Thinking Cubed

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Changing From a Subconscious to a Conscious Mind

A key factor in changing from a subconscious to a conscious mind is how we view everyday situations. Our perspective of what’s going on around us. Say you’re in a grocery store. A few feet down the aisle is another person looking in your direction, mumbling under their breath. What is your first thought? Be honest with yourself if you want to change because deceiving yourself will get you nowhere.

I know a lot of people who have one perception of this scenario and some will automatically act on it, confronting the person, thinking they were just insulted, only to find out that the person was looking at a product just beyond and talking to themselves. Or maybe they were on a Bluetooth, or they might even just be enjoying talking to themselves. This person is simply looking in your direction mumbling nothing more nothing less.

Living consciously is seeing the events around you for what they are without over-analyzing or judging. Eventually, you might be able to see most things in life are exactly what they are. This is a goal of mine and it takes time and a lot of practice.

It doesn’t matter if these concepts are new to you or if you’re already using them. The process of changing thought patterns is always the same. The first step is always going to be recognizing the issue or situation and how you viewed it. I recommend that you acknowledge that your perception may be a little warped or off.

By acknowledging this you open your mind to other options of what might be happening. Sometimes you can think of plenty of options yourself. Sometimes you’ll need to get someone else’s perspective.

How do you view what’s happening in your life? Is there a chance that view might be a little warped or off?

W.T.F.

I read, I pray

I sink, I swim

Where did this pain truly begin

Was it with family

Was it with friends

Was it with lies that were told

With the original sin

My heritage tells me I need to be this

The government tells me I need to be that

Fuck them

I can’t make a rabbit come out of a hat

Who am I.

I wasn’t me from the start

I discover myself when I’m torn all apart

I’m learning to be who I want ME to be

It’s here and now I’m discovering me

Think outside the box.

Think outside the box. What is the box? I heard this asked on TV the other day. In this sense, the box cannot be solely defined as one thing. It is something that can be thought about and we can think about anything. One box can be our view of the world. Another box is the situation we find ourselves in. As you know, this site is about finding the best option.

Sometimes these situations are good to be thought about from a creative angle. A lot of times it’s best to stay with proven methods. In such a fast-paced world we would get very little done if we got creative with everything.

Business is a good example. It’s necessary to be creative with a new product or idea, but when it comes to selling that product and running a business it’s usually best to stay with proven methods. Check out how other successful people have sold similar products and try their methods. There can be a lot that goes into these methods that those successful people have already taken the time to figure out.

I love entrepreneurs and I love Shark Tank. In an episode a few weeks ago, the guy had a few really awesome ideas. I liked them and so did The Sharks. The guy had two really good products and a small stand, worthy of hotels and resorts around the world. He got shot down. He was stuck in creative mode and wasn’t focused on building a business with proven methods. I’m not going to try to figure out why he didn’t switch his method. It’s not my place. I am however making it a mission of mine to get people to realize the importance of having multiple choices in life. Thinking to choose the best one and having the ability to switch mindsets when you need to.

This guy on Shark Tank, if he had switched gears and done a little research on how to strategize his sales and business and focused, he probably would have never needed to go into the “Tank.” With all the books and infinite information on the internet, finding proven strategies isn’t difficult. Russell Brunson has some books out there that literally tell you the websites to go to figure out who your competitors are selling to and how they strategize. The info is out there.

Switching mindsets goes deeper than money. My sister and daughter came to visit me recently. During the visit, my daughter got upset during an UNO game and started crying. I want my daughter (on here I’m going to call her Jenna) to talk to me and not close off like that. I was doing everything I could to get her to talk, short of bribing her. Nothing I was doing worked. I looked at my sister, Melissa, knowing she has more experience with kids. She basically told me to ignore Jenna and not to “feed the tantrum.” I’ve heard this before and even though I didn’t care for it because I wanted Jenna to talk to me, I tried it. You know what happened? Jenna stopped crying in about 30 seconds. This is a proven method. Even though I probably won’t like doing it in the future, I will do it because it works.

When I was in 3rd grade, if I had known the importance of being able to switch mindsets, I might not have resisted the proven methods taught by my teachers in math. That’s a big IF and a big MIGHT but if I’m able to teach my kids the importance of being able to switch mindsets, I may be able to help them avoid some serious issues in life. I will teach my kids and they will have a choice.

Are you able to switch from being creative to staying with proven methods? Or completely avoiding? Which one is best for your current situation?

Ben’s Story

Thinking on the surface may sound like a simple thing, but to change through patterns that we don’t care for takes work. Have you ever asked yourself…damn why do I keep doing that? Or, wow, something really has to change. It requires action. Actions that are different than the ones we’ve been doing. To not change actions yet expect a different result is a widely accepted definition of insanity. Changing actions takes conscious thinking. I stress conscious thinking and conscious action because I believe to act subconsciously is to live in the past. There are many books written and research done that supports this. Throughout this journey I’ll share those books with you and what areas helped me along with other books on other subjects.

Back to thinking and acting differently. This can sometimes be scary, it means stepping outside of your comfort zone and doing something different. Even to people who have already made major changes, changing something simple can potentially be scary.

For me the hardest step is the very first, recognizing that something specific needs to change. For me, this often requires another person letting me know the issue. My actions and decisions were so ingrained in me that I either didn’t know they were an issue or didn’t know I could change them. Next, I acknowledge the issue and decide if I want to change. If I want to change then the real work begins.  

If I’m making a subconscious to conscious change I need to recognize when I’m making that subconscious decision. At first, I’ll usually recognize it after the fact and I’m able to analyze what just happened. I’m usually able to analyze a situation once and move on to correcting it. After analyzing I’m able to recognize the situation while it’s happening, instead of after, and I’m able to think about the decision I want to make. Pretty soon I’m able to recognize that potential issue before it ever plays out and approach it with a conscious mind, thinking and assessing.

Thinking consciously to make changes is just like any other habit. In the beginning, it takes time and a lot of effort and just like starting any habit it gets easier the more you do it. Eventually, there’s a tipping point and it becomes ingrained, second nature, something you’ll be lost without. Conscious thinking is a habit worth having!

When something becomes second nature to use we sometimes take it for granted, thinking its common sense. This is one of the reasons I created THINK3. Subconscious to conscious changes and thinking is almost second nature to me, almost. I’m at a beautiful spot with it where I know how powerful it is and I know it is not common sense. In his book, Outwitting the Devil by NapoleonHill, he suggests that only 2% of people live a desire, driven life. I’d agree the % is very low and I believe those people live and think consciously. I believe the % of people who live and think consciously is also pretty low.

What I’m saying is living/thinking consciously is not common sense and we should never take it for granted. Eventually I’ll have a forum section here but for now I encourage you to encourage others in whatever setting or platform you choose. Not everyone thinks, but they need to know they can.

Encouragement can be done in many ways. A major turning point in my life came from hearing that a book had been sent to me. Not receiving the book or reading it, without even knowing what it was about. Just simply knowing a book was sent, knowing who sent it and knowing what that person’s motivation was for sending it. It was a long time and quite a few ups and downs leading up to the book being sent, I gained a lot from that book which you’ll be able to read about soon in my “book section,” but for now I want to share how simply hearing that a book was sent transformed my life. A single act of encouragement! First I want to take a second to say thank you to my sister Melissa who started me down this journey. 7 years before the book came into play! And to Jason for sending me that book!

February 18th, 2015 I’m at P.S.I. Basic doing a guided relaxation meditation. For the first time in my life I glimpse how powerful the mind is. Using my mind I made my whole body fully relaxed. I was floating, (not literally). I hadn’t used heroin in about 6 weeks and I have just given myself the exact same feeling. This is huge. I have control! But this is just a glimpse, very early on. Fast forward…

I had been on the streets, using drugs, trying to avoid my 2nd time in prison. I haven’t talked to my family since about mid June, It’s now late August 2015. Today I found out I have to do 210 days in county for unpaid court fees and in 3 days I see another judge about a drug charge. I already know the options for the drug charge: 3 years intense probation or 1 year in prison. I weigh my options: 210 days country plus 3 years of probation or 1 year in prison and the country time is counted along with it. It’s a no brainer…prison. This led to one of the most profound experiences of my life less than a week after getting to the yard. I decided to call my mom and let her know I’m ok, just on my way to prison again. I’m really messed up mentally but something keeps telling me to call her. For weeks my thought have been pure negativity, daydreaming about how i wish i had brought dope with me to sell or calling someone to tell them who to rob so they can put money on my account. So much negativity and hopelessness that 2 weeks ago I attempted suicide for the 3rd time, tying part of a sheet around my neck, only to chicken when my vision started to go and untied the knot. I call my mom but we only have 60 seconds and she’ll have to put money on the phone. 60 seconds is good enough, she knows I’m okay and where I am.

During the 60 seconds, that was more like 20, she tells me that Melissa and Jason were able to find me and had sent me some $, the phone goes dead…damn there’s more to talk about. I have to wait a bit to call her back, but I do. As we’re talking she mentions that Jason sent me a book. Almost instantly my mentality changed! Yes they had taken the time to track me down and sent me money, but those things simply showed me they still cared, it showed their motivation. The book tells me they have knowledge they want to share with me and knowledge is power, if used. Curious about what the book might be I started thinking about how Melissa and Jason think…hmm, I know they believe in the power of thought and try to think positively. This brought me back to P.S.I., the concepts of positive thinking i learned and the power I discovered during the relaxation medication. Again this whole thought process is happening almost instantly and I finish the call with my mom on a positive note, thankful that I chickened out 2 weeks ago. I go back to my cell with a positive mind and still think about $ but now I’m thinking of ways to get it on the inside, i.e. a good job or hustle.

Fast forward about 3 weeks still positive, still no book. I’ve been on the prison yard about 3 days. My bunkie has a laundry hustle making about $60 a month, in prison that’s good $ for something that doesn’t involve drugs. My bunkie comes to talk to me, “I go home in 2 weeks, I’ve been trying to find someone for a while now to take over my laundry hustle but I don’t trust any of them. If you want it, I’ll introduce you to everyone and show you how they want it done.” W.T.F. I’ve known this guy for 3 days and out of everyone here that he’s known for years, he’s going to hand me whats essentially a business he’s build over the last 2 years. It made no sense. He basically has no clue what I’m about. The only thing that makes sense is my mentality.

I believe that what we put out into the universe by our thoughts, words, and actions is what we get back and this experience solidified that belief. I changed from negative thoughts about getting money in prison to positive ways to support myself and I was literally handed an established husble that was beyond anything i could imagine. Encourage people in whatever ways you can because you never know when a simple act can completely change someone’s life. This isn’t some profound, new age thinking, it’s fundamental necessity of life.

THINK3 Tips Section 1

Sometimes the best option is to consciously decide to stop thinking and just do it.

I often find myself mentally hyping myself up to do something. What’s actually going on is I don’t really want to do it so I have to convince myself that I do. For me this usually happens with things that I need to do, not just want to do, and have already made a commitment to.

Case in point: working out. I’ve set goals, schedules, and commitments around working out. I’ve already put a lot of mental and physical energy into deciding to workout and I know that I really do want to. So why do I often try to convince myself to go work out? I have no clue, not the damndest! But I do know how to stop this mental argument that may lead to me not working out. I simply tell myself that it doesn’t matter if I want to or not I’m going to anyways. My brain almost always instantly switches, the decision has been made, it’s on to something else mentally.

Mental arguments about things you’re going to do anyways are pointless and actually drain energy, needlessly burning calories. Consciously decide that it doesn’t matter if you want to or not, that you’re going to do it anyways. It works for me, I bet it will work for you too.