Reading what other people don't say (My thoughts on Think and Grow Rich Chapter 12 - Subconscious)

If you haven’t yet, check out my review of “Think and Grow Rich” Chapter 12 (link here). It talks about the “subconscious mind” as well as managing positive and negative thoughts. I talk about the appropriate way to process emotions. In my Paid Program, I teach you how to apply the idea of the subconscious to better understand groups of people. Today, we’ll be talking about explicit and implicit social rules.

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We’ve long established that there seems to be subconscious dynamics that influence our behavior. That shouldn’t be new to anyone. A large reason for the presence of subconscious dynamics is to ensure that our ego, our sense of self, remains intact. If we have a shattered sense of self, we can’t do much.

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However, what happens to the subconscious minds of two individuals when they interact? What is the goal between two people behaving in ways where explicit communication isn’t the norm? What happens when it’s more than 2 people? Or 3? Or a small group? Or a large group? Are people still trying to protect their ego or their sense of self? Is there a group ego or a group identity that begins to merge?

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Understanding your own subconscious factors that influences your behavior will help you make better decisions in your life, decisions based on rationale, not an alternate motive that may be counter to your actual goals. Understanding the subconscious factors in other’s behavior will help you understand those people better, giving you an opportunity to teach or to avoid, depending on the scenario. Understanding the subconscious factors in a group will help you navigate the sociological and cultural landscape that your success relies upon.

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Yes. Your success relies upon the sociological and cultural landscape of your environment. And understanding that is far more important that the education you’ve received or your ability to execute on a specific task.

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But how does one navigate the sociological and cultural landscape? What does society say to you directly? And what facts does it leave out? What are things that we are allowed to say in pleasant company? And what are things we can only say behind closed doors? The unspoken aspects of life are analogous to society’s subconscious. And when we fully understand what society is really saying, we can make more accurate decisions that help us achieve our goals.

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Try it out. Take a controversial topic and make a list of things that can be said. Then make a list of things that can’t be said, shouldn’t be said, or would be shameful to say. Compare the two and realize society is saying one thing but believing something else. Then make a prediction of what will happen. Are the predictions more accurate when you follow what society says explicitly or when you connect the dots on what it cannot say? Let me know.