Some people call it the “committee in their heads” while others call it the “boardroom” in their heads or simply the voices in their heads or on their shoulders. The reality is that there are an entire group of people – a family – residing in your psyche and they are controlling everything you do, including the way you think, feel, and often act.
I call them the MindMafia because they are an underground group of “people” or voices sharing an organizational structure and code of conduct within you. There is the ego, the protector, the pusher, the child, the mother and father and a whole host of other subpersonalities that control you. And each is an important part of your make up.
If you’re procrastinating, it’s likely because there’s a voice in your head causing it. I worked with a filmmaker recently who kept procrastinating (see Procrastination Required for Filmmaker Success?) and he was beating himself up and his business was suffering because of it. We work with this part and it immediately identified itself as being responsible for his success. That was a surprise to him because it felt like it was doing the opposite – it felt like it was sabotaging him.
As we progressed, we learned that it was teaching this client to pace himself so that he wouldn’t burn himself out or burn through the money he had in his account. Profound shift in understanding why this part of him MindMafia was slowing him down – he was only interpreting it as procrastination.
In pyschological circles, these subpersonalities have been known for years and there are various methods to attempt to identify, understand and work with these entities. Inspired by a particular method called Voice Dialogue that has been around for over 40 years, I developed the MindMafia Mapping Method as a system for identifying, understanding the roles each of these subpersonalities play, how much control they exert over you and, more importantly, a method for negotiating with each of these “people” to change their roles, if they are willing.
This is extremely powerful work that can change your life in an instant, much like hypnosis. But unlike most hypnotic methods, you are completely awake and aware during the entire process.
My MindMafia includes my ego, vulnerable child, magical child, baron (pusher), guardian, cynic and critic to just name a few. Who comprises your MindMafia and how are they running your business?