Have you ever felt like you’re locked into a situation?
Maybe you keep having an emotional response to something even though it doesn’t serve you?
Or you repeatedly find yourself in some kind of loop that keeps rolling on and leaves you feeling stuck and powerless when it comes to solving it.
Nowadays, people are smart. Usually, between Google and the many personal development books and resources available, we can come up with answers to things that are reasonably easy to solve. However, if you keep running up against the same problems or situations, or if you know you’re carrying latent emotional baggage and are struggling to shift it, the chances are that you’re holding something in a blind spot.
Such blocks can be caused by:
Deeply held limiting beliefs
An accumulation of negative emotions that have become ‘hardwired’ into your neurology
Significant emotional events that have lodged habitual reactions you cannot pinpoint because your subconscious is protecting you from the source event – usually because it is too painful to recall
In these situations, we often try to tackle the symptoms rather than the issue itself. Those symptoms might look like:
A problem that we feel we can’t solve
A loop that keeps playing out in our life
A feeling we carry around that we can’t quite identify – but we know just doesn’t feel good
What Lies Beneath
When this is the case, conscious practices can only go so far in creating a shift.
Trying to shift it through personal development or talk therapies can relieve some of the symptoms, but ultimately brings us back to the same place if we haven’t dealt with the root issue. Even extensive counseling, therapy, and coaching can prove limited when it comes to such issues because the key to unlocking the shift we want lies in working directly with the subconscious mind.
Our conscious cognitive capacity only represents a tiny fraction of our overall processing capability, creativity, and mental resources. When the conscious and subconscious mind are at odds, the subconscious will win every time.
Think of your mind as an iceberg. You can see and understand the very top, but there’s an awful lot beneath the surface. So, when you’re carrying an energetic, emotional, or cognitive block that you’ve done so much work on and still feel stuck, the answer is usually to connect with your subconscious.
As Albert Einstein said:
“You cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it.”
The reason I love NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and Timeline Therapy® is because they allow us to work at the intersection between conscious and unconscious thought, accessing that massive iceberg under the surface. This enables us to release blocks – often without having to reveal the original events – providing a far gentler way to set ourselves free than digging up painful childhood memories.
To really make progress, you need to work with an experienced Master NLP practitioner or Timeline Therapist skilled at helping you access unconscious resources. This allows you to locate and release whatever blocks you are holding. Typically, this requires a course of 3–4 months, with subconscious shifts activated during sessions and conscious rewiring exercises practiced between sessions.
However, there are a couple of things you can do yourself:
The Process of Allowing
This exercise is designed to get your conscious mind out of the way and allow your unconscious mind and intuition to get to work.
Sit in a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed and practice breathing, mindfulness, or grounding exercises to get calm, relaxed, and open-minded.
Gently pose yourself a question, such as:
“Why do I still struggle with X?”
“Why do I keep finding myself in X kind of situation?”
“What do I need to learn to move forward with X?”
Sit with the question and allow thoughts to flow. You can jot notes in a journal if you like.
As you hold the question in mind from a relaxed state, abstract and new thoughts may present themselves. They might not make complete sense initially, but your goal is to catch the edge of something that helps – something you couldn’t see when trying to tackle the problem consciously.
The Body Holds the Key
The second way to flush out a block is to use your body as an access route:
Make a statement or declaration as if you’ve already released the block and moved forward. For example:
“I’m going to resign on Monday” (if a career block is holding you back)
Say it out loud, even if it scares you.
Notice how your body responds – throat tightens, stomach churns, etc. These signals indicate where you are holding the energetic or emotional block.
Explore the block by observing its size, shape, weight, energy, texture, and movement. From a relaxed state, breathe into these qualities and invite them to soften, lighten, and release.
Ask the block: “What are you here to protect me from or communicate to me?”
As an NLP Master, I often support clients to release blocks by shifting the physical expression of the block at the subconscious level so it can be released.
Start by assessing your current level of blocks:
Take our “Are You Subconsciously Blocked?” quiz to identify any hidden beliefs that might be holding you back from advocating for yourself.
Book a complimentary discovery call with The Success Smith team to discuss personalized strategies for your career advancement.
Don’t let unseen barriers stand in your way. Equip yourself with the insights and support you need to confidently pursue the recognition and compensation you deserve.