Hello my friend,

The way we react in life always comes down to how we want to react. When an impulse comes up, we react to it based on what we want. Sometimes those wants come at the expense of our long-term well-being. Sometimes we forgo immediate gratification and short-term pleasure in exchange for lasting happiness and health. But whichever we choose, it is because that’s what we want.

Whenever we choose short-term gains at our future expense, it’s because our wants are distorted, misguided, and misinformed. We are not thinking clearly. And what we believe will be helpful is actually harmful.

This goes for behavioral reactions, such as thinking a cigarette will make us feel better (how silly is that?). But it’s also true for our mental reactions. On a subconscious level, we believe that anger, panic, and fear serve and protect us in some way. That’s why we react in these misery-inducing ways. Because deep down, we want to.

But if you look back on your life, can you really think of a time that anger, panic, or fear helped you? Has losing your head about something gotten you anywhere?

We think we need fear to motivate us, anger to keep us safe, and panic to protect us. But they all do the opposite. They cloud our mind and judgment. They make us irrational, shortsighted, and myopic. And they block our creativity, insight, presence, perspective, and wisdom.

So how can we break free from automatic reactions that destroy our happiness and our life?

The answer lies in communicating to our subconscious mind that these defense mechanisms are useless, counterproductive, and harmful.

So how do we communicate to our subconscious?

In the next newsletter, I will share the 4-step process for talking to the subconscious mind in order to change old mental habits. Also, I hope you’ve been enjoying my new book, The Guidebook to Being Human. It took me almost a year to write those 500 pages. It could have been shorter but I think every single page speaks to some aspect of life that we will all go through. Be sure to let me know your thoughts — your words (on Amazon or Goodreads) can be a beacon of hope for others who feel lost in the darkness. And for all those who messaged me about the audiobook, it’s available now.

Thank you so much and much love,
Todd