## Title: Why Your Subconscious Mind Keeps You Stuck And How To Fix It
**(Intro)**
Do you ever feel like you’re running in place? You set goals, you work incredibly hard, you put in the hours… but you keep ending up right back where you started. You’re facing the same frustrations, the same roadblocks, and the same feelings of disappointment. You watch other people move forward, and you can’t help but wonder, “What am I doing wrong? Why can I see the finish line but never seem to cross it?”
(Pause)
What if I told you it’s not about a lack of willpower, discipline, or motivation? What if I told you that you are not lazy, you are not broken, and you are not uniquely messed up? The real reason you’re stuck is because of a hidden program, an invisible operating system running 24/7 deep inside your own mind. It’s your subconscious programming, and it’s likely been silently sabotaging your best efforts for years—maybe even your entire life.
In this video, I’m not just going to explain why this happens. I’m going to give you a practical playbook to find this hidden programming and, most importantly, how to rewrite it for good. By the end of this, you will have the tools to finally stop fighting against yourself and start aligning your entire mind with the success, fulfillment, and freedom you consciously want.
**(Section 1: The ‘What’ and ‘Why’ – The Real Reason You’re Stuck)**
Before we can fix the problem, we have to understand it. We have to shine a light on this invisible force that’s been holding the steering wheel of your life. So, what exactly is the nonconscious mind, and why is it so powerful?
Think of your mind like an iceberg. The tip you can see above the water is your conscious mind. This is the part of you that sets goals, makes plans, and uses logic. It’s the voice in your head right now that’s actively listening and processing these words. It’s the part of you that says, “I want to start a business,” or “I want to be healthier.”
But the massive, hidden part of the iceberg beneath the surface is your subconscious or nonconscious mind. This is the powerhouse. It doesn’t primarily operate on logic; it runs programs. It’s where your beliefs, deep-seated emotional patterns, habits, and core identity are stored. Your subconscious mind is what keeps your heart beating and lets you drive a car while thinking about your grocery list. It’s a master of automation. It runs on autopilot.
So where did this “software” come from? A great deal of it was installed during early childhood, a period when our brains are incredibly plastic and we absorb the beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes of our environment like a sponge. The things we heard, the experiences we had, and the emotions we felt were all being coded into our minds as fundamental truths about how the world works and who we are. These experiences help form the deep-seated perceptions that shape our worldview and self-image.
If you grew up hearing things like, “Money doesn’t grow on trees,” that may have become a program about scarcity. If you were criticized often, you might have installed a program that says, “I’m not good enough.” If you saw your parents struggle in their relationships, you might have a program that says, “Love is difficult and painful.” These aren’t just thoughts; they are well-worn neural pathways in your brain that now run automatically, completely outside of your conscious awareness. There’s a powerful idea, often attributed to psychoanalyst Carl Jung, that captures this perfectly: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate.”
As a coach, I see this every day. Brilliant, capable people come to me completely frustrated, feeling like they’re their own worst enemy. They’re trying to build a skyscraper of success using their conscious desires, while a huge part of their own mind is unintentionally working to tear it down. This is the core of feeling stuck. It’s an internal conflict between your conscious goals and your subconscious programming. And it’s a conflict you can’t win with willpower alone.
So, let’s break down the specific ways this hidden programming keeps you running in circles.
**Reason 1: Your Limiting Beliefs Become Self-Fulfilling Prophecies.**
Your mind has a powerful tendency to look for evidence that proves your existing beliefs are true. It’s a phenomenon known as confirmation bias, and it happens largely without our awareness. It filters reality to match your internal map of the world. So, if you hold a deep, subconscious belief that you “don’t deserve success,” your mind will relentlessly scan your environment for evidence to validate that belief.
Let’s say you consciously want to earn more money. You take a course, you ask for a raise, you start a side hustle. But if your subconscious program is, “I’m not worthy of wealth,” you may unconsciously engage in behaviors that sabotage your progress. You’ll procrastinate on sending that crucial email. You’ll suddenly feel too tired to work on your business. You’ll flub the interview for the high-paying job. Or you’ll get the money, and an unexpected bill will appear, bringing you right back to your familiar financial setpoint. Why? Because your mind is trying to keep you consistent with your core belief. To the subconscious, being “right” and staying safe in the familiar is often prioritized over being happy or successful.
**Reason 2: The Primal Fear of the Unknown.**
The second reason you stay stuck is that your brain’s oldest and most fundamental directive is to keep you safe. And to your primal brain, “safe” means “familiar.” Change, even positive change, represents the unknown, and the unknown can be perceived as a threat. This can trigger a fear response, activating threat-detection centers in the brain like the amygdala.
This leads to two powerful, often hidden, fears: the fear of failure and, paradoxically, the fear of success. The fear of failure is obvious. If you try something new and fail, it might confirm a negative belief that you’re not good enough. But the fear of success is sneakier.
What if you *do* succeed? Your subconscious might associate success with danger. Maybe success means more responsibility, more pressure, or more visibility and criticism. Maybe it means you’ll outgrow your friends or family, leading to a loss of connection—a core human need. Or perhaps your entire identity has been built around the struggle, around being the “underdog.” If you succeed, who will you be then? This loss of identity can be so terrifying that your subconscious will slam on the brakes to keep you in a familiar state, even if it’s one of misery, because at least it knows how to survive there.
**Reason 3: Your Life is Run by Automatic Habits and Emotional Patterns.**
Think about the last time you sabotaged yourself. Did you decide to eat healthy and then find yourself unconsciously reaching for junk food? Did you vow to stop procrastinating and then lose three hours scrolling on your phone? These aren’t just failures of discipline; they are often subconscious habits in action.
Your nonconscious mind stores your emotional memories and learned behaviors. When you were a child and felt overwhelmed, maybe you learned to escape by watching TV. Now, as an adult, whenever you decide to tackle a big project, your subconscious might trigger that old emotional pattern of “overwhelm” and automatically serve up the learned behavior: escape through distraction. You don’t consciously choose it; it just happens. It’s an automatic, protective reaction that may no longer serve you but continues to run anyway.
This shows up as procrastination, perfectionism (which is really the fear of not being good enough dressed up as high standards), and people-pleasing (a learned strategy to seek safety through the approval of others). These are not character flaws; they are often outdated coping mechanisms stored in your subconscious that are now getting in the way of your conscious goals.
**Reason 4: Willpower Is a Finite Resource Fighting an Infinite Program.**
When you try to force change through willpower alone, you are using your conscious mind to fight against deeply ingrained subconscious patterns. It’s like trying to row a tiny dinghy against the powerful current of a massive river. You might make progress for a short time through sheer, exhausting effort, but the moment you get tired or distracted, the current of your programming will pull you right back to where you started.
This is why people can get highly motivated at a seminar, stick to a new routine for a week or two, and then inevitably fall back into old patterns. It’s not because they lost their motivation. It’s because the underlying program was never changed. They were trying to install new software on a computer that was still running an old, incompatible operating system.
The feeling of being stuck is the friction and frustration that comes from this internal battle. But the good news is that you can stop fighting the current. You can learn to reprogram the subconscious mind. You are the programmer. And now, we’re going to get into exactly how you can start rewriting the code.
**(Section 2: The ‘How’ – 5 Steps to Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind for Success)**
Now that you understand the *what* and the *why*, let’s get into the most important part: the *how*. This is where we get practical. This is where you take back control. The brain’s ability to change and form new neural connections is called neuroplasticity. And it means that no matter how old you are or how long you’ve been running these patterns, you can physically change your brain by changing your mind.
This isn’t a magic pill. It requires consistency. But if you commit to these five steps, you won’t just change your habits; you will start to upgrade your internal operating system for a lifetime of success.
**Step 1: Uncover Your Core Limiting Beliefs (Awareness)**
You cannot change a program you don’t know exists. The first and most critical step is to bring the unconscious into the conscious light. You need to become a detective of your own mind to identify the specific lines of code holding you back. Here are three powerful techniques to do just that.
**Technique A: The ‘Why’ Ladder.** This is a simple but profound exercise. Start with a problem. For example: “I keep procrastinating on launching my website.”
Now, ask yourself “Why?” and write down the answer.
“Because I’m afraid no one will care.”
Ask “Why?” again.
“Because I’m afraid it won’t be good enough.”
Ask “Why?” again.
“Because I’m afraid people will judge me and think I’m a fraud.”
Ask “Why?” again.
“Because deep down, I don’t think I’m really an expert.”
Ask “Why?” again.
– “Because I don’t feel like I’m worthy of being seen as an authority.”
See what happened? We went from a surface-level behavior (procrastination) to a deep, core limiting belief (“I’m not worthy”). This is the program that’s actually running the show. Keep asking “why” until you feel an emotional resonance, until you hit a belief that feels like a gut punch of truth. That’s the root.
**Technique B: Investigative Journaling.** Your beliefs reveal themselves in your unguarded moments. Set aside 15 minutes and use these prompts to explore your programming. Don’t filter or judge, just write.
What stories did I learn about money, success, and love when I was a child?
What is the biggest fear I have about achieving my biggest goal? What’s the worst-case scenario my mind jumps to?
Complete the sentence: “To be successful, I would have to be…” or “To be successful, I would have to give up…”
What am I always complaining about? (Complaints are often limiting beliefs disguised as observations).
Review your answers with curiosity. Look for recurring themes. These are the bugs in your code. The goal here isn’t to fix them yet, but simply to become aware of them.
**Technique C: Listen to Your Language.** Your daily language is a direct printout of your subconscious programming. Pay attention to absolute statements you make about yourself and the world. Anytime you say “I am…” followed by a negative trait (“I am so disorganized”), or words like “I always…” (“I always mess things up”) or “I can’t…” (“I can’t seem to save money”), you have just uncovered a limiting belief. These phrases are not objective truths; they are hypnotically repeated scripts. Start catching them. When you say one, just mentally note, “Ah, there’s a program.” This simple act of awareness begins to dissolve its power.
**Step 2: Interrupt the Pattern and Create a New Intention**
Once you’re aware of a program as it’s running, the next step is to interrupt it in the moment. You need to create a circuit breaker that stops the automatic reaction before it takes over. Here’s a powerful two-part technique.
**Part A: The Pattern Interrupt.** The moment you catch yourself in the old pattern—you’re about to procrastinate, you’re spiraling into negative self-talk—you must physically and mentally interrupt it. This stops the neural pathway from firing on autopilot.
Physically, do something to change your state. Stand up abruptly. Clap your hands loudly. Splash cold water on your face. A simple, jarring physical action can be enough to break the trance.
Mentally, use a powerful stop command. You can say it out loud or in your head. Something like, “STOP,” “CANCEL,” or my personal favorite: “This is just an old program. This is a habit, not who I am.” This phrase is crucial because it separates your identity from the behavior. You are not a procrastinator; you are a person who has a *habit* of procrastinating. That distinction is everything.
**Part B: The Intention Reset.** Now that you’ve interrupted the old pattern, you’ve created a small window of conscious choice. In this moment, you must immediately set a new, more empowering intention.
Take one deep, conscious breath. Breathe in for four seconds, hold for four, and exhale for six. This simple act helps calm your nervous system, taking you out of a fight-or-flight response and bringing the thinking part of your brain back online.
Then, set a “micro-intention.” Don’t try to force yourself to complete the entire overwhelming task. Just choose the smallest possible step forward. If you were procrastinating on a report, the micro-intention is: “I will open the document and write one sentence.” If you were about to eat junk food, the micro-intention is: “I will drink a glass of water first.”
The goal isn’t to be perfect. The goal is to prove to your subconscious that you are in control and can make a different choice. Every time you successfully interrupt an old pattern and execute a new micro-intention, you are weakening the old neural pathway and building a new one. You are physically rewiring your brain, one conscious choice at a time.
**(CTA – Mid-Roll)**
Hey, just a quick pause. We’re getting into some deep reprogramming techniques, and I know this is a lot to take in. If you’re finding these steps valuable and you want a simple guide to help you apply them, I’ve created a free “Subconscious Reprogramming Cheat Sheet.” It has journaling prompts and a step-by-step guide to the technique we just covered. It’s a great resource to keep you on track. The link is right at the top of the description below. It’s my gift to you for committing to this work. Now, let’s get to Step 3.
**Step 3: Reprogram with Repetition (Auto-Suggestion and Affirmations)**
Your subconscious mind learned your limiting beliefs through repetition. Therefore, the way to install new, empowering beliefs is also through repetition. This is the process of auto-suggestion, most commonly practiced through affirmations.
Now, I know affirmations can get a bad rap. Many people try them, feel silly, see no results, and give up. That’s usually because they’re doing it wrong. For affirmations to really work, they must follow three rules.
**Rule 1: They Must Be in the Positive, Present Tense.** The subconscious mind doesn’t really process negatives. If you say, “I am not going to be anxious,” your subconscious just hears “anxious.” You have to state what you *want* as if you already have it. Instead of, “I don’t want to be broke,” the affirmation is, “I am a magnet for financial abundance.” Frame it in the present tense, like “I am confident and capable,” to train your mind to accept this as your current reality.
**Rule 2: They Must Be Emotional.** The language of the subconscious is emotion. Simply repeating empty words is like typing a command into a computer that isn’t plugged in. You have to *feel* the truth of the statement. When you say, “I am confident and courageous,” close your eyes and genuinely feel the sensation of confidence in your body. How would you stand? How would you breathe? Embody the feeling. This emotional signature is what impresses the idea upon the subconscious mind.
**Rule 3: They Must Be (Somewhat) Believable.** If you’re earning $30,000 a year, affirming “I am a billionaire” might create too much internal conflict, and your subconscious will just reject it. You need to create a “bridging” affirmation. Something like, “I am open and receptive to new and exciting financial opportunities,” or “I am getting better and better at managing and growing my money every single day.” This feels more attainable and allows your subconscious to get on board.
The best times to practice affirmations are first thing in the morning and right before you fall asleep. During these times, your brain is in a more relaxed state, making the subconscious more receptive to new information. Write them down, say them in the mirror, or record yourself and listen on repeat. Five minutes every day is far more effective than one hour on a Sunday. You are literally training your brain like you’d train a muscle.
**Step 4: Visualize Your Desired Reality (Embodying the Future Self)**
While affirmations reprogram the mind with words, visualization reprograms it with pictures and feelings. Research shows that your brain can have a hard time telling the difference between a vividly imagined experience and a real one. Studies have found that mental rehearsal activates similar brain regions as actually performing the action, which is why elite athletes use this to wire their brains for success.
Effective visualization isn’t just daydreaming. It’s an active, focused, sensory experience. Here’s how to do it right.
Find a quiet place, close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths. Now, imagine a future scene where you’ve already achieved your goal. Let’s say your goal is to deliver a confident presentation.
Don’t just see it—*experience* it. What are you wearing? What does the room look like? Hear the sounds—your own strong, clear voice, the applause at the end. Most importantly, feel the emotions. Feel the calm confidence as you walk on stage. Feel the excitement as you share your ideas. Feel the overwhelming pride as you finish, knowing you nailed it. Make the feeling so real that you are generating the emotions of your future reality *in the present moment*.
This mental rehearsal creates and strengthens the neural pathways for success *before* the event even happens. When the time comes for the actual presentation, your brain thinks, “Oh, I’ve been here before. I know how to do this.” It reduces fear and makes the desired outcome feel familiar and safe.
Another powerful technique is to gather positive case studies. Your subconscious learns from evidence. Surround yourself with stories, books, and podcasts about people who have happily achieved what you want. This provides your mind with proof that your goal is possible and safe, counteracting the fear of the unknown.
**Step 5: Create Supporting Habits and Environment (Building the New Framework)**
Your reprogramming efforts will only stick if your daily life reinforces the new identity you’re building. You can’t spend 10 minutes affirming that you are abundant and then spend the next 8 hours consuming content about scarcity and complaining with friends about how broke you are. Your environment and habits must be aligned with your new program.
**Habit Formation:** Design a routine that acts as a daily reinforcement of your new self. A morning routine is especially powerful. Before you check your phone and let the world’s negativity in, spend 15-30 minutes consciously programming your mind. This could include:
**Meditation:** To quiet the conscious mind and increase your awareness of your thoughts.
**Affirmations:** To install your new beliefs.
**Visualization:** To embody your future reality.
**Gratitude:** Write down three things you are grateful for. Gratitude literally rewires your brain to focus on abundance rather than lack.
A consistent routine sends a clear message to your subconscious: “This is who we are now.”
**Environmental Design:** Your subconscious is constantly absorbing information from your surroundings. You have to be the curator of your environment.
**Digital Environment:** Unfollow social media accounts that trigger feelings of comparison, inadequacy, or fear. Follow accounts that inspire and educate you.
**Physical Environment:** If your goal is to be healthy, don’t keep junk food in the house. If you want to be a writer, create a clean, inspiring writing space. Put your affirmations on sticky notes on your mirror, your computer, or your car’s dashboard. Make your world a constant reminder of the new program you’re running.
**Social Environment:** This can be the hardest one. Pay attention to how you feel after talking to certain people. If some friends or family constantly reinforce your old, limiting beliefs, you may need to lovingly limit your exposure to them or consciously guard your mindset when you’re around them. Surround yourself with people who support your growth.
By aligning your habits and environment with your new desired self, you create a powerful feedback loop that makes your new programming the path of least resistance. Success stops being a struggle and starts becoming your new normal.
**(Conclusion)**
So, let’s bring it all together. That feeling of being stuck, of running in place no matter how hard you try, is not your fault. It’s often the result of hidden programs, limiting beliefs, and outdated emotional patterns running on autopilot in your subconscious mind. For too long, you’ve been trying to win a battle with conscious effort alone.
But you don’t have to live that way anymore. You have the power to become the programmer of your own mind.
It begins with **Awareness**, bravely looking inward to identify the beliefs that have held you back.
Then, you learn to **Interrupt** those patterns the moment they arise, creating space for conscious choice.
You install new, empowering beliefs through emotional **Repetition** with affirmations.
You make your future real to your subconscious mind by **Visualizing** your success with vivid, sensory detail.
And finally, you lock in these changes by building supportive **Habits and an Environment** that reinforce your new identity every single day.
This is not a one-and-done fix. It’s a practice. It’s a commitment to your own evolution. Just as it took years to build your old beliefs, it takes patience and consistency to replace them. But every time you challenge an old thought, every time you choose a new action, you are physically rewiring your brain. You are taking your power back.
You are not broken. You are not lazy. You’ve just been running a program that no longer serves the magnificent person you are becoming. But you hold the source code. You are the architect of your mind. You have the power to write a new story—one of confidence, abundance, and freedom. And that process can begin right now. The first step is simply the decision to start.
Thank you so much for investing this time in yourself today. If this video resonated with you, please hit that subscribe button so you don’t miss out on more content to help you master your mindset. And I have a question for you: which of these five steps are you going to start with today? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you. Start today, and watch your world begin to change.
