Let’s look at what happens in our brain when we visualize the future. There are two parts of our brain, the conscious and subconscious. The conscious part is the part that we are aware of, typically — we think of it as the “me” that does the thinking.

That’s because the conscious brain focuses on on thing at a time (whatever we think is most important at that moment) and constructs logical sequences:  “If I do this, then this will happen, and then that.”  The subconscious doesn’t think this way; it sees a complete picture of everything happening all at once. 

Think of it this way. The subconscious mind is aware of the input from all of your senses at every moment. Every inch of your skin is sending it information right now but for the most part, your conscious mind only becomes aware of it if it is alerted that something needs its attention. That’s the whole purpose of pain in fact. That’s the subconscious mind’s way of getting the conscious mind’s attention to something that is a danger or is damaging the body.  Because the subconscious mind can only do what has been done before.  It needs the conscious mind to “think outside the box.”  But in order for the conscious mind to do its job, it needs the subconscious mind to take care of everything else.

When most people think of intelligence, they think of the conscious brain functions. After all, it is the crown jewel of human development.  Through its brilliant capacity for imagination, it can soar throughout the universe; through its astonishing faculties of logic, reason, and analysis, it can learn, invent, design, and grasp a staggering range of phenomena.  However, it only represents only a tiny fraction of the whole brain’s function.  The amount of information your conscious brain processes is about one-half of one-millionth of one percent of the amount your subconscious brain processes!

For all its brilliance, the conscious brain has a major weakness; follow-through.  The conscious brain is great at imagining things and thinking them through, but it’s next to useless when it comes to actually getting things done.

The conscious mind is like the writer-director of a film.  It can write a brilliant screenplay, but until you bring in set designers, costumers, carpenters, sound engineers, electricians, makeup people, composers and musicians, editors, and, of course, a full complement of actors to carry out the story, all you have is words on a page.  And it’s your subconscious brain that carries out all the functions of every one of those hundreds and thousands of other roles.

So why is your conscious brain amazing at coming up with an idea but useless when it comes to actually carrying it out?  Because it is easily distracted.  The average person changes focus every six to ten seconds; the conscious brain has to struggle to remember more than three or four things at a time.  On the other hand, the subconscious can remember billions of things in perfect sequence, not only for minutes at a time but for your entire lifetime.  And, how often does it get distracted?  Never.  It is absolutely astounding there are some ten quadrillion different biochemical processes happening in your body every second—and your subconscious is keeping track of all of them.

So let me ask you, which part of your brain would you want to trust to deliver on your dreams:  the part that has trouble staying focused and remembering a phone number, or the part than runs quadrillions of complex biochemical processes at the same time, twenty four hours a day, every day of your life?

This is why so many people don’t achieve the goals they set.  Goal-setting is something your conscious brain can do. Goal-attaining is something only your subconscious can do. (This post is an excerpt from the Power of Visualization Manifesto.)  Want to direct the Law of Attraction to work for you? Check out our newest Manifestation Kit.