In your daily life, you have probably noticed that your actions sometimes do not match your intentions. Why don't we always do what we intend to do? To find the answer to this question, let's take a look at our brain.

How can we explain our behavior?

At times, our behavior may seem rather unreasonable. You may have asked yourself questions such as:

• Why did I accept this demanding task or the invitation to this tedious event once again?
• Why did I get upset when I wanted to remain calm?
• Why did I eat a large piece of cake instead of a healthier fruit?

What drives us to do things that we would have preferred not to do in hindsight? You will discover in this article that it is not simply due to a lack of willpower, and that there is a perfectly reasonable logic behind it all.

Two systems operating in our brain

The key to understanding our actions lies in understanding how our brains work, in which two distinct systems coexist. Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman simply called them “system 1” and “system 2.” One of these, your rational mind, is easily accessible to you because you are conscious of it. The other system, however, eludes you most of the time. It does its work so discreetly that you rarely notice it. Psychologists and psychoanalysts call it the unconscious. But we can also talk about gut feeling or intuition. All these terms have more or less the same meaning.

The precision of your rational mind

These two systems process stimuli that come from outside and from within your body. On one side, there is your rational mind – also referred to as your intellect or reason – which you are well aware of. Your reason uses language to convey its ideas to you. This makes it easy for you to explain your intentions and express your arguments. Its evaluation criteria are dualistic. Is it right or wrong? Useful or useless? It seeks to find the best argument or the best solution.

You may be surprised to learn that your rational mind is slow. It takes almost a second for a stimulus to reach this part of your brain. For example, when the car in front of you brakes, it takes you a second to notice, and then you need time to react. That's why you should keep a distance of two seconds between you and the car in front. Furthermore, your ratoinal mind's capacity is limited because it can only handle a few things at a time. It also processes them sequentially, one piece of information after another. You don't believe it? Try thinking about two things at the same time. You'll realize that it's not possible.

How does your subconscious mind work?

Your subconscious works in a completely different manner, on several levels. First of all, you are generally unaware of it, as it does not have language at its disposal, at least not a language as detailed and precise as human languages. How does it manifest itself? Its messages are conveyed through your body. Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio calls them “somatic markers”, sensations such as joy in the heart or a knot in the stomach. These messages, as bodily sensations and emotions, are rather vague and difficult to perceive and interpret, whereas those of your rational mind are precise and unambiguous. This is why you often don't notice them or don't know how to interpret this ambiguous information.

The incredible power of your subconscious

Unlike your rational mind, your subconscious can process an unlimited amount of information, having immediate access to your entire life experience, i.e. all the experiences and knowledge you have acquired throughout your life. It takes only 200 milliseconds. At lightning speed, this system receives information, gathers all similar stored data, and may even trigger an action – before you are even conscious of it. This is truly a high-performance system.

Maja Storch, a psychologist at the University of Zurich, uses the metaphor of the planarian worm to illustrate how our subconscious works. Planarian worms are flat aquatic worms with a very simple nervous system and already existed in the age of the dinosaurs. Let's imagine that, back then, one of these creatures spotted a shadow. If the shadow had been from a small edible organism, the flatworm would have had to get to it as quickly as possible to eat it before it disappeared. On the other hand, if the shadow had been caused by a dinosaur's foot, it would have been essential for the worm to get away before being crushed. In both scenarios, time would have been crucial for the worm's survival. If it had taken too long to come to a conclusion, this species would quickly have become extinct. It therefore requires extraordinary and fast intelligence to ensure survival. This simple and highly effective mechanism is also present in us humans.

Your subconscious uses a specific evaluation criterion. It constantly assesses whether what you are experiencing at a given moment is pleasant or unpleasant. This aspect is recorded in your memory and shapes your reaction to similar situations in the future. The goal is to accumulate as many pleasant experiences as possible and avoid those that were painful for you in the past. You can see that your subconscious uses a very simple – and entirely hedonistic – evaluation criterion for the sole purpose of ensuring your well-being and survival. It should be added that it has no capacity for anticipation, because it is entirely in the here and now and blind to future consequences.

An overview of the systems' features

Below you find an overview of the main features of both systems.

Two different points of view

The two systems operate not only differently, but are also located in two different parts of your brain. When you are thinking, your prefrontal cortex is particularly active. The activities of the subconscious mind are closely linked to different parts of the limbic region of the brain.

What are the strengths of your rational mind? It is very precise and is the tool of choice when it comes to planning and organizing your life. Unfortunately, it consumes a lot of energy, which is why your brain tries to use it as little as possible. Furthermore, it is easily disrupted. You have probably already experienced how difficult it is to concentrate on a difficult task when someone next to you is talking loudly on the phone.

What about your subconscious? Its messages via somatic markers are subtle and easily overlooked. However, it is very powerful behind the scenes. Thanks to its speed, it triggers actions before your conscious mind can intervene. All your automatic responses come from the subconscious, without going through your conscious mind. This makes it very energy efficient and difficult to disrupt. If you have taken driving lessons, you may remember how tough it was during the first lesson to pay attention to the pedals, the gears, the traffic, and your instructor all at the same time. During that lesson, all the information had to be processed by your rational mind. Today, driving a car seems like child's play, at least when there isn't heavy traffic.

You cannot do without either system. If you neglect one or the other, your well-being will suffer. The discipline dictated by your rational mind will make you sick in the long run. The purely hedonistic life proposed by your subconscious will cause you to miss out on great opportunities that require planning and organization.

The power balance between the two

Sometimes, the two systems arrive at different, even opposing conclusions. Which one takes precedence? To illustrate the balance of power, Zurich-based psychologist Nicole Bruggmann uses the metaphor of a rider on an elephant. The rider symbolizes your rational mind, which is unable to control in detail the actions of the enormous elephant that represents your subconscious. The more you try to control every movement, the more you exhaust yourself without necessarily succeeding.

Consciously controlling every moment of your daily life is simply not feasible – nor is it desirable. You can trust your autopilot, i.e. your subconscious, otherwise you would be overwhelmed by the enormous amount of information flooding your brain. Like the elephant rider, you need to choose the right moments when it is essential to intervene, so as not to exhaust yourself. For your current and long-term well-being, a balance between the two systems is necessary. Together, they form an unbeatable team.

Strengths and weaknesses of both systems

Let's list the strengths and weaknesses of each system, starting with our rational mind.

Strengths of the rational mind

• detailed and abstract analysis
• consideration of the past and future
• evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of our actions
• ability to plan and organize

Weaknesses of the rational mind

• limited capacity
• difficulty managing confusing and unpredictable situations
• slow and easily disrupted

Our subconscious is the expert when it comes to what has been good for us, and it too has its advantages and disadvantages.

Strengths of the subconscious

• instant access to all our past experiences
• global view
• ability to handle incomplete and contradictory information
• lightning-fast reactions
• always active, even during sleep
• robust, difficult to disrupt
• strives for our immediate well-being

Weaknesses of the subconscious

• vague messages
• no long-term perspective
• no capacity for reflection and planning

It is obvious that, in your daily life, you need both systems. If one of them takes over for a long period of time, your well-being will be compromised.

Use your subconscious to your advantage

It is now obvious why you don't always do what seems reasonable. Your subconscious also has a say and can oppose your rational intentions. However, it has no bad intentions, just a different perspective, and as a result, it pushes you towards a certain direction. Ignoring it will not help you because it always finds ways to intervene. Nevertheless, it is worth trying to identify its needs and pay attention to them. Know that it only wants your well-being, but that its field of vision is limited – in principle like that of children who need parents to guide them gently, without obsessive control.

This does not mean that you are at the mercy of your subconscious. There are many times when it is useful for your rational mind to intervene. Otherwise, you would never go to the dentist for a checkup, and you would not be able to pursue a nice career plans.

However, it may be that you are unable to achieve something even though you really want to, which is usually due to a mismatch between your rational mind and your subconscious. In this case, coaching can be a wise investment and help you achieve the desired result.

Benefits of the concept for me as a coach

The concept of the two systems is of paramount importance to me. In my personal life, I try to be attentive to everyone's needs. But also in my coaching practice, knowledge of the two systems plays a fundamental role. When a client is unable to achieve their goal, I help them find support from their subconscious to achieve their goal.

To this end, I can draw on methods from the ZRM (Zurich Resource Model) developed by the University of Zurich. ZRM tools enable my clients to create and then reinforce a mindset that supports them in their project. This is done primarily through methods that do not depend on the slow and easily disrupted rational mind. This process is convenient because it requires little (conscious) effort on the part of the client, while providing them with a very powerful lever for success.

You may notice that I have a very positive view of the subconscious system that operates in our brains. It is not our enemy, but rather a precious ally for our personal and professional projects. Our reason and our subconscious complement each other and together help us make good decisions and lead our lives in a way that brings us success, well-being, and joy.
 

Main sources for this article (only in German):

• STORCH, Maja, 2016. Machen Sie doch, was Sie wollen! wie ein Strudelwurm den Weg zu Zufriedenheit und Freiheit zeigt. 2. unveränderte Aufllage. Bern : Hogrefe. ISBN 978-3-456-85659-9
• STORCH, Maja, KRAUSE, Frank et WEBER, Julia, 2022. Selbstmanagement – ressourcenorientiert: Theoretische Grundlagen und Trainingsmanual für die Arbeit mit dem Zürcher Ressourcen Modell (ZRM®). 7. überarbeitete Auflage. Bern : Hogrefe. ISBN 978-3-456-86214-9

This article was first published in French in December 2023 and has now been translated into English by the author himself.

Author of the article: Beát Edelmann, expert in neurodiversity (autism, ADHD and high IQ) and personality exploration. He is the founder of the Abundana Institute for Self-Management in Geneva, which offers coaching, training, and consulting services in French, English, and German.

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