Humans are like icebergs.
Because we’re all… icy.
(Just kidding.)
No, humans are like icebergs because we only see a small amount of who they are. We see the lifestyle, the image, and the presence that people want us to see. The rest?
It’s completely hidden.
But the crazy thing?
The rest of them is completely hidden from themselves.
Inside all of us—right now—there are so many thoughts, worries, fears, beliefs, etc. going on underneath the surface that are entirely unconscious.
We aren’t aware of them. We can’t feel them. We don’t even know they exist.
Yet it’s this hidden, underwater mass of “stuff” that, by and large, controls an overwhelming part of our lives. In other words, much like an iceberg, what’s underneath is disproportionately bigger than what’s above.
The psychological rule says that when an inner situation is not made conscious it happens outside, as fate. The is to say, when the individual remains undivided and does not become conscious of his inner opposite, the world must perforce, act out the conflict and be torn into opposing halves.
— Carl Jung
As I explained before, over 99.999% of our thinking is controlled by our unconscious. The human brain absorbs about 11 million bits of information per second, yet we can only consciously process about 40 bits of information per second.
In order to get through all the complexities of daily life, your brain makes countless instantaneous decisions every second—without you thinking about them.
It uses all of this unconscious stuff as a “filter” or “lens” in which you see the world—so you think you’re seeing it clearly, but chances are that you aren’t.
And until you can bring that unconscious stuff to the forefront, you’ll always struggle with the same patterns, over and over again.
Introducing One Powerful Solution
Here’s a solution that can help unlock a lot of what’s going on underneath, especially if you’re the kind of person who deals with a lot of stress, worries, or anxiety.
i.e. that means all of us (unless you’re the Dalai Lama or something)
On a piece of paper, list out all of the pressures and stresses in your life because they all contribute to what’s going on inside.
These are all the pressures of everyday life as well as the self-imposed pressures we put on ourselves to be “perfect,” “good,” “nice,” “conscientious,” etc.
On top of that, you should also include the “positive” and “happy” things in life like your marriage, your children, or your new fancy job because these also create a ton of stress and pressure whether you’re willing to admit it—or not.
Write it all out…
Get it all out…
It’s very cathartic and surprisingly therapeutic.
The very act of getting everything “out into the open” can help release a lot of tension and pain. Why? Because, now, you don’t have to waste mental energy trying to bottle it up underneath the surface. Now, you don’t have to exhaust your emotions by keeping it all repressed “underwater” while putting on a “smiling face” above the water.
Now, you can finally see what the heck is really going on inside, a lot of which might shock you. (You might feel stressed about things you didn’t know or you might not realize how much crap you have going on inside.)
Then, once you reveal those things, you can actually make changes to improve your life and lessen the stranglehold those worries have on your daily existence.
A lot of people, however, might worry that listing their worries would make things worse.
Patients often ask, “Won’t it make things worse if I concentrate on all the troubles and problems in my life?” Paradoxically, no, for it is the failure to realize their impact on the inner mind that leads to such conditions as TMS [Tension myositis syndrome], heartburn, migraine headache, anxiety and depression. By identifying and dealing with sources of pressure consciously, you reduce their potential negative effect in the unconscious.
—Dr. John Sarno, The Mindbody Prescription
In a weird way, it’s only by revealing the hidden stuff “underwater” that we can finally become aware of it and “reintegrate” it with the stuff “above water.”
Speaking from psychology, you’re basically reintegrating your “shadow” with your “persona,” which allows you to reclaim control and stop letting it affect you as much.
It might feel overwhelming at first, but remember, it’s the stuff that you’re unaware of that will control your life most of all.
If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.
— The Gospel of Thomas
My suggestion: Do this by hand to start. Just grab some paper and list it all out. Don’t inhibit yourself. Don’t deliberate. Don’t make this a “group exercise.”
Just aim for volume.
Also, don’t do this every day. This is something reserved for every once in a while, especially moments where you’re feeling a great deal of stress or you’re randomly dealing with common stress-related “issues” like headaches, migraines, heartburn, IBS, acne, etc.
Those are usually signs that the iceberg below the surface is getting really, really big.
But once you bring it awareness, things can change.
You can start taking control of those situations.
And you’ll feel much better.
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