You are constantly creating and recreating your life. This process is controlled by the preset images in your subconscious mind. Our physical bodies store and then release energy in the form of behaviors and these behaviors are determined by our thoughts and feelings. Your thoughts and feelings determine actions to stay consistent with these images. That is why it is so easy for you to create your present reality it is preprogrammed. (see our article The Path of Least Resistance). To create something new, you must focus on new images. These new images must dominate your mind before they will manifest, and the most effective way to achieve this is to develop a compelling vision, filled with purpose and passion.
You are the universe’s perfect creative machine. Human beings are alone in their ability to recreate their lives. They are also great at creating their current reality. To “recreate” your life you must learn to focus all of your energy on your new vision. Therefore, the first step is to develop a compelling vision filled with passion which is the emotional energy that binds your thoughts, feelings, and actions into one cohesive unit. This unmatched force of nature has allowed humanity to transform the world. Lets look at a simple example of how your subconscious images determine the path of least resistance and control your behaviors.
Picture this: your spouse has been on a weeklong business trip. She was due home Saturday but is able to catch the redeye and surprise you a day early. Exhausted from her long journey she comes home to find the house does not match her preset image of cleanliness. Your spouse’s vision of tidiness does not match the environment that you have created in her absence; plainly stated, the house is a mess, and she is not happy. Despite her exhaustion, this environment creates a powerful internal tension for her to clean the house, to align the images. Your spouse releases a significant amount of energy as she vigorously cleans, and this energy release stops when the house’s appearance matches her internal image. Matching the images relieves the tension, and only then will she stop cleaning.
This tension resolution mechanism is what Maxwell Maltz describes as a “cybernetic loop.” Your spouse’s behavior was directed by the mismatched mental images which create an internal tension, or uncomfortable feeling, initiating the release of energy. This uneasy feeling was resolved only after the images in her subconscious matched the visual images she received from her environment. Tension always seeks resolution; once the images match, tension is resolved and relaxation results.
The acquisition of these images is typically an unconscious process. Cognitive psychology goes deeply into how we acquire these images from the past, our parents, the schoolyard, our environment, as well as how we have thought about these circumstances. These unconsciously acquired images will determine how we experience life. Some people cannot walk into an elegant restaurant or expensive home without feeling uncomfortable. Perhaps you have preset images about income, relationships, environments, jobs, or friends. These images are usually unconsciously created.
We tend to seek what we know. For instance, American soldiers abroad frequent American establishments such as McDonald’s. Those who emigrate from China gravitate towards the familiar, such as big city Chinatowns. These groups are seeking to resolve the tension between their pre-existing mental/emotional/physical images and their new environments. You will always release energy to remain consistent with your unconscious conditioning. The path of least resistance pushes you to reproduce, in your environment, the images conditioned in your subconscious mind. This is why your current circumstances are the perfect feedback you need to move your life forward. The only way to transform your results is to transform these images. Therefore, the only way to create new images is to get emotionally involved in a compelling vision.
To create something new and compelling in your life, you must allow your new vision to create the tension. You must make the new vision more real and compelling than the images that are creating your present reality. This releases energy in the direction of the new vision, allowing you to achieve what you want effortlessly. When we create a new vision, we are deliberately throwing our systems out of order. Because this feeling of being out of order is uncomfortable, we must be vigilant and aware that this uncomfortable feeling is a normal part of the creative process. If we are not careful, we risk returning to our present reality in order to relieve the tension. As we learn to make our new visions the dominant force, the old conditioning naturally falls away; as a result, this uncomfortable feeling fades. It becomes easier to create what you want than what you have.
Previous conditioning, not laziness, creates the resistance we feel. You have never been lazy or incompetent; you simply did not have a clear, compelling vision (see our article When You Are Competent Now). Your present conditioning is your comfort zone. When you create a new vision, your system is purposely thrown out of order. Once your vision is achieved, your system goes back into order. The creative process constantly throws your system out of order then back into order. When we are conscious of this process, it is easier to manage. In addition, the more compelling and realistic the vision, the greater the release of creative energy in the direction you want. Like anything else, you become better with practice. As you become a master at managing this tension between your current reality and your vision, it is important to remember that the internal dialogue created by a new vision is not the level of your potential but rather the level of your current beliefs (see our article Conscious Thinking).
As you become more comfortable with the creative process, you can easily bypass the structural conflicts of your past. You will learn to release energy in a single direction, the direction of your vision. You will no longer waste massive amounts of energy on conflict-management with no resolution point (see our article Conflict Management). Your experience will also allow you to manage larger tensions more rapidly because you will better focus your energy and create greater things in your life (see our article Leadership Tension). And ultimately, you will be self-regulating, self-evolving, self-coaching, and self-creating.
You must consciously learn how to develop realistic yet compelling visions, which encourage the release of creative energy toward these new visions. Understanding the process of releasing energy towards your new vision will prevent you from wasting your creative energy on conflict management. Furthermore, you will consciously and deliberately be able to create the life you have imagined since you are the perfect creator of your life.