Be the Hero of your own story by Mark Wager

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Be the Hero of Your Own Story
By Mark Wager

When we seek entertainment in our lives we go to the movies. Its there that we wonder at the exploits of our on-screen heroes. The movie hero is the focus of the story and the world revolves around them. They make the right decisions and act in just the right way so that they save the day. We see these people as something different something special because they can do what we believe we can’t imagine doing ourselves. They may be on a screen a few meters away from us and they seem real but we feel that their actions are a million miles away from what we as individuals can achieve.

We may feel we are living our own story but rarely do we feel we are the hero of our own story.

What our heroes achieve can be done by each and every single one of us. We just need to know where to start in order to unlock the script in order to become the hero of our own story.

The journey starts with ourselves and in particular the journey starts in our mind.

The Truth

The processing power of our conscious mind is only a fraction of the total power of our non-conscious mind. To put it into perspective if your car was powered by your mind your non-conscious mind could take you nearly 24 miles yet the power of your conscious will only take you a few feet, not even to the first set of traffic lights. Your conscious mind processes 2,000 bits of data per second yet your non-conscious mind can process 4 billion bits of data per second. Now just imagine what you can do if you can unlock just some of that additional power. Well it might surprise you to learn that you already do and most likely do not realise that you are doing it.

Think back to when you first started driving. In most cases you would have made a conscious effort to check the mirrors, made sure your seatbelt was firmly fastened and you closely observed the road for any potential hazards. You most likely felt that any passenger talking to you was a distraction, yet fast forward to today and now you drive around, chatting to the person next to you, radio blasting out while noticing the new sale at the passing shops. What has changed? Well what has happened is that you have been driving so long that it has become habit and once something has become habit your non-conscious mind takes over. You don't need to think about it. You can just drive along without actively engaging your mind. So when you started driving your conscious mind was in control but now your conscious mind is chatting to the person next to you while your non-conscious mind drives your car.

The bad news

You may think you are in control of what you do and say but the bad news is that you are not. What you consciously do is outweighed by the actions of your non-conscious mind. As demonstrated above your non-conscious mind out powers your conscious mind considerably. This part of your mind has been built up over the years by layers upon layers of learned behaviour. Each and every person you meet and everything you experience whether it’s a good or bad experience teaches you lessons and reinforces which behaviours work and which don’t. Think back to when you were a child, you saw a flame, it looks pretty so you put your hand out to touch it and what do you experience? You feel pain and discomfort as your hand is burnt, so what happened the next time as a child you saw a flame, you stayed away. Learned behaviour and this a fundamental defence mechanism of learning forms each experience and continues to this day.

These entire experiences gather together in order to form your non-conscious mind. Imagine this part of you as your very own secret room of writers that in a fraction of a millisecond debates what should happen next in your story. They write the next few pages which dictates how you instinctively react to a situation. How many times have you heard someone say that they reacted without thinking or said something that within a few seconds they regretted? This is what we call pre-cognitive thought.

The good news

The good news is that you can change the script of your life. There is something called pre-cognitive genius, the ability to make the right decision without the rational mind processing how to respond. You can learn this pre-cognitive genius, but it takes time with a quality leadership mentor and a desire to change your life. Here are a few pointers to start your journey in the right direction.

Believe in yourself.

In 100% of all cases you will find that belief precedes evidence. You have to believe that you can achieve something before you actually do it. Sounds simple? Then why don’t we just believe that we can become rich and powerful and then it becomes a reality? Well! Unfortunately like most things in life it’s not that simple. Your non-conscious mind, the powerhouse of your brain can only believe in one reality and it will use its immense processing power to establish that reality. So if you don't truly believe you can achieve something then your mind will make sure it doesn't happen yet if you believe and I mean truly believe with a passion, then it will become a reality.

Remind yourself every day

You have to tame your non-conscious mind so that it works for instead of against you. A key part of this is reminding yourself everyday of the reasons why you are special and why your dreams will come true.

Create a quality environment

"Ferrum ferro acuitur”, a Latin saying which means “iron sharpens iron" It is a reference from the bible “...so one man sharpens another. Your non-conscious mind is receiving and interpreting information from everyone all around you every second of the day. Make sure that the people that surround you support you, believe in you and believe in what you are trying to do.

Don't be afraid to fail.

We all allow our life experiences to influence our decisions that impact our future. In many cases the mistakes we make in life we carry with us like an anchor when in reality every mistake you have ever made has made you stronger, wiser and a step closer to the person you were meant to be. Never be afraid to fail. Its just another step towards success.

We watch our heroes on the silver screen saving the girl, saving the world with amazing abilities yet we are only a few steps away from achieving equally astonishing accomplishments ourselves if only we can muster the courage to face our greatest enemy, our arch-nemesis – us. We need to take control away from our non-conscious mind and embrace pre-cognitive genius. Do that and we may just become the hero of our own story.

“Conquer yourself, and the world lies at your feet” – St Augustine

About the author:

Mark Wager is a leadership mentor and nternational author. To contact Mark regarding coaching, mentoring, or team building use the enquiry form below