Probably you have heard here or there that, we humans use up to only 10% of our brain. In fact there was even (at least 1) movie made based on that idea.
This was one of my favorite, that I watched at least 10 times – it was called “Limitless”.
So the Idea says that we humans do not use around 90% of our brain power that is available to us, because we do not know how to access it.
Lets make things straight – this is not true! You and I are using 100% of our brain, and here is how it works:
The mind, the operating system, that is being produced by the hardware of yours (the brain) is the important part here. So the mind (your operating system) is switched on from the moment you are born, till you die.
And we can distinguish 3 Minds:
The Conscious Mind, The Subconscious mind and the Unconscious Mind.
For the most part we are aware of the first 2 (Conscious & Subconscious), but there is waaay more to this equation!
In this article we will focus exclusively on the first two: Conscious Mind & Subconscious Mind.
Thy myth of the 10%
Your operating systems that work in symbiosis, cannot coexist without another, and collectively, are using 100% of your brain capacity. The thing is, that the Conscious mind uses about 5%-10% and the Subconscious the majority: 90-95%.
And this is where the myth came from: Someone read the article, misunderstood it, share it on social media, it picked up some tracktion, the media started creating content about it and became viral. This type of message fits its agenda: To tell people that they do not use 90% of their brain. And what does this part of the brain do? Goes elsewhere?! Don’t you worry, my dear, your brain capacities are so huge that you can do anything you want, you just need to understand how it works and use it, otherwise, it will use you!
Ok, lets get back back to the minds for now…
Your operating system
I like to refer to the Mind as an operating system (like IOS or Windows). It works very similarly. The Brain, that is a Hardware, ones its ON (which is from the moment you are born till the moment you die) creates the Mind (Operating System). We need an operating system in order to use the Brain in a way we do it.
There are two parts to the mind equation:
The Conscious mind. The 5% mind. The one that you are using right now, reading these words. The one that allows you to control you superpowers (attention and imagination), the one that allows you to use your will to do what you want (otherwise you will go into auto-mode).
Conscious Mind has very little bandwidth. That is why you can consciously focus on 1 task at the time (Conscious mind does not allow you to automate and multitask).
This mind is extremely logical, and analytical and it is trying to make sense of everything. If it would have a human avatar it would be a school nerd, with thick glasses and bracelets, sitting always in the first raw, being a pupil of teachers and stick to the rules, “because they make sense”.
So what is the main function of the conscious mind?
To process the information coming in through the data collecting points in your body aka the senses and to direct your attention. Why does it do that? Remember: the main function of your brain is to keep you alive. So What this mind is doing :collecting data from the surrounding environment of yours, that is influencing your way of thinking, feeling and acting, so you can “acquire” the similar behavior and, as a result “survive”. And although the survival today means something completely different than 5000 years ago, yet the brain and the mind still operate that way, and this is not going to change anytime soon (surely not when you and I are alive).
Therefore the conscious mind is the collector, processor (middle man) and the outcome of the data.
Now the Subconscious Mind! Oh yeah! Im really excited about this one. Its so powerful!
Its the automator, its the space where all your data is saved (All the experiences you had to date, your values, habits, your beliefs aka apps, emotions, memories and way more). Its like this black box in the plane that collects all the data. Its literally limitless.
Remember, when I said that the conscious mind is not able to multitask. Subconscious is a master of multitasking. In fact is doing so much simultaneously that you can’t imagine. It also helps you to multitask unconsciously in your waking life (lacing up the shoe, driving a car and talking or listening to the music, typing on the keyboard without looking, knowing where to go without thinking in your neighbourhood etc). Why does it do it? Again, the main function of the brain is survival, so with this it does 2 things:
1)saves you energy
2)allows you to focus on sth else while still being able to do that other
Isn’t it extraordinary? I mentioned that it is doing so many things simultaneously – what are these?
Well, lets name at least few:
->Makes your breathing automatic (until the moment you read it and become aware of it)
->Makes your heart beat
->Makes your digestive system works
->Makes you blink your eyes
->Makes you notice things/in your external reality that are aligned with your wishes, beliefs, values, important stuff to you
->Makes you walk
->When you listen to someone talking, it converts automatically words to pictures
How much of your attention and energy would be necessary if you would HAVE to do the above mentioned processes manually? Surely, it would be all you could do. No space for going playing ball, go for a walk with your friend or dog (or both) or hold the conversation, not mentioning wasting your precious attention on scrolling meaningless social media (and mostly watching ads).
Look how much is going on “behind the curtain” and you don’t even need to do anything about it. This is how powerful your systems are.
Moreover, the Subconscious is completely illogical (yes, you heard it correct), meaning the way it constructs your external reality is extremely hard (sometimes even impossible to analyze and explain in a way that makes sense). And, that’s the whole point of learning and understanding to work with your Subconscious. Allow it to do its thing and trust. You job is to feed it with the high quality input that is coherent with the output, that you are after and want it to create.
Jay Bialecki – You are awesome!