In “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind,” Joseph Murphy explains why some people become very successful, while others struggle. Everyone has been given the same 24 hours. Some make Million, while others can’t even make a 1000. The reason behind this lies in the subconscious mind. It’s all about habits, and habits shape a person. The subconscious mind is so powerful that you can’t even imagine it. This is why changing habits is difficult; it’s the engine of habits. All your habits are stored here. 90% of what you do throughout the day is because of this subconscious mind. This mind has such power that whatever is programmed into it will make you do it.
Think about any habit. Imagine if it got immersed in your subconscious to align with your goals. So, what do you need to do for that? Just tell your subconscious mind where to put energy and focus, and it will direct 90% of your energy there. Science says that in the last five minutes before you fall asleep, your subconscious mind is 95% active. During the day, it’s around 75%. That’s why, before sleeping, make a list of where you need to be tomorrow and what you need to do. Visualize it. If possible, record it in your own voice and listen to it until you fall asleep. Then, the next day when you wake up, only that goal will circle in your mind, and your mind will find ways to accomplish it.
Another reason is that our decision-making energy is limited. Start the day with fresh energy so it only gets spent on your work, not on managing or worrying or planning for it. You need to prepare for battle in advance, as Jeff Bezos does. He doesn’t use his morning energy to decide what to do all day. Instead, he relaxes, makes coffee, reads the news, spends time with his kids, and makes breakfast, which conserves his decision-making energy for important tasks.
What do you need to do? Set things up in your subconscious mind at night so it automatically drives you to act the next day. This is rule number one. Now, let’s move forward. The morning is a time when any work you do can be done with 100% efficiency. If you want to reach the top in life, your work has to be extraordinary. Extraordinary work happens only when you perform with 100% efficiency, and this happens in the morning. I’m not telling you to wake up at 4 or 5 a.m., but you can wake up at 7 a.m. and use the hours from 7 to 8 or 9 for these practices. Miracles will happen in your life.
In “The Miracle Morning,” author Hal Elrod shares that he brought his nearly destroyed life back by following these six habits each morning. Here’s what he did every day:
- Silence: Wake up without stress or worries, despite limited time.
- Affirmations: Talk positively to yourself; believe you are successful and creative.
- Visualization: Visualize where you see yourself; imagine yourself achieving it as if you’re acting in a movie.
- Exercise: Start moving your body.
- Reading: Gain new insights.
- Writing: Write down your thoughts.
Have you ever experienced that when you work with full focus for one hour, it feels more productive than seven distracted hours? That focused hour never comes back in the same way, nor does the attention and flow it brought. Imagine if you could dedicate three hours at will to any task, whenever you wanted, with complete focus. This can happen if you practice these six habits.
If you start your day at 7 a.m., those two hours you dedicate can bring you hours worth tenfold, as if every hour was as productive as ten. This is what happens in the morning, but you have to get up for it. To wake up, I won’t insist on willpower. It just takes a bit of determination. Sleep on time, keep the alarm away, and drink plenty of water before bed so that when the alarm goes off, you have to use the restroom. This will make you wake up.
Even if you go to bed late, still try to get up. Even if it’s just two hours of sleep, rise up. You’ll sleep on time the next night, as your mind will then understand the importance of a full night’s rest. Place the alarm in a locked cupboard and keep the key in another room. There are also apps available with options to solve math problems, write motivational quotes, or even scan QR codes to turn off the alarm. For example, in “Atomic Habits,” author James Clear suggests creating situations where you have no choice but to perform.
If you wish to wake up, tell your pillow that you need to wake up at a specific time. This might sound strange, but by signaling your subconscious, you prepare your mind to wake at that hour. According to a study by the University of Lubeck, 15 volunteers were told they’d be woken at either 9 a.m. or 6 a.m., but everyone was actually woken at 6. Those expecting 6 a.m. saw high levels of brain activity starting around 4 a.m., showing their minds were ready. Those expecting 9 a.m. were startled awake and irritable because they weren’t prepared.
Our brain works like a biological clock, so set it up by talking to it.
Moving forward, let’s dive deeper into the science behind habits and why it’s challenging to build or break habits. The reason lies in enjoyment. Whether you want to build or quit a habit, enjoyment plays a huge role, and dopamine is at the center. We often exhaust our limited dopamine reserves on fleeting pleasures, like scrolling social media. This impacts our ability to enjoy productive work later.
For instance, if you enjoy social media scrolling, you may find less joy in studying or working afterward. This is because dopamine is limited. Experiments have shown that rats pressing a lever for food when hungry, or pressing it to avoid electric shocks, quickly develop habits based on rewards or avoidance.
To overcome this, consider a 21-day “monk mode” or dopamine detox, cutting down on all highly pleasurable activities. Limit social media, avoid junk food, sugary treats, and even excessive entertainment. This process helps you train your brain to find pleasure in productive tasks.
Do you know why rural students often outperform urban students? The difference lies in fewer distractions and more focus on studies, as they have fewer sources of immediate dopamine. Try creating a calendar where you mark each day you achieve your goals, aiming for a calendar full of crosses. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld suggested this practice to aspiring comedians: write jokes every day, and by the end of the year, you’ll have filled the calendar, proving your dedication.
Using habit trackers, setting deadlines, and practicing the 5-second rule, where you start a task within five seconds of thinking about it, can also help. With time blocking, each task gets a dedicated slot in the day, minimizing wasted minutes. This way, you eliminate the spaces between tasks where time often slips away.