Success Through Imagination

Dear Community,

The human mind is divided into two main parts:

• The conscious mind, which includes thought, planning, and decision-making.

• The subconscious mind, which manages basically everything else, like body regulation, memory, intuition, habits, automatic responses, emotions, dreams, deep-seated beliefs, etc.

Making up about 90% of our total brain function, the subconscious operates mostly outside of our direct awareness. Because of that, we seldomly use this powerful component of our mind to its full potential. Research indicates that the subconscious plays a far more substantial role in shaping our reality than most of us realize. To truly affect change in our lives, we have to take this part of our psyche into account.

Aligning the Subconscious with Our Goals

While our conscious mind deliberates and plans, the subconscious has already set into motion the feelings and actions that define our daily life. The language of the subconsciousness is comparable to the narratives we experience in dreams. It is a language of emotions, images, and physical sensations. How then, can we tap into its enormous potential?

We can start by addressing what we want to leverage our subconscious for. In our journey of personal growth, we are often faced with two intertwining obstacles.

The first is the lack of clearly defined goals. Without set priorities, our efforts can become unfocused and therefore ineffective. It’s crucial to have clear objectives to guide us, and build the habits that encourage improvement in these areas.

The second obstacle, tightly bound to the first one, is not knowing exactly what we want. Many of us are clear about what we don’t want, but that's only half the battle. We have to be very deliberate about what we do want to achieve.

To truly leverage the subconscious, we need to provide it with clear, focused intentions from our conscious mind. By aligning our conscious goals with our subconscious operations, we streamline our efforts toward achieving our full potential. So start from there. Define your goals, think about your current position, and envision what you want to achieve. Use self-reflection to create a clear vision of the reality you want to be a part of.

Achieving Personal Growth

To effectively alter our subconscious inclinations, we must engage with them regularly and consistently. We envisioned some guiding steps, that can be used as a guide to identify patterns that may hint at deeper subconscious beliefs. Through an ongoing effort of inquiry, you can recognize your behavioral patterns and motivations and influence them, actively resulting in more intentional actions.

• Step 1 - Question Your Thoughts: Did you know that our minds are shaped by the process of asking and answering questions? As a child, you likely drove your parents crazy with endless inquiries about every single thing. As we age, we take a lot of our internal answers for granted, because it saves a lot of brain power for everyday life and work tasks. At times, take a step back and wonder 'Is what I think really true?' or 'Does my way of thinking produce the life I want?'. Are you hindering yourself by living in a self-implied reality? Do your truths work for you, or do you need to challenge your beliefs and assumptions, to check if they withstand scrutiny? Remember, that the quality of your life depends on the quality of the questions you ask.

• Step 2 - Define Clear Goals: Clearly articulate what you want to achieve. As you ask yourself questions, ensure your answers align with these goals. This process of questioning and answering can dramatically shift your perspective.

• Step 3 - Monitor Your Mindset and Self-Talk: Pay attention to your thoughts, emotions, and reactions. Actively replace negative or unrelated thoughts with ones that better serve your goals. Don’t just blindly accept what your brain and body tell you to believe or feel. Why do you feel that way? What lies behind that answer? Am I lying to myself?

• Step 4 - Speak Your Truth: Always speak honestly and confidently. Make sure your words reflect your true beliefs, and avoid saying things just to please others.

• Step 5 - Role Models: Identify a person whose qualities you admire and strive to emulate them.

• Step 6 - Visualize Success: Imagine your goals as vividly as an architect envisions a building. This mental practice helps solidify your commitment and clarity.

• Step 7 - Take Action: Put your plans into motion. Actions are crucial in transforming your dreams into reality.

• Step 8 - Reinforce Positive Thinking: Consistently remind yourself of your goals and the thoughts that support them. This repetition strengthens your new mindset.

• Step 9 - Cultivate Like-Minded Connections: Surround yourself with individuals who share your mindset and ambitions. Engage in conversations and activities that reinforce your beliefs and aspirations. This collective reinforcement serves to solidify your convictions and propel you towards your goals.

• Step 10 - Reflect and Adjust: Keep a journal of insights, feelings, and ideas that arise. Reflecting on these can help refine your goals and deepen your commitment.

• Step 11 - Keep Setting Goals: Always line up new goals before reaching your current ones. This keeps you moving forward and continually growing.

• Step 12 - Enjoy the journey.

The journey through the realms of reality and imagination reveals a profound truth: our minds possess an extraordinary ability to shape our lives. Often times, it does so, without us realizing. By understanding and harnessing the power of visualization, aligned with diligent and consistent action, we can transform not just our perceptions but our actual circumstances.

Many of us, live life the opposite way, attempting to manipulate external circumstances to achieve internal fulfillment. This often leads to a never-ending search for external sources of joy to fill an internal void.

As you continue to apply the aforementioned techniques, observe not only the changes in your external achievements but also in your internal sense of confidence and fulfillment. Ultimately, it is your internal state that shapes your external life. Living life from the inside out consistently brings fulfillment in all ways and naturally leads to the outcomes you desire, without the need to control anything or anyone. Your thoughts have the power to build, alter, and manifest realities. Use them wisely and watch as the boundaries between what you can imagine and what you can achieve begin to blur.

Feel free to share your experiences and thoughts.

As always, thanks for reading