'Willpower' And The Illusion of Self Control (3 of 5)
We make our own decisions so what we decide, goes, right? Wrong!
Almost all of our REAL life decisions are made at a much deeper
level - one we have almost no conscious knowledge or awareness
of at all.
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Because we believe that we control our lives, we also believe
that by making 'conscious' choices we can change the course of
our lives. So if 'we' decide to eat better, or take more
exercise then 'we' should be able to make this new thing happen.
The choice is ours. After all as adults we are in charge aren't
we?.
But as we all know, nothing is ever that simple. For whatever
reason or reasons, somehow we never quite succeed in losing that
surplus weight, quitting smoking, getting a better job or
whatever it is we have 'decided' to change.
And the reason is simple - our subconscious minds simply prevent
these changes taking place. Why? - because quite simply if 'our'
choice was also what the subconscious mind wanted it would
already BE our reality.
All our efforts to change by using our 'willpower' are doomed to
failure because our subconscious minds will simply sabotage
anything which would result in a movement beyond the limits it
has set. These limits can be placed on almost any aspect of our
lives, from body weight to financial or social success.
As soon as we find ourselves approaching such a limit, we will
be automatically hauled back to our internal 'set points' to (as
the subconscious mind sees it) protect us from risk