acting based on them.
How “subconscious blocks” get created (quick overview)
I won’t go too into too much detail here, because I wrote an entire article on how subconscious blocks are formed based on our belief systems (I’ll add a link to that article at the end of this one, if you want to read it), but here are the Coles notes:
Essentially, over the course of our lives, trauma, conditioning, and really intense emotional experiences take place, and these experiences end up forming a kind of “map” of associations within us at a subconscious level. Our subconscious mind then uses this map to understand and navigate the world around us.
It’s kind of like a computer program that’s running in the background of our minds 24/7, prompting every action we take.
If you noticed fear, doubt, or resistance come up during the exercise, that’s why.
Your subconscious mind is always scanning the world for what feels safe and familiar, and anything outside of that comfort zone can get flagged as a possible threat. Even if it’s something you consciously want, your subconscious treats “new” as “danger” and brings up protective emotions to stop you from moving forward. You might even have trauma tied to the thing you want to do, so your subconscious mind is bringing up intense emotions that will get you to stop yourself from moving forward.
It thinks it’s protecting you. But really, it’s just keeping you in familiar territory – even when that familiarity is the very thing keeping you stuck.
If you didn’t catch my previous article on how subconscious beliefs are formed, you can read it here.
Until next time… take some time to practice noticing your “inner” world in a way that lets you see what thoughts and emotions are holding you back. Once you get used to doing this, the next level is to release them.
Wishing you the very best,
Nikki