Preface:
Have you ever wondered why we are able to make progress on some goals and not on others. You might be struggling on goals even with high levels of desire and motivation to change.
So, if motivation is not the answer, what else explains this phenomenon and more importantly what can we do about it. These are genuine questions and through this blog, we will bring it to a better understanding. The starting point is for us to understand our mental states, in terms of our conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious parts of mind and how they inform personal change.
Understanding our states of mind:
Our mind which includes the conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious states. influences our behavior. the decisions we make and our orientation towards personal change and achievement of our goals.
(a) Conscious mind: this represents our awareness and thinking in the ‘here and now’ space. It includes everything that we can experience and feel and also memories we can access. This area of the mind deals with present moment experiences and active decision making.
(b) Sub-conscious mind: this state of mind sits just below the conscious awareness. It includes memories, knowledge and experiences that are not in the active memory, but can be accessed with some effort. Most importantly, it includes our underlying beliefs and assumptions based on our past experiences.
(c) Unconscious state: this state is the deepest level of our mental process, housing deeper level thoughts, feelings and desires that are not accessible to our conscious awareness. This area of our mind significantly influences our behaviors and feelings without us being aware of it. Some of these feelings are repressed from our childhood upbringing & experiences .
How the states of mind are connected to personal change & goal orientation:
(a) Why we achieve our goals:
The starting point is really a strong motivation for change. A compelling and urgent need for change can override internal resistances. Once we have the motivation for change, what makes the change last is really the alignment between the conscious and the sub-conscious states of mind. In our conscious state, we set the goal and are aware of the tasks to be done. When the sub-conscious mind, which holds the habits, routines and automatic behaviors are aligned with the goal in the conscious mind, we are able to make genuine progress.
(b) Why we struggle with some goals:
Even with a strong motivation for change, when the conscious state is not aligned with our underlying beliefs and assumptions (sub-conscious mind) we fail to make progress. These mechanisms often operate below the level of conscious awareness, making them challenging to identity and address.
The ‘Immunity to Change’ approach expands a mechanism known as ‘competing commitments’ which are sub-conscious commitments that are in conflict with our conscious goal. These commitments often stem from a desire to protect oneself from perceived threat or discomfort.
Using the ‘Immunity to Change’ methodology to make progress –
The Immunity to Change (ITC) approach, developed by Harvard scholars, Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey, is a powerful framework for identifying and addressing the subconscious barriers that prevent individuals from achieving their goals. This approach involves a structured process to surface competing commitments and underlying beliefs and assumptions.
Bringing the competing commitment to the conscious state is already a very powerful outcome. The final step involves testing the big assumptions through a series of micro experiments to establish their validity.
“Based on the Immunity to Change” you get to this emotionally unsettling awareness / insight that the true barrier to change comes from within the system” as opposed to external
Conclusion:
Change can be an elusive journey for many individuals despite best intentions and efforts. As we have understood, we cannot bring about genuine change unless we tap beneath the conscious states of mind.
Therefore, to successfully achieve more challenging goals, it is essential to identify and address these hidden commitments. By bringing these subconscious barriers to light and understanding their origins, individuals can work to reframe their beliefs, reducing the internal resistance to change and enhancing their ability to achieve their desired outcomes.
Srikanth is the founder of Vruddhi India, a management consulting firm focused on Change leadership practices. We specialize in guiding companies through the complexities of change in a way that is uniquely personal and customized. You can email me at srikanth.pv@vruddhiindia.com for more information.