The unconsciousness drives more than 90% of our behaviors. On one side, it is necessary because this also steers a lot of actions that are important for our survival e.g., the heartbeat. But many behaviors are hindering us from being successful. Changing unconscious behavior is not an easy task. The unconscious behavior must first be made conscious.

One can change the way of thinking. There is a big difference between ‘thinking of a change’, and ‘change the thinking’. If the thoughts are changed, also the behavior will change. Your thinking is consciously steering your response.

For example, I abandoned occasional overspending by changing my thinking:

• Thinking about all the waste that is produced by throwing away the clothes, the unsustainable production of clothes, the adverse working conditions of the people that must produce our clothes, and are not even earning a salary that can guarantee their daily survival. And I did not want to support that anymore.
• Thinking about time for playing guitar or for reading — activities that are giving me happiness and self-appreciation — stopped me from investing time in shopping.