Carl Jung reminded us that unless we make the unconscious conscious, it will direct our lives and we will call it fate. How often do we hear people proclaim, “It’s just who I am, nothing I can do about it.”
Research indicates that 88% of our thinking is subconscious, only 12% is conscious thinking. This means in order to create any change, we need to pay more attention to what we’re habitually thinking and why we do what we do.
There’s a term called Premature Cognitive Commitment (PCC) which simply means we may have been told something when we were vulnerable or too young to discern its authenticity, and we believed what we were told or heard. This false belief remains stuck and can skew our confidence, productivity and happiness. As an example, I once had a client who wanted to hire me to help her with an upcoming presentation. She told me she felt inadequate, not as smart as her male counterparts. When we met, she started talking and suddenly remembered an incident where her dad was telling her that girls were not as smart as boys. She was amazed that she pulled up this long-forgotten memory. Later she told me her presentation was successful, all she had done was get rid of an outdated belief she hadn’t even remembered.
Where are we repeating a pattern or holding onto a belief that is no longer needed or even valid? We can wait to see where fate takes us, or we can start paying attention to what old beliefs are getting in the way of our productivity and success. The latter seems a much wiser plan of action.
