This morning, as I was brushing my teeth, I realized that for all my life I have favored a certain brand of toothpaste. I've usually used this brand and when I didn't there was a little uncertainty about whether what I was using was doing its job. What in the world does that have to do with personal development and motivation? Read on!
After re-reading one of my last posts about beliefs, I realized that I had been somewhat superficial.
It's true enough that you can accomplish anything you set out to do if you truly believe, deep down inside that you can. That doesn't mean you will however, if you just believe it on a rational level.
For example, let's say you want to become a professional ___ (you fill in the blank). You set it as a goal, break it down into long, medium, and short term goals. You set down a definite plan as to how you will reach your goal. In your conscious thoughts, it all makes sense. If you do all that is necessary, it seems logical that you will reach your goal.
But you still have this nagging doubt. You have a nervous feeling when you think about or picture yourself as a professional ____ . Why?
Any time you feel uneasy about accomplishing anything that's, on the surface, believable it's because you have some deep seated, subconscious, belief that you can't or shouldn't or that you are unworthy or that it wouldn't be right for someone like you to have that kind of success.
Dr. Jill Ammon-Wexler says it't because of the ANTS in you mind. The ANTS is an acronym for "Automatic Negative Thoughts". We all have been equiped with hundreds of these by childhood experiences, religious teachings, beliefs of friends, the music we listen to, and the news. For all our lives we've constantly been told how hard it is, how it can't be done, that it's sinful to be ___, etc. etc. etc.
Our mind operates on at least two different planes.
First is the conscious mind, the thoughts you have when you're awake and alert. These are easily recognizable and may be logically dealt with. If we are told that something is true and it is proven to be (or disproven) then we can accept the logical truth.
We also have subconscious thoughts and a whole set of subconscious beliefs to go along with them. These are the things, good or bad that we picked up along the way just living our lives. Unfortunately, they are all too often negative thoughts and, when ingrained into our subconscious, become negative beliefs or ANTS.
Here's the bad part! Your subconscious mind is many times more powerful than your conscious mind. If you consciously set out to do something that is contrary to your subconscious beliefs, you will either fail or be unable to keep whatever it is. For example, if you were "taught" as a child that it's bad to be rich, that having a lot of money is bad then you will be unable to become wealthy as long as you harbor that subconscious thought. Even if you do get lucky and hit the LOTTO or inherit a lot of money, you will soon lose it. It's a known fact that most LOTTO winners are broke within five years of winning and many are helplessly in debt besides.
Your goal doesn't have to be wealth for your subconscious to prevent you from achieving it. Let's say your goal is to become a computer programmer. You set out to learn programming but can't seem to make any headway. Ten to one, there's an ANT somewhere that's preventing it. It may be your parents saying that your no good with details, your teachers telling you programmers are geniuses (and you know you aren't), or your friends making fun of programmers calling them "nerds" or "geeks", or any other negative belief you've had implanted in your subconscious mind over your lifetime. They Do Not need to be valid or logical! If they are implanted in your mind as a belief they are real and control your behaviour more than your conscious thoughts do. This is the major reason that things like racial bigotry are so hard to overcome. Ideas put into one's mind at a young age form our personalities and our whole belief system. They are among the hardest to challenge and change.
So, What's the solution?
This isn't an easy question. Thousands of books have been written about the subject. The internet is full of "Success Gurus" promising that their system is the be all and end all of success programs. If they are right, why aren't all their clients happy, healthy and, most of all rich?
Your belief system can be changed. It takes a certain amount of work. The first thing that needs to be done is to recognize what subconscious belief it is that is in your way. Next, you need to override it.
There are many different methods for overcoming these unwanted beliefs and as many different teachers telling you their way is the best or the only way. What I've found to work best for me is:
Derermine that there is something in your way. You're trying to do something but you have this uneasy feeling that you can't or won't be able to see it through. At that point you know your subconscious is fighting you.
Discover what belief or beliefs are holding you back. The best way I've found to do this is to meditate, thinking about what's holding you back. If you don't get an immediate answer, let it go. Your answer will come shortly. Sometimes it will be in a dream or just a sudden remembrance of a childhood event or a statement that somebody said that, at the time seemed to be a profound truth. The thing is to relax and have faith that your answer will come.
Neutralize it. Once you know the belief or beliefs (there may be several), examine them logically. If they are untrue - and they almost always are, logically refute them. Do it with emotion. Do it over and over again for several days. I recommend daily for at least three weeks.
Your subconscious can be influenced. It just takes knowing, first of all, what needs to be changed and then, how to do it.
So -What's this all got to do with toothpaste?
In wondering this morning why I always used the same toothpaste, I realized that when I was very young, my dad, who, at the time I thought knew everything, told me that this certain brand of toothpaste was the best there was to prevent cavities. It was a belief that had hidden in my inner mind since a very young age, never challenged. In this case it isn't a particularly bad belief but it's certainly made the manufacturer a lot of money!
