Your Subconscious Mind: Your Hidden Superpower

Your subconscious secretly influences your thoughts and the actions you take every single day. But what if you could bring these underlying thoughts to the forefront of your mind so that you're more in control of your thoughts and actions? Better yet, what if you could use that power to help you reach your highest potential in your professional and personal life?

​Let's talk about what you should know regarding your subconscious mind and how this hidden superpower can help you start living the life you want.

In his books on mindset and success, like "Psycho-Cybernetics," author Maxwell Maltz popularized the idea of using the subconscious to achieve goals. He compares this brainpower to that of an automatic machine that works tirelessly towards the beliefs you feed it. In other words, feed it visualizations of your desires to better reach them.

​Your conscious mind handles problem solving, rationalizing, visualizing, and other active thinking. In contrast, your subconscious mind lives deep within you. It quietly influences your choices, even when you don't realize it. By training this part of your mentality to work in your best interests, you can help yourself achieve the results you want.

The flip side of the coin is that your subconscious thoughts and beliefs can create restrictions. Perhaps you consciously hope to be successful. But under the surface, you feel success equals acting unethically, like cutting corners or taking steep risks. Because of this subconscious belief, you may avoid opportunities to achieve success, even when they present themselves.

​Remedying this part of your subconscious requires imagining the impossible, the seemingly unachievable. Whatever you want or desire most, you must think, believe, and feel every day, regularly manifesting it into your thoughts. If you don't, then any self-defying ideas you have will work within your subconscious and steer you further away from your goals.

Instead of feeling that success is out of reach, find ways to reflect on the subconscious beliefs that hinder your ability to achieve it. Give yourself permission to believe that being successful is a worthwhile and good goal.

​One way to practice giving yourself permission is by picturing ways you can help others who are struggling on their success journey as you grow towards yours. For instance, if your version of success results in considerable wealth, try imagining the significant donations you'll make to worthwhile causes. Through practice, it will become easier for you to embed these thought patterns and behaviors into your subconscious.

Many successful people use visualization to reach their goals. From celebrities to athletes, imagining different components of your desired outcome can help you train your subconscious to guide you toward success. Consider questions like:

From the shoes you wear to the car you drive to the amount of money in your 401k, it's easier to train your subconscious to steer you toward a successful life if you visualize details of what that life will look like.

The best way to train your subconscious to support your success journey is to write out your game plan. Include every step that goes into reaching the level of success you desire. Who do you need to talk to? What certifications or education do you need to complete? Are there networking events you can attend? What roadblocks might be in your way?

​For example, if your version of success is finally starting that nonprofit you've always dreamed of, your game plan may begin like this:

From here, you can fill in the gaps, such as how long each certification, job, or event will take. And, you'll soon have an excellent game plan after considering some various avenues and perspectives. Most importantly, however, is that writing out every step you must take conditions your mind to focus on the path you must take. In time, you'll subconsciously know what to do to achieve your desired outcomes.

Not everything on the path to success will be fun or easy. There will be setbacks both in and outside of your control. For instance, you may lose a contract you depended on or have a partner back out of a business deal.

While you can't plan for every obstacle, you can train your subconscious on how to react when these moments happen. One way to do this is to focus on gratitude.

Being grateful means seeing the good through the bad. That includes finding potential in disappointing outcomes.

Start a gratitude journal to train your conscious and subconscious mind on finding the good, the opportunities, in unfortunate situations. For every one thing that goes wrong, write down two or three things that go right. Jot down motivational quotes from books or resources on mindset and success that you find helpful. Comment on ideas you've heard from other successful leaders.

​Soon, this positive thinking will help you resolve the issues you're up against. It will help you develop the resiliency to keep moving forward on your journey.

Changing your subconscious thoughts is no quick task. Don't get discouraged. The more you consciously practice changing your thoughts, visualizing your success, giving yourself that permission to reach it, making a plan, and practicing thankfulness, the easier it will be to turn your subconscious into your hidden superpower. With time, you'll get to (and maybe even surpass) the success you've set out to achieve.