How to Transform Emotional Triggers Permanently
If 95% of you Is subconscious... What do you do with the 5%?
You’ve probably heard the stat before: 95% of what you think, feel, and do is controlled by your subconscious mind.
That leaves only 5% under your conscious control. At first glance, that might feel a little…intimidating.
Am I really just running on old programs? Am I stuck with my subconscious patterns?
The truth? Yes — and no.
While the subconscious operates beneath your awareness, you’re not powerless. In fact, that conscious 5% may hold the greatest leverage you have to change everything.
In this blog, we’re exploring why this matters and how your nervous system plays a role. And most importantly - what you can actually do to use your 5% more powerfully to rewire the other 95%.
The Subconscious: Your Autopilot System
Think of your subconscious like your body's operating system.
It's storing every experience, belief, emotional response, sensory input, and pattern you’ve accumulated — since the moment you were born (and likely even before that).
- The way you react to stress? Subconscious.
- The posture you hold all day? Subconscious.
- The emotional triggers that show up in conflict? Subconscious.
- Even your immune response and cellular repair? Subconscious.
Your subconscious isn’t trying to work against you — it’s trying to keep you safe and efficient. It’s conserving energy, using familiar patterns to predict outcomes and make daily life "easier."
The problem is when those old programs aren’t serving you anymore.
The Nervous System Connection: Why It Matters
Your nervous system is the interface between your conscious and subconscious minds.
It’s constantly reading your internal and external environment, adapting to stimuli, and storing emotional and physiological responses — even when you don’t realize it.
This is why people can feel stuck in patterns like:
- Chronic stress and anxiety
- Self-sabotage or procrastination
- Physical tension and health issues
- Emotional reactivity and relational patterns
Because these are not purely conscious choices — they’re automated nervous system outputs. And that’s where your 5% comes in.
Your Access Point: The 5%
If you can't consciously control the 95% directly — you can influence it indirectly. The 5% conscious mind is like the “user interface” that allows you to plant seeds into the subconscious soil.
Every time you consciously:
- Breathe deeply when triggered
- Reframe a negative thought
- Shift your emotional state
- Engage in new experiences
- Practice awareness or mindfulness
- Receive nervous system work that creates safety in your body
… you are sending a new signal to the subconscious. It doesn’t happen overnight. But repetition, consistency, and safety are key.
Neuroplasticity: The Science of Change
Neuroplasticity is your brain and nervous system's ability to create new neural pathways.
Every time you introduce a new pattern of thought, feeling, or action, you literally start re-wiring your nervous system.
-New experiences = New wiring.
-New wiring = New outcomes.
In one 2010 study published in Neuron, researchers found that the adult brain remains capable of forming new pathways when intentional repetition and emotional engagement are present. (You’re never too old for change — your nervous system is designed for it.)
This is why the work we do at REV Optimal Living - nervous system regulation - is so powerful.
By creating coherence and safety at the foundational level of the nervous system, it allows those subconscious programs to loosen their grip — and the 5% to start influencing the 95% in a sustainable way.
Why Most People Stay Stuck
Many people try to change their lives by simply "thinking positive" or "just doing better."
But when you’re fighting against deeply embedded subconscious programs — especially those rooted in trauma, stress, or emotional dysregulation — willpower isn’t enough.
Without regulating the nervous system, the body still perceives threat.
When your system is dysregulated, the subconscious defaults back to safety-based patterns: avoidance, anxiety, procrastination, perfectionism, addiction, or hyper-vigilance.
You don’t need more discipline. You need more integration.
So, What Can You Actually Do?
- Create safety in your body daily: Practice box breathing and coherent breathing. Carve out intentional space for somatic work - movement, light stretching, and hands-on nervous system care through gentle chiropractic.
- Build consistent micro-shifts: Set 1-2 small intentional shifts each day. Speak aloud empowering language: "I am safe, I am calm, I am expanding.” Celebrate tiny wins and remember: your brain rewards repetition, not perfection.
- Feed your mind intentional content: Read or listen to things that uplift and expand your thinking. Practice gratitude daily (proven to shift emotional centers of the brain). Utilize visualization by mentally rehearsing the new identity you’re creating.
- Surround yourself with aligned environments: Who you spend time with influences your subconscious wiring and healing communities can provide the nervous system with co-regulation.
- Get help regulating at the deeper level: Sometimes you need an external guide or process that works directly with your nervous system — not just your conscious mind.
This is exactly why nervous system-based care (like what we offer through neural integration) can create such profound, accelerated changes — because we're speaking to the language of the subconscious: the body.
Key Takeaways:
If 95% of your patterns live in the subconscious…then the 5% you control is the key that unlocks it.
You don’t need to control it all. You only need to start influencing the system with consistency, safety, and repetition. Small shifts create big rewiring. This is the power of nervous system healing.
And it’s why we’ve watched countless people transform old emotional patterns, physical health issues, and relational struggles — not by trying harder — but by learning how to work with their system, not against it.
Dive Deeper:
Want to explore more topics on subconscious healing and holistic health? Check out our video resources and join our REV community online for more tools and practices that elevate your health and enhance your nervous system integration.
Phone: (423) 713 - 7390 / Schedule Online: click here
Disclaimer: This blog is meant for informational & entertainment purposes only, and should not be taken as medical advice. Please consult your healthcare practitioner before making any changes or if you have any questions regarding information provided.
