Ever feel like your circling the same “problem” or behavior over and over and OVER again?
It’s the biblical equivalent of the Israelites wandering in the dessert for 40 years on a trip that should’ve taken 11 days.
Why does this happen? How do we get stuck?
In the case of the Israelites, I’ve heard it described by Evangelist, Joyce Meyer, that it was a mindset issue. Instead of setting their minds (and steps) toward the direction of their desired destination, they kept going around and around in circles. Their doubts, fears and patterns drove their actual actions, even though their original intention was to reach the Promised Land.
Believe it or not, there’s a scientific, neurological explanation to this and it has to do with subconscious programming.
I can’t speak for the Israelites, but I can share some of my experiences with changing eating habits and healthy lifestyle behavior. This is oftentimes why it can be so effective to have a coach or practitioner to draw you out of your current subconscious programming.
In the brain, we have our conscious mind and our subconscious mind. As you can see from the image here, the conscious mind is what we are aware of and it controls about 2-4% of our actual perception and behavior. The rest is driven by the subconscious.
In other words, the subconscious is running the show MOST of the time.
So you may tell yourself in November/December: “I’m not going to have any desserts at any holiday parties this season.” (conscious mind instruction), but when the time comes, unless you can white knuckle it and stay very conscious at every gathering you attend, if your subconscious mind is not aligned with that conscious intent, you’ll likely be indulging in those treats. (not that there’s anything wrong with that – it’s just an example :))
It’s really exhausting to stay conscious all the time. I shared my experience with drinking less wine at parties/gatherings on the blog throughout the year. It wasn’t until I actually programmed my subconscious mind using hypnosis with clear instructions (I drink moderately – ~3 glasses per gathering) that it became more effortless. Sometimes I have 4 drinks – it’s not really about the number. It’s about the amount I can tolerate without feeling like crap later when I’m trying to sleep (and the next day). I’ve definitely found my flow, so to speak, and feel much more aligned than I have in decades. It’s a pretty effortless experience now.
So beyond hypnosis, how do we reprogram our subconscious mind to reach our desired state or goals? Using some evidence based teachings I’ve learned from various programs, it takes consistent repetition and reinforcement. Here are 3 tested techniques you can try:
- Clearly define your intention. So if you have a goal to say lose 20 lbs of body fat, you need to get specific about how you’re going to approach this goal. How will you change your eating and drinking habits specifically? Will you add more exercise to your weekly routine? What, when and how? As you set these specific intentions and actions, write them down and get excited about them. The emotional connection to them is critical. If your ‘Blah’ and ‘meh about it, you won’t stimulate enough charge to make the changes you need to make in the subconscious mind.
- Anchor the changes in solid values, facts and/or beliefs. My gluten sensitivity knowledge (through testing), is a perfect example of how this “fact” permanently changed my eating behavior – even though I LOVED bread. Knowing and believing that gluten was inflammatory and was creating immune reactions (which lowered my thyroid function > thus my metabolism > thus making me fatter) was all I needed to know to change my eating behavior with gluten several years ago. Done. Having a lean (ish), strong, healthy body is a super high core value to me. We’ll do what it takes to support our values. You may need to examine and realign your values if there’s a disconnect. I find this sometimes with clients. They come to me wanting to lose weight, but their values are not aligned with their stated desire. They want comfort more than they want to change or to “give up” something. We have to dig into the subconscious beliefs and motivations a little deeper. Many times we uncover underlying stressors in their jobs, relationships and lifestyle that subconsciously override the conscious desire.
- Set your mind daily on your desired outcome and actions and really feel how amazing it feels to achieve your desired state. It’s not enough to just set it and forget it. Remember the iceberg. The subconscious mind runs the show. You’ll have to reinforce the programming in your mind – at least daily – to create new neural grooves. This is how habits are formed – both good and bad. Without reinforcement, the old patterns will most likely take over. You can do this in several ways. Here are some effective tools to try:
- Schedule the thing you’re changing. If it’s gym time, food prep time, bed time – schedule it – and have everything in place so that it’s more likely to happen. These are environmental supports that make it easier for the subconscious to follow the change in behavior.
- Meditation – even 10 minutes of stillness a day can help reset and realign the mind and clear the mental clutter that distracts us from our goal.
- Affirmations – Verbally stating your desired state sends powerful message to the brain which helps to reinforce the desired changes. Repeat your affirmations in the present tense such as: “I AM eating mindfully and in a nourishing way.” or “I AM exercising 4 times a week at an appropriate intensity to support my health and wellbeing.”
- Writing – Journaling your intentions, feelings, impressions creates powerful neural connections.
- Speaking – Say or record your intended actions to yourself or a trusted friend or practitioner.
- Other Visual aids – vision boards, drawing, video recordings, viewing images of others accomplishing what you want to accomplish are all powerful tools to make your subconscious mind aligned with your conscious desire.
So what speaks to you in this change process? Do you feel like you’re stuck or not making progress in your goals? If it’s weight loss (and you’re hormonally challenged like me), I want you to consider joining us in January for the Metabolic Reset Program designed for those of us who are “weight loss resistant” – where you do everything right for the most part, but the scale (or body fat) stays stuck. We’ll be tackling mindset principles described here, in combination with breakthrough metabolic eating strategies to wake up a sleepy metabolism and get you back into being a fat burning machine! Learn more about the program here.
I’ll reach out again after Christmas. Until then, I wish you all a blessed holiday! <3
xo,
Ev
