Does Your Subconscious Believe in You? Finding Out Is Easy
It was 8 p.m. already, I was supposed to leave at 6. I have been working for a year in that office. It was a small albeit efficient SaaS company. Task I was given required two people and my colleague had a fight with the product manager that day, he packed his things and quit, he had enough. This guy had ten times more experience than me and knew all the details and workarounds of the job. What he could do in 10 minutes took me an hour and we were on the verge of signing with a huge client. I had 6 spreadsheet tabs opened in my laptop with thousands of rows in each of them and more was on their way to my mailbox. Each time I clicked one of these tabs my computer fan started screaming, it was like a manifestation of my emotions at the moment. I remember dreaming about having 5 more displays and 3 more laptops. Even my dreams were hijacked by the herculean task I was facing.
Like any sane person would do; I went to the kitchen area; put 8 scoops of coffee into the machine, and watched it do its thing. From an outsider, I was simply concentrated on the act of that black liquid dripping to a pot but although I did not realize at then, my mind was unleashed. You couldn’t hear any fans running but I could swear those hypothetical fans were at their highest RPM.
I took the pot and a mug with me, they were my pike and shield. I was ready for the battle. I sit down, took position, cracked my knuckles took a sip, and lifted the lid. My computer was dead. It was a brick. I checked the usual suspects; it was plugged in, power was there, I realized the computer was running but the display was pitch black. I sat there shocked for a good 2 minutes. Work I had already done could have been gone, more e-mails were on their way and all the tools, accounts, software I needed were on that specific computer. I thought about quitting. I thought maybe this is the final nail in my coffin.
I unwillingly called my colleague, I was going to ask for his help but while I was listening to the dial tone something ticked in my head. I had an epiphany. It was my eureka moment. His laptop was sitting right there. It had all the same tools, software installed and his e-mail was always automatically cc’ed and we were on the same LAN. I could even save some of my data.
Later that night I realized, it was not my conscious mind that came up with the solution. My conscious mind on the contrary was steering me away from it. I was preoccupied with the enormity of my task and experiencing tunnel vision. My attitude, willpower, and motivation were depleted. It hit me that day. How many opportunities I wondered, how much of my potential, is wasted because of this.
God’s Debris by Scott Adams has a section dedicated to “Affirmations”. He delves deep into the crevices of our subconscious in just 7 pages. Although it is a thought experiment, I took it to heart and gave it a go.
“The subconscious is an odds-calculating machine. That’s what it does naturally, though not always to good effect. If your subconscious notices that you lost money on your last three business dealings with people who wear hats, you’ll never trust people in hats again. Your subconscious isn’t always right; it depends on the quality of the information you feed into its odds-calculating engine. Luckily, the topic your subconscious knows best is you because it has known you since you were in the womb. If your subconscious allows you to spend ten minutes out of every busy day writing, ‘I will double my income,’ your subconscious likes your odds and it is qualified to make that prediction.”
I was not going to let the power of my subconscious go to waste anymore.
I was going to use it to the fullest. I started simple. The Old Man in the book talks about affirmations as merely input devices. Their discussion revolves around the idea of repeating the mundane task of writing what you want to achieve, fifteen times a day. This input will then be calculated by the subconscious and manifest itself as willpower devoted to this particular task. Basically, if you can consistently and without it being bothersome to you write about accomplishing your goal 15 times a day with the same joy, it means your odds are in your favor.
“Another way to look at affirmations is as a communication channel between your conscious and subconscious mind. Your subconscious is often better than your rational mind at predicting your future. If your subconscious allows you to write ‘I will be a famous ballerina’ fifteen times a day for a year, it’s telling you something. Your subconscious is saying it likes your odds, that it will allow you to make the sacrifices, that it will give you the satisfaction you need to weather the hard work ahead. On the other hand, if you try writing your affirmation for a few days and find it too bothersome, your subconscious is giving you a clear message that it doesn’t like your odds.”
I wish i knew this before my first start-up failure.
I tried the same method on various goals in various ways. It seems to be working best with more straightforward goals. I wrote that I wanted to have a certain physique, it did not work. Writing it 15 times instantly became a chore. I simplified it and switched it to: I want to lose weight. It worked, it wasn’t a chore anymore. I felt content. It was a simple task, I could do it. I lost 57 pounds in 3 months and i had infinite willpower at my disposal. I did not employ any diet programs at all. It was as if i could instantly scan food and deem if i should eat it. ( I am planning to write about my weight loss journey.)
I aimed higher, I wanted to be a reasonably good writer. I still have the motivation and I don’t see it as a chore yet. I guess my odds are still good.
I experimented with the other end of the spectrum, I wrote that I wanted to be an astronaut. I couldn’t even get myself to write it 15 times in the first place.
Give it a go,
May the odds be ever in your favor.
