The Decision Making Process
(2.vi) How Conscious Filters Affect Your Decisions & Why These Filters Block Your Success
While in the decision making process, our human brain sends signals into the non-conscious (memory stores) to recall information based on our experiences and memories, which are related to the situation being contemplated.
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In the previous sections I explained we have different types of memory:
- Short term memory, which is like a note pad where we temporarily record information until its importance is imprinted into long term memory.
- Genetic memory passed on through the evolutionary process in DNA. This is a “hard-wired” type of memory that instinctively protects an individual’s survival. (Think of the fight or flight response.)
- Long term memory; which is personal to each individual and is based on input. Humans learn from trial and error and avoid repeating actions which yield undesirable results. (Sometimes an action may be performed more than once before the lesson is learned.)
The human brain is constantly making decisions based on memory.
If a specific decision making process resulted in any form of emotional or physical pain, the result would then be imprinted into long term memory where it can be referenced at a later time.
Then, should you consider trying the same thing again, immediately you become aware the expected result could be detrimental to your survival. Therefore, you will stop your self from proceeding.
In the world of our early ancestors, where death could easily be the result of a bad decision, this memory was invaluable.
In today's world, survival is not normally the situation, but as the decision making process relies on memory, we might still block ourselves from moving ahead.
In Step One I discussed how the brain interprets any form of nervousness or anxiety as “danger” even though it might have nothing to do with survival.
Humans do not require sensory perception to begin the decision making process and arrive at a conclusion. We have the ability to access our stored memory and make decisions based on internal attributes.
Since the subconscious can quickly form numerous conclusions, any “signals” must first pass through our conscious filtering system to ensure we only store conclusions that are significant.
We have many types of conscious filters. There are reality filters, logic filters, reason filters, rationality filters, morality filters and so on.
The subconscious has no filters!
This means our non-conscious neuron impulses travel at a greater speed than conscious impulses. Scientific research indicates this to be 800 times faster!
Think about the massive amount of power available if you pre-program your dreams and goals into the non-conscious mind. This is profound!
You may have heard others mention we have “unconscious filters” which stop us from achieving our goals. Please, don’t get confused as unconscious is not the same as non-conscious or subconscious.
Unconscious means you are not aware or awake to the filters at your conscious level. (At least not yet – I intend to expose these to you in the next section.)
Normally the decision making process functions automatically on auto pilot without your awareness. (Unconsciously)
This is a problem!
Every belief you currently have acts as a filter, effectively blocking out any realities not in harmony with these beliefs.
It does not matter whether the belief was pre-programmed from early child development years; passed on through DNA; or formed as the result of your personal experiences.
Remember, people once believed man could never fly. The Wright brothers and few others proved this to be false. Even then, many couldn’t accept this possibility as their belief system was filtering out any other possibility.
PUTTING THIS INFORMATION TO USE:
Have I confused you yet? Wondering why you are even reading this information?
- Realize and acknowledge you have memory which is beyond your personal experiences.
- Understand your non-conscious fires neuron impulses up to 800 times faster than your conscious brain.
- You have a huge potential to harness this massive power of your subconscious and accelerate your achievements.
- The conscious mind has numerous filters that can stop information from being processed in the non-conscious and ultimately stop you from reaching your potential.
- Your beliefs act as filters to limit your achievements only to what you can accept as your reality.
The theory is you can bypass the conscious filters with subliminal messages and reprogram your subconscious with new beliefs.
My personal belief is that the recent scientific brain research has opened our eyes to effective techniques for reprogramming the subconscious to change our beliefs.
Reprogramming results in automatically updating the conscious filtering system used in the decision making process.
Once you have digested this information, the next step is to expand your awareness and expose which “beliefs” or “filters” are influencing your decision making process to stop you.
In the next section I explain a simple - yet profound - technique to help you discover these filters and see for your self which beliefs have been blocking your success.
Click the link to leave "Decision Making Process" and go to "Behavior Modification"
