Earl Nightingale, a respected speaker/author dealing with the subjects of human character development, motivation, excellence and meaningful existence said “Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality. ” As a basic understanding, the subconscious mind differs from that of the conscious one where with repetition, it guides us to or away from our goals. Thus, those who know how to effectively harness it, know the secrets to achieving great triumph in life.

Before any further discussion, here are some interesting facts:

1. The subconscious mind never rests. It runs 90% in your daily life, thus meaning only 10% of your conscious mind is being used.
2. The subconscious mind generally works best when people are not alert, hence meaning the greatest of ideas might “click” in your brain at the randomest moments, i.e watching TV, running, showering etc.
3. The subconscious mind is the irrational, non-analytical part, meaning that it believes anything the mind is fed. It does not have the power to differentiate “realness” from “imagination”.
4. The main function of the subconscious mind is to keep a person alive. It does not affect ones ability to choose right from wrong, and this is why most people tend to keep repeating ‘bad’ habits.
5. The subconscious mind stores detailed information of everything you have ever experienced, felt, seen, heard or read; starting from they forth day of the forth month of when you were in your mother’s womb!.

To have a life that works, the subconscious mind and the conscious mind must align. This may sound simple, however in reality is rather challenging. People tend to set goals however, an inner conflict within the 2 may hinder the outcome. A common example is a person trying to quit smoking. If one were to decide to quit smoking, the conscious mind will make the effort, however the subconscious mind, being able to recall all the fond memories and experiences will prevent the persons ability to go “cold turkey”. People tend to succumb to the subconscious mind. Furthermore, in efforts to have a balanced life, you could aim to get in touch with surrendering to and releasing toxicity in the subconscious mind and aligning it you your goals.

Photo Credit: Ales Krivec