Imagine this. You are a 30-year old adult who has a 7-year old child in charge of your life. To clarify, this 7-year old has lots of information but very little experience, yet they are making decisions about your relationships, career choices, finances and even where to live. Sounds scary, right? Well, psychologists have determined that your personality is fully formed by the time you are about 7. Until that time, your brain is in a theta state, which is akin to being in a meditative, receptive mode, recording all sensory experiences as well as learning complex motor programs for speech, crawling, standing, etc.
That time is the most influential perceptual programming of the subconscious mind.
At the same time this child is downloading massive amounts of information about the world and how it works while making decisions, which form their beliefs. They observe behavioral patterns of people in their environment, parents, relatives, teachers and learn to distinguish acceptable and unacceptable social behaviors. The decisions and beliefs at this time become the fundamental subconscious programs that shape the character of a person’s life.
What this ultimately means is that the fears and perceptions of that child through 7 years old is playing out in your life into your 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and beyond unless you question and shift those beliefs to ones that serve your life now. Consider some statements may people repeatedly heard as a child which are implanted into the subconscious and become the driving force behind many behaviors.
Some common ones are:
“You’re not good or smart enough”
“You can’t do anything right”
“You will never amount to anything”
“ You aren’t pretty enough”
“Who do you think you are to want/have that?”
How might this play out for someone who struggles with not feeling worthy or deserving of success? No matter how hard they work at something, if their underlying belief (and thus the energy they are putting out) is that they are not worthy, they will unconsciously create obstacles or even self-sabotage to prevent them from having it. The subconscious mind is only doing its job to bring you what it has been programmed to believe is true for you.
The subconscious mind functions like a computer and records everything you have experienced in your life. It is very literal. It’s primary role is to keep you alive as it controls all the automatic functioning of the body such as muscle control, breathing etc. The subconscious is always in the present moment unlike the conscious mind, which can remember the past and plan for the future.
Scientific research has shown that at least 95% of our life is automatically operated by our subconscious mind without our awareness of it. It’s like a warehouse of limiting beliefs and old outdated “programs” that are no longer true for who you are or who you are becoming….
https://lauragevanter.medium.com/why-a-7-year-old-is-running-your-life-15a456b080c7