Imagine that you are stuck at home on a frosty winter day, and everything is closed because of a blizzard. You shiver in the cold, check the temperature, and turn up the thermostat a couple of degrees warmer. You feel hot air blowing through the vents, and you stay toasty and warm.

Now picture this: you have just returned home from work or school and are in a bad mood. You failed your physics test, spilled your latte on your computer, and are in an argument with your best friend. You can’t see anything going right- or anything that could fix your situation. Believe it or not, you may have programmed your brain into seeing the negative. 

What if I told you that you and your house’s heating system are not so different – that you have your own thermostat-like design operating and controlling your thoughts. That, like a temperature setting, you can control how you feel and what your default responses and emotions are. 

The Proctor Gallagher Institute, or PGI, is dedicated to helping others achieve their full potential. Despite its reputation as a pyramid scheme, much of its information is valid. A valued consultant of PGI, Sifu James Heinrich is not only an extremely successful businessman but one of the highest-ranked martial artists in Canada. 

In an interview about how the mind works, he stated that “Consciously thinking is engaging higher faculties. If you are not engaging [them], you’re probably not thinking, it’s only mental activity”. The Sifu expressed the higher faculties as will, imagination, intuition, memory, perception, and reason.

Heinrich also voiced the optimistic opinion that “You can control every moment of every day, what goes into your subconscious, if you’re consciously thinking.” 

If you are constantly consciously thinking, only what you choose to accept will make it into your subconscious. This could make your mind and life infinitely more positive. However, if you are not consciously thinking, negative thoughts and ideas can slip into your subconscious. At this time, you can no longer control them. 

As stated in articles by PGI, the average person has upwards of 60 000 thoughts a day, and only 5% of those thoughts are different from one day to the next. That means that regularly, you are running on autopilot over 90% of the time.

The subconscious is the most used part of the mind because it is where your habits, autopilot, and 95% of thoughts reside, as stated in research by Auburn University. It is a cybernetic system, and similarly to a thermostat, your subconscious is set to a specific “temperature” at which you are conditioned to operate.

The conscious mind, or the thinking mind, is hooked to your five senses- sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch-thus, everything goes through the conscious mind first. The subconscious mind is connected to consciousness; therefore, it can only accept what the conscious mind has also affirmed. You cannot honestly believe something, for example, “I am a good person.” until you consciously acknowledge that fact.

The conscious mind can reject or accept an idea, but once it makes past your thinking mind into the subconscious, nothing can be dismissed; no ideas can change. The subconscious is unique because that part of your brain doesn’t know the difference between what is real and imaginary. For example, during a Harvard study in 2009, students monitored the brain patterns of musicians while they played the piano. Then the same piano players only imagined and visualized they were playing the piano, and their brains lit up in the exact same way. This experiment shows that our brains can not tell if the experience is real or excellent imagination.

Using this tool of imagination can lead to enormous self-growth. Psycho-Cybernetics, written by Maxwell Maltz, is a book on motivation and personal development. Although it was published in the 1960s, its information is still relevant and supported by today’s science. Maltz repeatedly proved that practicing in your mind and imagining your goals achieved can be just as effective as practicing in the flesh. 

All the studies above prove that while it takes immense focus, perseverance, and determination, achieving goals can be quite straightforward. 

When roaming Costco aisles, searching for your favourite peanut butter can be tedious; between needing self-control to stick to healthy options and the drive fuelled by hunger, it’s very easy to get side-tracked. But with determination, focus, and a set purpose in mind, getting the right kind of peanut butter can have the same steps as earning a university degree, losing weight, or whatever your goal may be. 

Engaging your higher faculties, reflecting on what you’re affirming into your subconscious, and improving your self-image may be the key to unlocking your mind’s full potential.