The User Manual for Your Mind

That You Never Got

If you feel like there is a “hidden script” running your life—causing the same relationship issues, financial plateaus, and cycles of doubt—you are right.

There is a script. But you wrote it when you were a child to survive.

Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist, gave us the closest thing to a user manual for the human psyche. His core thesis? You cannot build a future using a mask designed to survive the past.

Here is the 3-minute exercise I used to flip the script (You can too, this week, right now…):

The Shadow Alchemy Practice

1. Identify a trait you hate about yourself. (e.g., “I worry too much.”)

2. Recognize it as a coping mechanism. That worry kept you safe or prepared in the past. It served a purpose.

3. Find the Gift. What is the positive version of that energy?

   • Example: I realized my “Worry” is actually “Rumination.” I have the ability to think deeply about complex problems.

   • Shift: When I stop hating the worry, I can channel that energy into deep thinking and wisdom.

The Takeaway: You don’t need to add anything to yourself to become successful. You need to stop suppressing the parts of you that are already there.