Why Your Brain Keeps You Stuck

(And How to Change It)

Have you ever wondered why you can know exactly what you want and even know the steps to get there, but still find yourself stuck in the same patterns?

I had a fascinating conversation with a client recently that perfectly illustrates what's really happening when we feel like we're "self-sabotaging."

The Mystery of Knowing vs. Doing

She came to me feeling incredibly frustrated.

For months, she'd been doing everything "right" – journaling daily, meditating, setting clear intentions about the career change she wanted to make. She knew what she wanted (to leave her corporate job for something more creative) and she knew the practical steps: update her CV, network in her desired industry, start applying for roles.

But every single time she sat down to work on these tasks, she'd find herself scrolling social media, cleaning the house, or suddenly remembering urgent errands that needed doing.

"I just don't understand why I keep sabotaging myself," she told me, clearly confused about her own behaviour.

Here's what I explained to her – and what I wish everyone understood about how change really works.

Your Brain Isn't Sabotaging You

Your brain isn't working against you – it's trying to protect you.

Here's the science: 95% of our daily actions are controlled by the subconscious mind. This is the part of your brain that stores all your past experiences, learned patterns, and deeply held beliefs about what's safe and what isn't.

While her conscious mind was excited about the career change and could logically see all the benefits, her subconscious was running completely different programming. Based on past experiences and inherited beliefs, it was sending signals like:

• "Career changes are risky and dangerous"

• "What if you fail and can't pay your bills?"

• "Better to stay where it's familiar and secure"

• "You don't have enough experience to make this work"

So every time she tried to take action toward change, her subconscious would flood her system with stress hormones and redirect her attention to "safer" activities - like avoiding it altogether and staying in the same situation.

The Neuroplasticity Solution

Here's the exciting news: your brain has something called neuroplasticity, which means it can literally rewire itself throughout your entire life. Those neural pathways that are currently keeping you stuck aren't permanent.

This is where approaches like hypnotherapy become so powerful.

When you're in that deeply relaxed hypnotic state, we can bypass the conscious mind's defenses and work directly with the subconscious to install new, more supportive beliefs.

Instead of "change is dangerous," we can plant beliefs like "I am safe to grow and explore new possibilities" or "I trust myself to navigate change successfully."

Real Results

With the mix of coaching and hypnotherapy, my client's transformation was quite rapid.

After just three hypnotherapy sessions focused on rewiring her subconscious beliefs about change and her own capabilities, everything shifted.

She updated her CV in one focused session. She reached out to contacts in her desired industry. She applied for two roles she was genuinely excited about. Most importantly, all the internal resistance had dissolved – she was taking action from a place of calm confidence rather than forcing herself through fear.

Working With Your Mind, Not Against It

The beautiful thing about understanding how your mind actually works is that you can stop fighting against yourself and start working with your natural capacity for transformation.

Your subconscious mind isn't your enemy – it just needs to be updated with new information that supports the changes you want to make.

When you address change at both the conscious and subconscious level, transformation becomes not just possible, but natural.

If you've been wondering why you keep "self-sabotaging" when you're trying to create change, remember: it's not sabotage, it's protection. And with the right approach, you can teach your mind that the change you want is not only safe – it's exactly what you need to thrive.

If you're interested in finding out how we could work together to create the change you've been longing for, book a call below:

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