Self-Sabotage &
Your Subconscious Brain
Who built these mutations? Box checkers, passive-aggressive people who don’t really care if things are done right. All they want is to stop working. And we can count on our subconscious brain to act with similar malevolence whenever we attempt to brute force an overly ambitious behavior change.
Brain science tells us that about 85% of our decision making is SUBCONSCIOUS. These instinctual actions are:
-Really powerful
-Automatic
-Completely hidden
How about that terrible trio for striking a wee bit of terror into your heart?
So when we force ourselves to do crazy difficult tasks that our subconscious brain doesn’t like, we can plan on our little passive-aggressive frenemy sabotaging our big plans at every turn.
We’ve all had a little taste of this unstoppable pushback when we’ve attempted to tame overeating, smoking, or getting to the gym. Our big fanciful plans turn out to be meaningless. Our subconscious desires demand to be heard and they stop us cold.
This is why it’s so important that you take a sober pause before you volunteer for that impossible work project or attempt your next crazy ambitious self-improvement jag. Close your eyes and really listen to that little voice in your gut. If you hear a firm “no,” then you might want to choose a different path, one that doesn’t needlessly poke the monster that is your all-powerful subconscious desires.
Your best shot at behavior change happens when both your conscious and subconscious agree.