Coaching and the Unconscious Mind
The role of a cash flow coach is to assist clients in achieving real and lasting positive change. Changes in habits that will propel their clients to better positions and states of mind than they have previously been.
In facilitating this, a cash flow coach must understand what drives behaviour and create an environment in which the client is comfortable for behavioural change to occur.
It is accepted, and usually the case that sustainable behavioural change takes time. However, it is possible that change can happen instantly. Whether it is a journey or a ‘light-bulb’ moment, the source for securing enduring change is the unconscious mind.
The Structure of the Mind
Sigmund Freud theorised that the human mind consists of three areas, each with their own function and role. Using the analogy of an iceberg, Freud delineated three levels of consciousness. The top of the iceberg that is visible above the waterline represents the conscious mind. The part of the iceberg immediately under the waterline, but still visible, is the preconscious mind. And the bulk of the iceberg, submerged and unseen beneath the water is the unconscious mind.
The conscious mind is made up of the mental processes which we are aware of. The feelings, thoughts, recollections and desires present at the moment. For example, if you’re feeling hungry, you go and get something to eat. We can think and talk about these things logically and rationally.
The preconscious mind contains memories, feelings and thoughts that we are not currently aware of but can be easily brought into the conscious mind. It’s like a holding room that sits just below the conscious mind, in which information, thoughts, memories and feelings are waiting to be triggered. For example, you are currently not thinking about your email address, but now that it is mentioned, you can recite it with ease.
The unconscious mind comprises the mental processes, feelings, memories and urges, that are inaccessible to our conscious awareness but have influence over our judgements and behaviours. In fact, Freud maintained that the unconscious mind is the primary source of human behaviour and that our decisions, motives and habits and strongly influenced by the past experiences stored in our unconscious. For example, even though our conscious mind can rationalise the situation differently, we can still have a fear of flying, spiders or tissues!
Coaching
A starting point for cash flow coaches is to focus and work with the conscious mind, the tip of the iceberg that is visible and both coach and client is aware of. This would include determining the facts and figures, collating information and establishing the current situation.
And, as a cash flow coach, you can add some immediate value by helping clients to tap into their preconscious, bringing to the surface, those things that are relevant but not apparent. These may be an overlooked upcoming expense, which has not been factored into the equation.
Cash flow coaching and changing habits can be successful at these levels; however, they can also be readily sabotaged by the unconscious that controls behaviour.
Usually, effective cash flow coaching needs to go deeper. It requires the coach to challenge and, as a result, alter the client’s perceptions by ‘diving’ beneath the waterline. It takes skill and bravery for a coach to work with the client’s unconscious mind, but by doing so, you can help clients reprogram those areas that are unwittingly the cause of poor habits and behaviours.
From the client’s point of view, for them to be in a position to attain higher functioning states, they need to access the vast amounts of information the unconscious mind has absorbed and stored. It enables them to expand their awareness and improve their capabilities.
Emotions
Because we are innately aware of what is going on in our conscious mind, we use it to control some of our emotions. However, the unconscious mind contains all sorts of significant, biologically based and possibly disturbing material. Those emotions that stem from the unconscious mind are powerful yet much more difficult to control.
The positive emotions that can come from the client’s unconscious mind are extremely useful in cash flow coaching. Rewarding good behaviours is more palatable than pointing out the bad. Biologically, positive emotions make the brain release chemicals such as dopamine that promote health and growth at a cellular level.
Negative emotions like anxiety, panic and frustration release inflammatory agents and stress hormones, such as cortisol, that inhibit cell growth and can result in the client’s operating system going into survival mode. When this happens or when they feel threatened, clients will have a closed mindset and their approach and intentions will become cautious and guarded, driven by this primitive instinct.
For clients to access higher functioning states, their cells need to be healthy and in growth mode, and to do this, cash flow coaches need to work with the positive emotions as part of the unconscious mind.
Four Considerations
To work with clients effectively, cash flow coaches should commence by building high levels of rapport and operating from a position of trust. This helps a client feel comfortable and relaxed and able to tap into their unconscious mind. By accessing positive emotions, it is easier to connect the messages and outcomes that changed cash flow coaching habits and behaviours will bring.
Negative emotions may be perceived as unhelpful to the cash flow coaching process; however, if the client is repressing or burying these emotions, the energy used to do this can detract from moving forward. Part of the cash flow coaching journey, maybe addressing and facing these negatives emotions; releasing them from the unconscious mind in recognition that they no longer serve the client’s progression.
Emotional connections help clients access their unconscious mind, go with their instincts, and make decisions. To help clients make this connection cash flow coaches ask clients how they feel, as opposed to what they think. Without this emotional focus, clients can easily shut down and revert to operating exclusively from their conscious mind. Shifting the client’s awareness to who they are and what they want, assists them in realising their potential.
Before a cash flow coach utters a word, asks a question or sets out a process, the client’s perceptions are being formed. The competence and capability of the coach are secondary to the emotions and biological responses the client experiences during the first meeting and subsequent initial interactions. As such, the cash flow coach needs to on top of their own thoughts, perceptions and intentions. When the cash flow coach has positive intent and energy, they create an environment for the client that promotes growth and confidence in change.
Cash flow coaches that work with clients ‘below the waterline’ can assist them in utilising the potential of their unconscious mind and achieve sustainable, long-term success. They equip them with the mental strength and skills to respond positively and undertake meaningful habitual change.
elevateB provides the training program as well as support and ongoing development for certified cash flow coaches. Individuals who choose to work with a certified cash flow coach are better placed to achieve financial independence and security. If you would like to make a difference and help everyday Australians be more financially prudent and savvy, consider becoming a cash flow coach today. Click here.