How to Reprogram Your Subconscious for Success
Our subconscious minds run the mental “programs” that govern our beliefs. In her new book, Ariana Ayu shares why and how vision boards can help reprogram your subconscious mind.
In her new book, The Magic of Mojo: The Creative Power Behind Success, Ariana Ayu teaches entrepreneurs and other high-achieving individuals to tap into your mojo for greater personal AND professional success.
Many of you will be familiar with the idea of vision boards, which are intentional collages focused on a specific objective. The concept is that by creating a visual representation of your goals, you will change your current limiting mindset, and open yourself up to a greater possibility of achieving them. Once you have consciously and subconsciously accepted that you can, in fact, have what it is you desire, your energy around it will shift, and you will be able to receive it.
I know it sounds a bit “woo-woo” at first, but when you think about how much power our subconscious beliefs (internal programming) have, it begins to make a lot more sense. If you want a promotion but don’t believe you deserve it, then you will most likely sabotage your chances of getting it. A vision board showing images of your new corner office, you giving a presentation to the board of directors, shaking hands with new clients, or whatever the new promotion will mean for you helps open the door in your mind. Once the door of possibility opens a crack, you start accepting that your goal is possible. You start imagining what life will be like after you’ve gotten the promotion, the kinds of activities you’ll do on a daily basis, the exciting new challenges you’ll be tackling, and the rewards of your new position.
This tells your subconscious mind that your new promotion is a legitimate possibility, so instead of looking for ways to sabotage it, your subconscious will look for ways to make it reality. It’s like re-programming a computer and updating the software to support your goals, when the old programming codes made it nearly impossible.
Once the door of possibility is cracked open and your subconscious software is upgraded, you don’t have to do as much work! Imagine a door in a dark room; you may not know it’s there until it’s cracked open and the light starts to shine through. Once you see the light though, it’s easy to open the door the rest of the way. Finding the door and opening it that initial crack is the hardest part. That’s what making a vision board can do for you. Then, by regularly reinforcing the new program (looking at or meditating on your vision board), you keep your subconscious mind from slipping back to its old, limiting way of thinking.
Now that you understand the why, let’s look at the how. Keep in mind, it can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. Vision boards are very easy. You can create them on your computer, on poster boards, or in your accompanying Magic of Mojo Workbook. It’s up to you how big you want to make it, depending on what your space allows and how private you want it to be. My friend Jennifer is a whiz at manifesting what she wants from vision boards. She used to create an entire wall as her vision board; she would cut out pictures from magazines and put up exactly what she wanted, and she always seemed to get it quickly. Talk about a mojolicious manifestor!
And you don’t have to limit it to one; you can make multiple vision boards for your different intentions. Many people do money, health, career, and relationship vision boards, so let’s look at two examples: money and health.
What kind of pictures would you put on your money vision board? Here’s a hint: not just big piles of money! Think about it, you don’t want money just for it’s own sake, you want it for what it buys you: travel, freedom, security, and those shiny objects we all love so much. So while you may have pictures of people literally rolling in cash on your money vision board, you might also have a picture of your dream home, along with images representing college funds for your kids or grandkids, philanthropy, stocks going up, residual or passive income, the legacy you want to leave when you die, and more.
And what about health? If, for example, you wanted to shed excess weight, you might choose delicious-looking images of healthy foods, images of people having fun exercising and cooking, and images of people who look healthy and fit (six-pack abs, anyone?). You might put words around the images such as fun, healthy, love my body, etc.. If you’re really excited, you might add glitter, stickers, ribbon, or anything else that makes you feel happy and eager when you look at the vision board.
You want it to be something you feel so emotionally, spiritually, and mentally connected to that, when you look at your vision board, it sparks your enthusiasm. A good vision board inspires you to tap into your mojo so that every time you look at it feeling excited and grateful, you’re infusing it with more of your mojo.
To create your vision board, find images that remind of you of your goal and make you feel like you’ve already achieved them, glue them onto a piece of poster board or cardboard, and decorate. It should be beautiful and appealing to you, and doesn’t need to conform to anyone else’s standards of beauty.
Your vision board should make you feel enthusiastic about your goal rather than desperate or needy. It needs to focus on the positive things you wish to achieve, and evoke an emotional reaction from you. Just like affirmations, you want to imagine your intention as if you already have it, and focus on a feeling of gratitude and appreciation.
Once your vision board is completed, place it somewhere you will see it every day, so it can remind you of the possibilities you are opening up in your mind and your life. That’s it! Easy-peasy!
This article was originally published on Inc.com in February 2016.
Author, activist, international speaker, multi-preneur, mentor, wife, and mom, Ariana Ayu is a Transformational Mystic and a Catalyst for Conscious Change.
She is the creator and lead educator for the CannyNurse™ Certificate Program, a 50-hour CEU program for nurses from LPNs through doctoral degrees, and the first comprehensive cannabis nurse training program designed for working nurses. An ordained priestess, holistic healer, and lifelong student of ancient/ modern wisdom, Ariana’s nursing background includes pediatrics, labor & delivery, nurse education, and Holistic Health/ Integrative Nurse Coaching.
She earned her MSc in Advancing Nursing Practice from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland (UK), and her Cannabis Nursing Certification from Pacific College of Health and Science.
She is passionate about racial justice, social equity, environmental preservation and conservation, and empowered health, wellness, and joy for all. Her practice is governed by the ethical principles of integrity, nonjudgment, empowerment, and respect for her clients’ autonomy.