How to Understand Subconscious Beliefs

Did you know that I’m a nerd? I am, I love star wars, I love spreadsheets, and love solving puzzles! Both the cardboard kind you assemble on the table and like the ones in the video game Myst, (that most folks renamed Pyst because they couldn’t solve those puzzles). That’s the kind of nerd I am.

I’m a nerd when it comes to my weekly quotes too, I’ve got them all mapped out in a spreadsheet, three years worth!

Each week has a theme. I originally created it (with help from my mentor Becky Center, I love you Becky!) to make it easier to teach my yoga classes, so instead of flipping through my hand written quote book before each class trying to find one that matched my mood that day, I already knew my quote and theme for class.

The moment I switched to my pre planned quote list I started getting more students in my classes.

Why? Because I wasn’t freaking out before class on what I was going to theme.

I wasn’t driving folks away with that subconscious panicked energy.

Instead I got to show up confident that I knew what I was going to say and I got to focus on greeting each student with enthusiasm before class.

Here’s the most interesting part about my spreadsheet, the themes and quotes ALWAYS line up with what’s happening in my life, my students lives, and my clients lives.

And yet, it continues to surprise me every time it happens!

It happened again this week! Before I prepped for my Sunday morning yoga class I did my morning journaling practice and uncovered a new subconscious belief that’s been seriously holding me back!

My coaching and journaling programs haven’t been as full as I want, so I asked myself why and here’s what I discovered:

I believed that I only work well with folks one-on-one, so that meant my programs couldn’t be more than four people, because my brain would sabotage me with my limiting belief!
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Let’s unpack that for a hot second, I used a variation of the “Why” journaling method that I teach in my Ditch Your Doubts program, where you become an annoying toddler to yourself and keep asking yourself why until you get to an aha/eureka type of answer.

Here’s an actual expert from my journaling that morning

(please note it kinda sounds like I’m having a conversation with myself because, well, I am).

Limiting belief: I work best with folks one-on-one. While it is true that I work really well with folks one-on-one, it's not the only way I work well with folks. I lead teacher training sessions and taught swim lessons, oh wow you're resisting me on this, saying those are exceptions because I had a script or parameters. Don't I also have an outline and parameters in my current work too? I've got a framework for all that I do. Is it just math? Conversion numbers? I know there is more to it than that.

So how do I flip this limiting belief that I only work well in super small or one-on-one groups? What's blocking me? ​
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Oh there's a “how” limit here that if it’s more than 8 people then how do I duplicate myself? How do I show up for more folks? But isn't this the model I planned out before? Am I stuck on that number and already wondering how that's keeping me stuck?

When I plan out specific number goals that's when things go to s***. Oh! Only when they're based on a comparison to other people. Finding my numbers that's the how that I leave to the universe. ​

I then went on to realize that my weekly journaling program CommuniTea can handle 22 people in it’s current format when I’ve been saying all along the limit is 8.

I’m more powerful and capable than I realize all because of a limiting belief keeping me small and feeling stuck.

Getting stuck in the how is really really common.

We want to know the exact steps for how we’re going to get to that thing we’re trying to get too, because when we can see each individual step and know what’s going to happen then our brains feel safer.

But when we attach to the how, we actually lose sight of the things we want most.

The things you want never show up in the way you expect them too. There’s always a variation, a surprise along the way. And usually that surprise ends up being the best thing that ever happened to you, but you’d never experience it if you stayed focused on the how.

With my quotes I mapped them out and trusted they’d be the right thing at the right time.

Here was my surprise this week. After I did my impromptu journaling on my own limiting beliefs of my tiny program sizes I read the quote and journaling prompt for this week and realized, I’d already answered the question!

So here it, the journaling prompt for this week:

What are your subconscious beliefs telling you?

If you’d love support in journaling, both in the how and giving yourself a dedicated time to write, join CommuniTea.

We meet online every Tuesday at 1:30pm Pacific Time. I thought the program was limited to 8 people, but that’s not true, there’s actually space for 22 people and for it to remain a safe space. That means if you’d love a safe space to discover what’s true for you, unpack your limiting beliefs, and begin to grow among the most supportive people you’ve ever met, then CommuniTea is for you. Learn more here.
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