In 1974, a Japanese soldier named Hiro Onoda finally surrendered—29 years after World War II had ended.
For nearly three decades, he lived in the jungles of the Philippines, surviving off coconuts and stolen rice, convinced that the war was still going on.
Why?
Because the last command he received was crystal clear:
“Do not surrender under any circumstance.”
So he didn’t.
Even when his family called out to him from the edge of the jungle.
Even when officials shouted through loudspeakers that the war was over.
Even when leaflets were dropped from planes declaring peace.
He believed it was all enemy propaganda.
It wasn’t until his former commanding officer,now an old bookseller, put on his uniform, found him in the jungle, and gave him new orders to stand down, that Onoda finally surrendered.
And here’s what’s profound:
Your brain operates exactly like that soldier.
The Orders You Gave Yourself
Your subconscious mind is built to protect you. Every emotion, every behavior, every “irrational” fear is the result of an old order you gave yourself. Often years ago.
Maybe in sixth grade, you gave a class presentation, stumbled over your words, and the room erupted in laughter.
You felt humiliated.
And right then, you told yourself, “Never put me in that situation again.”
That single command got stored deep in your subconscious.
And like Onoda, your brain took it seriously.
From that point on, every time you were about to speak in public, pitch an idea, or show up online, your subconscious whispered:
“This is dangerous. Don’t do it.”
It’s not sabotage.
It’s loyalty.
A part of you is just following outdated orders meant to protect you from pain.
Emotions Are the Code
But not all emotions create resistance.
Your subconscious is coded by any high-emotion experience, negative or positive.
Moments of love, joy, connection, and safety also get stored as programs.
This is why it can be so hard to move on from an ex or a relationship you cherished deeply.
Those memories are coded as safe, fulfilling, and meaningful.
Your brain isn’t addicted to the person, it’s addicted to the feelings they represented.
So when love ends, your mind doesn’t just miss them.
It mourns the emotional identity that was built around them.
Identity Is the Operating System
Every behavior, decision, and habit you have runs on one master program: your self-image.
It’s who your subconscious believes you are.
If you’ve been self-employed for 25 years, or a wife for 15, and suddenly you want to pivot, start something new, or become single, your system experiences what most people call an identity crisis.
It’s not really a crisis. It’s a code conflict.
Your conscious mind says, “I want change.”
Your subconscious says, “But my orders were to be loyal, to stay consistent with this old role.”
So it sticks to the old programming until you give it new, aligned instructions.
Why Conscious Willpower Fails
Here’s the rub: you can’t simply tell yourself to change.
Conscious instructions, like affirmations, motivation, or logic, don’t reach the part of the mind that’s running the show.
That’s because the subconscious doesn’t speak English. It doesn’t care if you have new plans or goals.
It speaks in pictures, feelings, sensations, sounds, and sometimes even smells or songs.
Visual, auditory, and kinesthetic cues are its native language. (sight, sound and feelings)
Learn to communicate in that language, and you can transform fast, gently, and permanently in any area of your life.
The Science Behind It
The brain doesn’t store information like a filing cabinet.it stores emotional meaning.
Every memory that carries high emotion becomes encoded with a behavioral instruction:
“Avoid this.”
“Protect that.”
“Repeat this.”
“Stay loyal to that.”
And your subconscious doesn’t know time.
So even if you’re now 35, leading a team or running a company, the version of you that once gave those orders is still “in the jungle,” faithfully following them.
Your conscious mind knows you want growth.
Your subconscious mind still thinks growth equals danger or loss.
That’s the real conflict.
That’s resistance.
How to End the Internal War
The solution isn’t to fight the resistance. The solution isn’t to call yourself a “self-sabotager.”
Fighting it only strengthens it just like trying to drag Onoda out of the jungle made him dig in deeper.
Instead, you have to do what his commanding officer did:
Meet that part of you with compassion. Give it new orders.
That means revisiting the memory, understanding what that part was trying to protect or preserve, and updating the subconscious association so your brain can finally align with your current vision.
This is what my work is about.
It’s not about fixing you.
It’s about updating outdated programs so your brain stops fighting your future and starts creating it.
The Bridge to Peak Performance
Whether it’s growing your business, rebuilding after divorce, or creating financial freedom, your next level won’t come from more effort.
It comes from upgrading the internal system that decides what feels safe, possible, and worth pursuing.
Until your subconscious knows that success looks different now, it will unconsciously sabotage it.
But when you update those internal commands, focus, motivation, and confidence become effortless.
You stop procrastinating.
You start leading.
Your Next Step
If you’re ready to understand how your subconscious programming shapes your results and how to rewire it for peak performance, download The Self-Image Reset.
It will show you how to identify the “old orders” running your life, update them, and finally create alignment between what you want and what your brain believes you can have.
👉 Download The Self-Image Reset
NEXT STEPS & RESOURCES
What if men aren’t rejecting you — they’re just reflecting you?
Learn how your self-perception quietly teaches men how to treat you with The Mirror Effect Guide. Learn how your inner energy creates love, support, and devotion from men. Download the free guide HERE.
Your self-image sets the limit on what you attract and create. And when you change the image within, everything reflects differently. Download The Self-Image Reset Guide and discover how your past experiences quietly built your identity and how to transform those patterns so love, success, and confidence become your automatic new normal. Download The Self-Image Reset Guide for free.
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