Subconscious Drivers

 Your mind is divided into conscious and subconscious - it has been said that your subconscious can drive up to 90% of your decisions.

The subconscious’ primary role is to keep you out of danger.

Sometimes this role of protection translates into unwanted negative subconscious thoughts, whereas the conscious mind (responsible for 10% of thoughts) dictates positive thinking.

Secondary gains describe the hidden (subconscious) reasons we do things - the true underlying belief of what we will gain.

Often these subconscious motivators drive our behaviour in a way we may not understand on the surface - they could be reasons like financial gain, attention from others, building a connection with another person, escaping from a chaotic environment etc.

Realising Subconscious Drivers

The best way to identify subconscious drivers (particularly in understanding behaviours that aren’t serving you in a positive way) is not to ask “why did I do that?” but to ask “what did I get out of it?”.  

Subconscious drivers can serve as explanations for unhelpful behaviours (not to be mistaken as justifications) that allow us to shine light on reasons that lie beneath the surface.

Examples of common subconscious drivers that relate to the weight loss process include: 

Food has wonderful memories, especially eating with people who love and nurture you, so you relate food with that feeling of comfort. Unwanted body fat can manifest as a form of this love and comfort and you can subconsciously hold onto it. 

Having excess weight can be a conscious or subconscious excuse for procrastination, i.e. “I’ll start dating / travel / get a new job when I lose weight”.

This can mask the true fear lying behind that activity.  

Mindset - 7 -Subconscious Drivers - Take Control.png

Taking Control of Subconscious Drivers

Firstly, you must listen to your thoughts and beliefs (even the ones you don't like hearing) and realise what thoughts are running your life.

Once you realise the subconscious thoughts that are the driving your behaviour, you can take control for the wheel and pull your conscious mind into action.

So, use the task below and look to take control of your subconscious drivers.   

Task - Journal - (5 mins)

Acknowledging subconscious drivers - in your journal think about the following, do this task for these 5 key area’s:

You
Your relationship / marriage
Your job / career
Your financial situation
Your health

Use these questions below to work through each area:

What subconscious drivers / beliefs do you currently have?
What do you get out of these behaviours - emotions, feelings, memories, attachments?
Are these helpful or unhelpful to where you want to be?
What need’s to change to move these from unhelpful to helpful?
How are you going to action this change?