A Simple Way to See How Your Mind Works
The Theory of the Mind is an easy way to understand how different parts of your mind work together. When you learn what each part does, it becomes clearer why change can feel difficult at times. It also shows how deeper transformation actually happens.
This model includes four layers: the Conscious Mind, the Critical Layer, the Subconscious Mind, and the Primitive Mind. Each one plays a role in how you think, feel, and respond. And when these layers begin working together, change becomes much easier to create.
1. The Conscious Mind
The conscious mind is the part you notice. It handles logic, planning, decision-making, and everyday thinking. You use it when you choose what to eat or solve a simple problem.
However, this part of the mind makes up only a small amount of your overall mental power. Because of this, it can try to change a habit, but willpower alone usually doesn’t stick. The conscious mind simply doesn’t reach deep enough to shift long-held patterns on its own.
2. The Critical Layer
Between your conscious thoughts and your deeper mind is a protective filter. Its job is to block ideas that do not match your current beliefs.
As a result, messages like “Just relax” or “You’re good enough” often bounce off. They never reach the part of your mind that needs the most support. This explains why good advice can sound logical yet still feel impossible to follow.
3. The Subconscious Mind
The subconscious is where long-term habits, emotions, and associations live. It runs quietly in the background and affects almost everything you do.
For example, if you learned early in life that speaking up felt unsafe, you may still feel anxious in meetings today. Or if you learned that food brings comfort, you may reach for snacks when you feel stressed—sometimes without even thinking about it.
In other words, the subconscious is not logical. It is programmed. And because of this, it often reacts automatically.
4. The Primitive Mind
This is the oldest part of the mind. It focuses on survival and sees life in simple categories such as Pain vs. Pleasure and Known vs. Unknown.
Because of this, you may stay in old routines even when you want something new. To this part of the mind, familiar patterns feel safe—even if they are not helpful. And sometimes, positive change feels uncomfortable simply because it is unfamiliar.
How This Model Explains Change
When you try to change through thinking alone, you are mainly using the conscious mind. However, deeper parts of the mind may still be following old programs. These hidden patterns often explain why:
You “know better,” but still repeat the same habits.
You understand the problem, but still feel stuck.
You want change, but something inside resists it.
Real change begins when the deeper layers of the mind begin to shift. And once these layers update, your thoughts, choices, and behaviors start to shift naturally as well.
How Subconscious Work Helps
Subconscious-based tools help you reach the part of the mind that stores beliefs and automatic responses. Because of this, it becomes easier to:
rewrite old beliefs
reduce emotional triggers
update long-held associations
create new habits
calm automatic reactions
You aren’t forcing change. You are guiding your deeper mind to support the change you want. As a result, growth feels smoother, easier, and more natural.
The Bottom Line
The Theory of the Mind shows why change can be challenging even when you want it. Your conscious mind may be clear, but your deeper mind may still be holding on to old stories or fears.
The good news is that when you work with the deeper layers, those patterns can shift in a gentle and effective way. This is how real, lasting transformation happens from the inside out.
Ready to Explore This for Yourself?
If you want to work with the deeper part of your mind, Go burble offers simple, calming sessions that support you step by step. You can move at your own pace and notice how small internal shifts begin to change how you think, feel, and respond.
Over time, these moments add up and help you feel more grounded, centered, and aligned with who you want to become.