Research Proves It… You Are a Robot!
It is estimated that 98% of all our decisions are made subconsciously – meaning that our conscious decision-making mind is bypassed. This means that the overwhelming percentage of our decisions are made entirely from the auto-response mechanism of the subconscious mind – based on data gathered only from your past history.
The problem is that if the response you would ideally like is NOT in your historical data, then there is no way for your subconscious mind to access it and use it.
This of course becomes problematic if you would like to change some aspect of your life, but that aspect lies “outside” of your current subconscious “blueprint” or concept of self.
Benjamin Libet, in his groundbreaking research that in 2003 garnered the first Virtual Nobel Prize in Psychology from the University of Klagenfurt, showed that although the subconscious mind rules supreme, the conscious mind does have what he termed “Veto Power”.
Libet showed that the subconscious mind is the initiator of all volitional acts, and therefore the concept of “freewill” plays no role in their part. If the brain has already taken steps to act before such time as we are even aware of any desire to perform it, “the causal role of consciousness in volition is all but eliminated”.
Libet also found that the conscious mind did indeed have some level of influence, however. Although the conscious mind plays no role in the initiation of volitional acts, consciousness is exercised through the suppression of subconscious acts, or what Libet termed “Veto Power”. In short, the conscious mind has 150 milliseconds, or no more than about half a second to “veto” an autonomic act.
These findings underscore a few important things about our nature. First, our conscious mind is no match to the power of the subconscious mind. Secondly, the concept of willpower is largely a myth. For example, any so-called self-help approach that relies on conscious willpower is doomed to fail.
So, in order to make any meaningful changes in your life, it is unavoidable. You are going to have to face your subconscious mind.
If you want something different in life, you need to alter the self-image your subconscious mind has developed of you (based on information you have provided over your lifetime). Unless you address the subconscious pre-programming that defines your self-concept, and therefore your life, that change will never happen.
Happy thinking!
I totally agree that willpower alone can’t change your life. How come the conscious mind’s “veto” power only seems to work on not allowing the things you really want? e.g. you really want to be fit and healthy(consciously) but it just doesn’t happen. On the other hand if you don’t want to get fit, no bother, your wish is granted. No veto there.
Also, as far as I know the subconscious rules the body, has the blueprint of perfect health etc and wants to protect the individual on all levels. How can the conscious mind veto that, but can’t veto, if we get unwanted things (like illness) delivered.
The “veto” Libet alludes to seems to be a matter of awareness. You have about half a second to realize (become aware of) and intervene in an act before the automatic repsonse kicks in. In that brief moment you the ability to “catch yourself” and then choose another thought.
The reason you seem to get things unwanted immediately is that it takes no leap of faith to accept the negative health status (to use your example), you already believe in that. We only get what we “believe”, and what you believe is programed within your subconscious mind until you change it. The reason we don’t get some things that we want is because we don’t “believe” them yet, and so they have not been incorporated into the subconscious blueprint. And that won’t happen until we reprogram it.
John
I don’t quite get that. As healthy kids we believed in health and it was programed into our subconscious, right? So, how did we get ill in the first place (to stick with that example). And how long did it take for the subconscious to change the “healthy” belief to “ill” belief?
Well, in the example above I was speaking generally, as most folks tend to hold limiting self beliefs. Whatever the subconscious belief may be, the outward expression of it will eventually be made manifest. Our subconscious make-up (for better or worse) is built in us by about the age of 7; after that we start reacting from learned automatic behavior. An otherwise healthy child might begin hearing a message of “heart disease runs in our family. My father and his father both died before they were 60″. It doesn’t help also when we all see TV ads that say, “1 out of 3 people will get cancer”. These are the simple ways that these messages infiltrate our subconscious where they become truths for us. – Heck, if our parents and TV said it it must be true, right?
so, you’re saying, whatever adults say and repeat(as they tend to do) while we’re young kids forms our belief system. We were too young to understand or question what was said, but it still runs our life now?! That’s a horrible thought!!!! Do you need to become aware of all those beliefs in order to delete them?
Every time you answer a question I seem to throw more questions at you. Sorry
I really appriciate that you take the time to reply. Thanks.
Well, yes and it continues into adulthood. It’s just that children are essentially blank slates that receive their initial basic programming by around age 7. Any repeated “message” that we receive and let through our “conscious gatekeeper” becomes part of our subconscious blueprint – child or adult.
Awareness is a big part of the game, but most people are completely unaware of this process. Everything in society becomes a source of material; parents, family, school, TV, radio, pop culture, advertising… they all just keep adding content. You must develop an awareness around this or else it just enters your subconscious mind unfiltered. You can, however, use your conscious mind as a filter and make decision as to what you choose to accept once you develop awareness. Turning off the TV is an example.
It is not so much that you have to become aware of the belief in order to delete them; you have to stop exercising them in order to weaken them (this usually does require self-awareness though). They are like muscles in that way. At the same time it is necessary to overwrite new life-affirming beliefs in their place and start exercising those muscles.
If you want to know exactly what you beleive about yourself – in terms of your health, wealth, relational and emotional wellbeing, etc – just look at your life! For better or worse, it is a mirror of your self-beliefs. If you can take an honest assessment of that you can reverse-engineer a plan to build new beliefs around weak areas…
Hope this helps!
It does for sure! Thanks a million. You’re a star