Autosuggestion is the process of deliberately feeding specific thoughts, beliefs, or instructions to your own subconscious mind. The term was popularized by Émile Coué in the early 1900s and later expanded by Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich, where it forms one of the thirteen principles of success.
The core principle is simple: your subconscious mind accepts whatever is repeatedly and emotionally impressed upon it, and then works to make that impression a reality. Autosuggestion is the deliberate, conscious use of this mechanism.
This isn't just historical philosophy. Modern psychology calls it self-talk intervention. Cognitive behavioral therapy calls it cognitive restructuring. Sports psychology calls it positive self-instruction. The terminology changes; the principle remains: what you consistently tell yourself shapes what you experience.
How Autosuggestion Works
Your subconscious mind processes approximately 11 million bits of information per second. Your conscious mind handles about 50. This means the vast majority of your mental processing — and therefore your behavior, decisions, and reactions — is governed by subconscious programming that you didn't consciously choose.
Autosuggestion is the method for consciously influencing that programming. By repeatedly presenting your subconscious with a specific instruction — backed by feeling and delivered during receptive states — you can gradually overwrite existing patterns with ones you've deliberately chosen.
Coué's Method
Émile Coué's approach was disarmingly simple. Repeat the phrase "Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better" twenty times each morning and evening while in a relaxed state. Coué found that this general suggestion produced wide-ranging improvements in his patients' health, mood, and behavior.
The genius of Coué's method is its simplicity and non-specificity. By not targeting a particular problem, the suggestion bypasses the conscious mind's tendency to argue ("But I'm NOT getting better in area X"). The general positive direction allows the subconscious to apply the improvement wherever it's most needed.
Napoleon Hill's Autosuggestion Technique
Hill's approach is more targeted. In Think and Grow Rich, he instructs readers to write a clear statement of their definite purpose (the specific thing they want to achieve), read it aloud twice daily with full emotional engagement, and visualize themselves already in possession of the desired outcome while reading.
The emphasis on emotion is key. Hill repeatedly states that autosuggestion without emotion is "dead" — it passes through the conscious mind without reaching the subconscious. The words must carry genuine feeling to be effective.
Autosuggestion and Modern Manifestation
Every manifestation technique is, at its core, a form of autosuggestion. SATS is autosuggestion delivered during the hypnagogic state. Scripting is autosuggestion through narrative writing. The 369 method is autosuggestion through structured repetition. Affirmations are the most direct form of autosuggestion.
Understanding this connection helps demystify manifestation practice. You're not performing magical rituals. You're using well-documented methods to impress specific instructions on your subconscious mind — the same mind that controls 95% of your daily behavior, decisions, and perceptions.
Practicing Autosuggestion Daily
Choose one clear, present-tense statement that represents your desired reality. Repeat it with feeling during three receptive windows each day: upon waking (when the conscious mind is still quiet), during ManifestFlow break periods (when focused work has naturally quieted your inner critic), and before sleep (during the transition into the SATS state).
Recommended Reading
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill — autosuggestion as a wealth principle
- Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion by Émile Coué — the original text
- The Feeling Is the Secret by Neville Goddard — feeling as the vehicle for subconscious impression
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