Funny thing.

So, back in probably September or October, I got really excited and created my 2020 plan for this blog. I went through a whole process, and created my blog outline, and planned out what each of my weekly posts would be about.

I clearly had a reason for this week’s post, but what I didn’t know was just how much more qualified I would be to talk about this topic by the time I got to this point! Nor did I have any idea how helpful this could be among the coronavirus pandemic, and the mental distress that would become common from the whole social distancing and self-isolation ordeal.

At the time of writing this, I am over halfway through with a certification program I’ve been going through. In this certification, I am literally learning how to help you rewire your brain, using your insanely powerful subconscious mind.

The funny thing is, a lot of the stuff I’ve been learning is stuff that I already kind of knew on a more vague, less concrete level. But now I’m actually learning the scientific reasons of exactly WHY and HOW it all works, which I have been totally geeking out about.

I’m not going to get too terribly technical with you on it all, but let me just say up front: hear me out. Without getting too deep into the scientific facts of why and how it all works, it can end up sounding kind of woowoo-ey. I know, because that’s exactly how I used to feel about it all. In fact, I used to be quite a big skeptic of this kind of stuff previously. And ironically, that’s exactly why a lot of it never worked for me before. Hindsight is 20/20, right?

So without further ado, allow me to share 3 easy steps to rewiring your brain!

I would also recommend getting a notebook handy, because I’m going to be giving you some tangible action steps to take:

1. Shift the way you communicate

2. Visualize/act as if

3. Change your physiology 

Let’s start with step number one:

Shift the way you communicate

If there’s one thing that I have learned over the past few weeks, it’s just how powerful communication can be. So the first thing I want you to do is answer this: on a scale of 1-10, how aware are you of how you use both your internal and external language? One being: “My thoughts and words are completely on autopilot”and ten being: “I am highly aware of my thoughts and words, the effects they have, and choose them consciously”.

Once you know where you are on the scale, you will know just how much room you have to grow! And isn’t growth exciting? Call me a nerd, but I think it is!

So the simple first step is to pay attention to your words, both internally and externally. How often are you using language that is uplifting, positive, and altogether high vibe? And on the flip side, how often are you using language that is negative, harmful, and low vibe? Let me show you what I mean with a few examples of how you can say the same thing two different ways:

Low vibe: “Stop coloring on the walls! Why can’t you just do what I ask?”

High vibe: “Let’s get the wall all cleaned up, and then you can color in your coloring book instead.”

Low vibe: “Why are you always ignoring my texts?”

High vibe: “Is there a better way that we can communicate?”

Low vibe (internal): “I’m always so tired.”

High vibe (internal): “How can I increase my energy today?” 

Do you see how those convey the same message, but with completely different words? It absolutely takes practice, but aren’t you worth that effort? Hint: the answer is Y E S. To make your practice simple, this is what I would recommend doing for AT LEAST week (I’d recommend even doing it for a month!): keep a journal with you at all times (you caaaaaaan use your phone, but I would highly recommend using an actual pen and paper…it will help you make progress much quicker, pinky promise), and every time you notice a thought or words coming from you that doesn’t serve you, write it down. Then at the end of the day, choose a few (or all!) that you can practice reframing. If you find that you have a hard time reframing them, I would encourage you to reach out to me for help. I love this kind of stuff, and would be more than happy to help!

Okay, moving on to step number two:

Visualize and act as if

This is a step that I had wrong for a number of years. I had always been told to visualize my goals. And I did. But I was also afraid of visualizing…because I was afraid that it would trick my brain into believing I was already there, and then I wouldn’t feel compelled to do the work necessary to get there. This ended up being a self-fulfilling prophecy, and I lost faith in visualization for a while.

But as I have been learning much deeper about the inner workings of the subconscious mind, my faith in visualization has been restored; visualization is as powerful as you let it be.

Here’s the thing – your subconscious mind works in images. You feed it words, and it processes in images. If I tell you to think about a black cat, what are you seeing in your mind’s eye? A black cat. Not the letters B-L-A-C-K C-A-T.

A common practice in the personal development world is to write out your goals every day. This is a very powerful practice…IF you let yourself actually visualize those goals as well. Because while writing them out can be exciting to see, it’s not going inspire near as much action as actually visualizing those goals will be.

When you’re practicing your visualization (because yes, it does take practice), you can ask yourself these questions to enhance the experience:

• Where am I?

• What am I wearing?

• Who am I with?

• What sounds are present?

• What can I smell?

• How do I feel?

And as you sit in that visualization, you can begin to experience the actions that that version of you takes on a daily basis that brought you to that point. The more you do this, the more your subconscious mind will see that as your current state, and the more it will go to work to prove that to be true. And in that, you will find increased motivation, increased energy, and increased determination to take inspired action. The subconscious mind always works to prove you right. So if you’re constantly telling yourself that you’re not good enough to accomplish something, your subconscious mind is going to go to work to make sure you’re proven right. Therefore, if instead you spend your energy to shift your beliefs to a positive future state, your subconscious mind (and precious mental energy) will use its pull to provide you with resources to accomplish that goal.

I know this can be kind of a meta subject, so if you’re having a hard time wrapping your brain around the logistics, then I just want you to trust me: take time every day to visualize the life that you want. And if you would like some added help with this, enter your email address here and I’ll send you a free guided visualization audio. I got great feedback about this audio, so I absolutely know that it will be helpful to you.

Okay, we’re on the final step now! This is the simplest of the three:

Change your physiology

Have you ever watched that TED talk about power posing? If not, and you want to go deeper on this topic, you can Google it. For now, I’m going to give you a quick rundown of it from an NLP perspective.

Essentially, your current (emotional) state is determined by two things: your internal beliefs, and your physiology. So, if you find yourself in a state that you don’t want to be in (anxiety, fear, overwhelm, sadness, discouragement, etc), you can adjust either your internal beliefs or your physiology.

Adjusting internal beliefs will provide you with much more long-term results, and also takes more dedicated effort and guidance (which is what I’m here to help you with as a coach and soon-to-be NLP practitioner).

Adjusting your physiology will provide you with near-immediate, but shorter-term, results, and is a quick and easy thing to do.

Two of the most common poses are the Wonder Woman pose (strong, wide stance, hands at hips, chest lifted, chin up, etc), and the Victory Pose (same, except arms are lifted up, hands reaching to the sky, creating a “V” shape). But if you’re in the middle of a meeting, or chasing after a toddler with a permanent marker in their hands, or standing in the line at the grocery store, you can make much more subtle shifts that serve the same purpose. A few examples:

• Stand with your weight distributed evenly between both feet

• Roll your shoulders back and down

• Smile (I know…but seriously, it works)

• Relax your face muscles

• Breathe more fully, deep into your belly

If you do these things, you will notice a near-immediate shift in your state – and the more you practice these things, the more naturally they will come to you, and the more your brain will be primed for whatever state you would like to have as your new go-to!

And the goal with all of this is to help you rid yourself of the many negative layers of beliefs, programming, wiring, etc. that you have accepted throughout the years. In doing this, you will be able to amplify your natural, truest self, and share your stunning light with everyone around you! Including yourself.