Is your unconscious mind running your life? PART 1

How to take back control and create everlasting change...

'Iron Constitution', 'Mental Toughness', Emotional Stamina', Intestinal Fortitude.'
Each of these powerfully-coupled words can evoke an image of invincibility. However, does the pure possession of such endowing personal qualities result in a human's state of self-mastery or success? Will 'steely resolve' alone allow you to 'rise up' when faced with great challenge or adversity?
When relating this to the 50-Day Challenge, is it your unconscious or conscious mind that holds the key to healthy-living success? Or more to the point, how much control do you have over your mind in creating positive lifestyle change?
To help explore the answers to these key questions, I will propose a bold statement:
'YOUR UNCONSCIOUS MIND IS RUNNING YOUR LIFE.'
A new perspective of why we are the way we are, has been introduced by some cutting edge molecular biologists. Foremost among them is former professor of medicine at Stanford University, Dr. Bruce Lipton (not the guy who invented the tea bag, just in case you were wondering?).
He says that the new science of epigenetics has uncovered that our genes are in fact controlled and manipulated by how our minds perceive and interpret our environment. It was formerly believed by science that it is our genes themselves which dictate our traits - that our genes form who and how we are. The new findings are great news because it means that we can change many things about the way we are, including our health, by changing how we interpret events and situations that happen to us.

For example Dr. Lipton shows that if we interpret things in a positive way, we start living healthier and create better quality lives, regardless of the genetic makeup we started with. A new attitude, positive or negative, sends new messages to the cells in our body and can actually reprogram their health and behaviour. This process is commonly referred to as Neuroplasticity.

Dr. Lipton explains that there are two separate minds that create what he calls the body's controlling voice. There is a conscious mind that can think freely and create new ideas 'out of the box'. Then there is basically a super computer loaded with a database of programmed behaviours, most of which we acquired before we reached the age of six.
FEATURE BRAIN CIRCUITS ISTOCK HiRes
The subconscious mind cannot move outside its fixed programs - it automatically reacts to situations with its previously stored behaviour responses. It works without the knowledge or control of the conscious mind. This is why we are generally unaware of our behaviour, in fact most of the time we are not even aware that we are acting unconsciously. In other words, even when we 'think' we are in conscious thought, it is our unconscious mind which is actually making our decisions for us.
The reason I stated earlier that your unconscious mind is running your life is based on the fact that it is predicted that we are on auto-pilot mode 95% of the time! Neuroscientists have shown that the conscious mind provides 5% or less of our cognitive (conscious) activity during the day- and 5% they say is for more aware people, many people operate at just 1% consciousness (I can relate to this!).
Dr. Lipton also states that the unconscious mind operates at 40 million bits of information of data per second, whereas the conscious mind processes at only 40 bits of information per second. So we therefore have an unconscious mind that is around a million times MORE powerful than the conscious mind, which is quite mind-blowing in itself. However, it is easy to see why it is the unconscious mind that shapes the choices we make and how we live our life.
The scientists show that most of our decisions, actions, emotions and behaviour depend on the 95% of brain activity that is beyond our conscious awareness, which means that 95-99% of our life comes from the programming in our subconscious mind.
In Part 2 of my blog I will discuss how to get out of the endless cycle of old programs and start to be more in the conscious mind. This will allow you to take back control and create everlasting change...

References:

Life Trainings- Personal Development Programmes

http://www.lifetrainings.com/Your-unconscious-mind-is-running-you-life.html

Cosgrove, Fiona , (Wellness Coaching Australia): 'Coach Yourself to Wellness.'
Brett Smith, Wellness Coach (Mind Body & Soul Fitness Studio).