When was the last time you had to consciously learn that 6×9=54 or consciously remember that you already know the answer? Probably when you were about 6 or 7. But when you need that little piece of information it just pops up – it is nicely stored in your unconscious mind ready just in case you need it.
Last week I was on an amazing NLP training course “Speakers of Influence” with David Shepherd at The Performance Partnership. 7 long and intense days – till 8pm each evening and with no day off! We were learning lots of new information about how to make speaking publically more engaging and effective. We had to make several presentations to the group each day. It was very hard work and lots of fun. At the end of the 7 days we had to deliver a 30 minute presentation using everything we had learned. There was no time to learn everything consciously, no time to write out talks word for word, no time to revise anything… All part of David’s careful planning of course.
We were left with few options but really the only option that would work for me over an intensive 7 days was to get some sleep each night, get up early to work out what I was going to talk about and trust that my unconscious mind would integrate the techniques we had learned. It did. On Sunday afternoon I did the best 30 minute presentation I have ever done!
So often we forget what we already know – and that is a good thing. When our conscious mind can forget and the learnings have become integrated at the unconscious level that is when they are truly learned.
So trust your unconscious mind – trust it to do its job. Trust it to find the information you are looking for just when you need it. Trust yourself.