“I don’t know why I did that.”
“Why is this harder for me than other people?”
Maybe you’ve had those thoughts cross your mind.
Or maybe you and a friend have been somewhere and had completely different recollections of the events that happened… and maybe that difference led to a disagreement.
So, who’s right? Why does this happen?
Imagine for a moment that every second, $20,000 in pennies are being dropped in front of you, and each second, you need to grab $1.26 and divide it into 5-9 groups of pennies.
That’s what your mind is doing with all of the information that you are bombarded with each second.
You may have heard that we use only 10% of our minds… and that’s false. We actually use most of the mind at all times, BUT… only 0.006% of that is in our conscious awareness. That leaves 99.994% of all of the information in any given moment hidden away in our subconscious where it’s stored and often left running like apps running in the background on your phone.
If you didn’t already know, you have a conscious mind and a subconscious mind.
And the key to achieving your dream life is harnessing the amazing superpowers you have by learning to program your subconscious mind to take you there.
Because if you don’t program it… you’re running on an auto-pilot program set by someone else!
Let’s say you’re at the most amazing buffet ever. There’s food everywhere you look. You hear everyone enjoying their meal and you feel your tummy begin to rumble with excitement as the fragrance of different spices wafts your way and you can almost taste your favorite foods in your mind.
A server offers to help you by making a plate for you, so you don’t have to spend the energy searching through all the different foods. And knowing nothing of your tastes, he builds you a plate with 126 different bites of food… and all of them are items you absolutely dislike.
Do you decide this is a horrible buffet?
Or do you go up and select your own plate of 126 bites of foods that you love?
Because this is how our minds are interpreting what we call “reality” in any given moment.
Every second, 2.3 million bits of information are coming in through our 5 senses… what we see, hear, touch, smell, and taste.
And all of that information gets deleted, distorted, and generalized through a system of filters to deliver you the 126 bits that you will be consciously aware of as your reality, or your experience, including the words you use to label that experience.
This “reality” then interacts with your emotional state and your physiology, or how you’re holding your body, to produce the actions you take or don’t take, which gives you your results in life.
So, let’s say you see the plate of food from the server and you’re instantly disappointed. You feel that in your body as your head drops and that excitement you had fades.
Now, you’re left with a choice…
You can react by getting upset and leaving the restaurant… or you can smile, say thank you, and go up to grab your own plate of foods you love.
This is where your superpowers are: in your ability to control the “reality” you experience, the emotions you feel, the actions you take… and ultimately the results you get.
But how do we do that?
Yes, you can force yourself to be happy, you can move your body around so you feel better, and you can say positive affirmations to negate negative self-talk… and that all helps. But it’s also very conscious and takes your personal energy and effort.
A more powerful way to change your actions and results is to change what you experience as your reality. When you can pull 126 bits of information that empower you in every given moment, no matter what’s happening, that shifts everything.
And you do that by changing any one of the 8 filters that determine that reality.
8 ways you can activate your inner superpowers to create your vision board life
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Pay attention to where and when you are.
Think about it. Being asked to borrow a dollar while out at lunch with a friend is a lot different than that same friend waking you in the middle of the night to ask to borrow that same dollar, isn’t it? So, when taking any action or communication, use time and location to determine if now is the best fit.
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Never have an important conversation when…
Remember when you were a kid and you knew not to ask for something when that person was in a bad mood? That’s because you already knew this filter existed!
Remember this acronym: I-HALT. Never have an important conversation if either of you are intoxicated, hungry, angry, lonely, or tired.
It’s ok to set a boundary to postpone important conversations under these conditions. Your mood leaks and affects everything it touches. It’s ok to take a moment to get your mood in a better place before continuing, which is why learning how to instantly put yourself in a good mood is a foundational skill I teach!
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Watch your language.
The words that you say (and think) don’t simply describe your reality- they dictate it. When you call a situation a “problem,” it often creates a feeling of being stuck. Call that same situation a “challenge,” and you begin to notice some movement and see how you can take action. Change the label again and call it an “opportunity,” and you may even notice a little bit of excitement at what you may be able to create. Now, the situation itself didn’t changed, but your experience of it -your reality of it- did. And when you can change your reality, it affects your behaviors and your results. Choose words that create positive pictures and feelings, even during challenging times.
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Choose how you choose to remember.
If the data coming in are related to a memory with negative emotions, you will likely pull the 126 that supports those emotions and see the current situation through that. If the current data triggers positive memories, then you’ll likely find 126 positive bits of data to call “real.”
Think about the ocean… it’s simply water. If you’ve almost drowned, putting your toes in the waves may trigger negative feelings, but if you’re a paddle boarder or a surfer, you see those same waves and you feel excitement. Learn to release negative emotions from past memories by getting the learnings from those events instead.
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When did you decide that?
Decisions you’ve made, both consciously and subconsciously, impact you every moment. When a disempowering decision comes up, this one question can help you pull from your subconscious the moment you decided that. When you pull a different 126 bits of information, you can see the other decisions that were available- and even choose now to make a new one.
For example, if you think to yourself “I don’t deserve to be successful” or “this is difficult for me so I must not be meant to achieve this,” you can follow that statement up with: “When did I decide that?” and let that answer flow to you. Now, it may feel made up and that’s perfect, because your subconscious mind is the imaginative part of you. Once you have that answer, you can ask yourself if there’s a different decision you could have made in that past moment.
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Whose belief is that anyway?
So often, our beliefs were ones we adopted from someone while we were younger. If you have a belief that is holding you back, simply ask yourself whose belief it was to begin with. And then give it back to them and choose a more empowering belief for yourself. Not sure if something is a belief or a truth? Ask yourself this: does everyone belief this? If the answer is no, then it’s a belief… and that’s something you can change.
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What’s important to me about… ?
Many people in life don’t know why they do or don’t do something. They set a goal, but then don’t take the actions to achieve it or worse, they self-sabotage. If this is you, this is great news! It means that you’ve identified a values misalignment. You can begin to correct this by finding out what your values are around any given event. All you have to do is ask “what’s important to me about ___?” And then write down all of the words that come to you. Ask yourself a few times, until you have at least 15-20 answers. Then rank them in order of importance. If you could only have one, what would it be? Write that at the top of the new list. Then look at everything left and ask that again. Know at least your top 10.
For example, with clients working on weight release, I often find that “convenience” is a top value for their food intake, which often leads to choosing foods that aren’t in alignment with the health goals they say they want. Knowing this, it’s easier to know what needs to be addressed. In this case, it’s finding healthy options that are convenient.
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Fill in the blank: I am ____.
The words that follow “I am” are the most powerful words you can use. They either build you up or they tear you down. Your “I am” statements trickle down to every other layer we’ve discussed. Changes at this level affect everything else: what you value, what you believe, what you’re capable of, what you do, and what results you get. If you desire different results, who do you need to become to achieve those results? Step into that “I am” and watch how things begin to shift.
I have superpowers