Phase Two: Building Personal Priorities
Ever notice how, in times of uncertainty, your instincts kick in before you even realize what’s happening?
Let’s rewind to January 2020—a time when we first heard whispers of a deadly virus making its way across the globe. At first, it felt distant. A news story, not a personal concern. Then came the quarantines, travel restrictions, and rising cases. By February, we were no longer just observers—we were in it.
What happened inside each of us during those months? Our instincts sorted through the chaos, seeking stability.
Your Body-Mind Takes Charge
When faced with the unknown, your body-mind system takes over, running on instinct. Freeze, flee, or fight—these are primal responses designed to keep us alive. Your conscious mind, trained to handle the familiar, takes a backseat.
But what happens after that initial survival mode? You start rebuilding your sense of order—not with logic alone, but with deep, unconscious priorities that have been forming your entire life.
In Phase Two of the 12 Phases™, you begin to recognize what truly matters. The things you held onto during uncertainty? Those are your personal priorities.
How Priorities Are Built (Hint: It’s Not a Checklist)
Priorities don’t come from rational decision-making alone. They emerge from the intuitive sorting processhappening deep inside you. Like bacteria instinctively pulling nutrients from their environment, your unconscious mind selects what’s essential from the chaos.
💡 Think about it:
When life shook you in 2020, what values surfaced first?
What mattered most when everything else was uncertain?
What habits or relationships naturally became central?
Those weren’t conscious decisions. They were your organism in action, ensuring you adapted, stayed afloat, and re-centered.
Autonomy Through Crisis
Even in a global crisis, you didn’t just react—you reorganized. You pulled from your past experiences, strengths, and unconscious knowledge to make choices that protected your sense of self.
This is autonomous motivation in action. It’s not about controlling life’s uncertainties but about having an inner system that can navigate them.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
As you reflect on how your priorities shifted during the pandemic, ask yourself:
🔹 What values took a higher, permanent place in your life?
🔹 How has your decision-making changed because of that experience?
🔹 What does your intuition tell you now about where you’re headed?
This isn’t just theory—it’s something you’ve already lived. Phase Two of the Cycle of Unconscious Response™shows that, even when life feels out of control, you are equipped to adapt, recover, and move forward—on your own terms.