What Nobody Told You About Mindset
Maybe you’re wondering…
“What has mindset to do with hypnosis, or mindfulness?”
EVERYTHING!
You see, everybody nowadays talks about mindset: business people, self-help gurus, book authors…
The idea that we need to change our mindset in order to be successful is a widely accepted, almost ingrained notion in our modern society.
The problem with that, is that almost nobody can give you a precise definition of what “mindset” is supposed to mean!
I mean, if we’re supposed to, almost required to change something for something else…
Wouldn’t it make sense to know EXACTLY what to change, what’s wrong with it, and WHAT TO CHANGE IT FOR?
Good luck finding a concrete answer to these basic questions that make any sense!
When I was a business coach, I found this issue with my clients often.
Almost every single one of them would say a variation of “Yes, I know I need to change my mindset”, or “I know that this is a mindset problem”…
But when asked clarification question nobody seemed to be able to give a specific description of what they needed to change, WHY, and what they needed to replace it for.
THAT is the first problem I invite you to reflect about.
Nobody can change something they’re not aware of.
Throwing a blanket statement like “mindset” on top of your unknown problems won’t magically make them less unknown!
With that being said, I do agree that most unwanted situations and psychological blockages we experience in life have, indeed, their roots in our unconscious mind.
That’s what “mindset” means; that’s what most people intuitively perceive but cannot describe.
However, there is no only one “mindset”, but rather hundreds, or even thousands of them, running loose in the background of your mind.
Some are useful; many are not.
I like to think about them as little rogue programs that are running in the background of the computer – your brain – without the user – you – being aware of their existence.
Remember I told you that mindset and hypnosis are closely related?
This is why:
We have 2 minds: a conscious mind and an unconscious mind.
I’m not talking about the brain here, but of course each one of these “minds” is closely connected with your brain, your nervous system and, in the case of the unconscious, your entire body.
I don’t need to explain to you what the conscious mind is.
You know it well: it’s what you call YOU.
All your conscious thoughts, your daily routines and most of what you do while you’re awake is controlled by your conscious mind.
But there are, nonetheless, many other parts of you that you –or your conscious mind– do NOT control!
Think of things like your blood pressure, your metabolism, your body temperature, the pacing of your breathing, your heartbeat, and the myriad of other complex physiological processes and mechanisms that keep you alive.
NONE OF THAT is controlled by your conscious mind!
That’s why we call them “involuntary processes”.
But someone, or something, must be controlling all of these so-called “involuntary” processes, right?
That part of you that’s in change of everything that goes beyond the reign and control of your conscious mind…
That part of you that’s so much bigger, so much deeper and powerful than your conscious mind, and still so unknown, is what’s called “the unconscious mind”, or simply “the unconscious”.
(since it goes beyond the realm of your brain and strictly cognitive processes)
Now let me ask you a question:
What part of your mind do you think is running all your unwanted behaviors, those things you’ve tried once and again to change with no result?
What part of you mind is preventing you from losing weight, stop smoking, or take the steps you know you need to take in order to become more successful?
What part of your mind do you think is laughing at you every resolution day, every time you get inspired after reading a self-help book or attending a business conference…
Every time you decide this one time you will make it, but it never happens?
You’re right!
Because nothing you say from your conscious mind, nothing you promise yourself or your loved ones using your conscious mind will never have the power to transform your life!
Think of the unconscious mind as the operating system of your reality: it’s the one that has direct, unrestricted access to the hardware –your body– and all its raw power.
All the other programs must go through the OS in order to get the resources they need to run.
If the OS, your unconscious mind, decides that a certain program won’t have access to memory, or the CPU, there is nothing that program can do to get the resources it needs to run.
Similarly, your conscious mind can say many things –and she really likes saying a lot of things all the time, she is quite talkative indeed!– make any number of plans, promise and commit to many things…
But at the end of the day, it’s the unconscious who decides if a program is allowed to run or not.
So, what then?
Are we just condemned to whatever destiny our capricious unconscious mind has outlined for us?
Of course not!
But if we want things to start happening in our life, we need to start talking with the owner of the house, instead of the butler! (our conscious mind)
That’s where hypnosis comes in…
Hypnosis is a technique that allows us to move the conscious mind to the side for a little while, so that we can talk to the owner of the house.
And when we start talking with the owner of the house, everything becomes smooth and easy!
Remember those programs running in the background that I mentioned before?
Those rogue programs are what’s running those vices, those unwanted feelings, those destructive behaviors that you’ve been impotent against so far.
But those program all have to obey what the Operating System has to say.
Your conscious mind and will power might never be enough to stop them…
(and that’s why it feels SO DIFFICULT to change the things you know and understand you need to change!)
But your unconscious mind.. that’s quite another story.
She can shut down any running program, and change any behavior… INSTANTLY.
You only need to learn how to communicate with her in a language that she can understand.
You need to learn to “negotiate” with your unconscious mind, to bring about real change in your life.
That’s The Secret.
In the next issue of Wonderful You, we’ll start learning that language…
See you then!
P. S. Mindset is powerful, no doubt, specially if you’re struggling with business or success.
Success Mindset is not the main focus of this newsletter, but if you want to get your hands on the recordings of a 2-hour session I designed exclusively for Success Mindset, you can find it here. For the entire 7-week protocol, check this page.