This article is part of Grow With Kristina, the monthly mentorship series by Kristina Todorova, Founder of KgrowtH.

There is a key trait I have observed in many of the founders and executive leaders I have worked with, and it is a trait I have cultivated in myself, too. Over time, I have turned this trait into a process that has enabled me to access layers of my subconscious programming and uncover deeply rooted beliefs that were getting in the way of elevating my performance and revenue.

I call this process a “ descent into consciousness ”. It is a highly uncomfortable process, which is precisely why most people avoid it. It often begins when we hit a ceiling or repeatedly fail to achieve a particular goal. Rather than moving away from the discomfort this creates, we consciously move towards it, paying attention to the sensations in the body and exploring what they may be telling us about the internal programming influencing our behaviour and performance.

Pain as Data

Pain can be an incredibly helpful emotion when we learn to use it as data. I am particularly familiar with the pain that founders and leaders experience when they do not perform according to the expectations they have set for themselves, or those set by their board, investors or even their customers. I also see it in founders who repeatedly attempt to accomplish an important goal and, despite their efforts, continue to fall short. Over time, the inner voice that whispers, “I failed ”, becomes louder and louder, and the emotion it triggers can be experienced as pain.

I call it pain simply because this is how I experience it in my body. For me, it usually shows up in my stomach. From an energetic perspective, this area corresponds to the solar plexus chakra, often associated with personal power, identity and agency. Whether we interpret this experience energetically or simply as a physical manifestation of emotional stress, the important point is to recognise that our bodies can register these experiences before we consciously understand the belief forming underneath them.

When we repeatedly experience what we perceive as failure or a lack of success, we can strategically analyse the situation, course-correct and make different decisions. However, when the same emotional reaction to such situations continues over an extended period, it can begin to create what I describe as energetic residue. Beneath the emotion, a subconscious belief starts to form, shaping how we interpret future setbacks and, ultimately, how we behave. In this way, it can begin to limit our potential.

For example, the thoughts going through my mind when I would attempt to consistently hit a certain revenue goal, as a founder, and fall short were:

“ I have been trying to achieve this for so many years and, no matter how much I try, I seem unable to sustain it. ”

The subconscious belief that was forming in response to these thoughts and emotions was:

“ I am not capable. ”

When I began to descend into consciousness and use this process on a regular basis, I was able to clearly see the events over the years that had created the recurring emotion of pain and inadequacy. I was also able to uncover the subconscious programming I had come to believe, not so much intellectually, but in my body, and observe how it was influencing my ability to reach the milestone I was aiming for.

When Experience Becomes Programming

Founders

One of the things I have observed, particularly in early-stage founders and service entrepreneurs, is that repeated attempts to achieve a goal without the expected result can create self-disempowering beliefs about their capabilities. When the mind and body repeatedly register an experience as unsuccessful, the subconscious can begin to associate the goal with fear, inadequacy, rejection or anticipated failure.

Over time, this can become a self-reinforcing pattern that affects decision-making, confidence and performance. Founders continue to try, but the state from which they operate is fear-based and reactive rather than energetically, emotionally and mentally optimised for sustained resourcefulness, strategic thinking and creative problem-solving. These are all essential skills for making strategic adaptations to the approach required to achieve the goal.

This is why I do not define upleveling performance as simply working harder. High performance is not only about the amount of effort we are capable of producing; it is also about the state of consciousness from which that effort is being generated.

There needs to be alignment between our beliefs and our aspirations on a cellular level, so that our actions are not underpinned primarily by fear, but by certainty and self-trust as a dominant vibration.

This is precisely the state of being that has allowed me to launch, build and consistently grow my business and generate revenue without external investment. It is also the state that has enabled me to stay centred and lead with clarity and conviction.

Leaders

This also matters in leadership because people leaders do not operate in isolation. The degree to which a team is united is often influenced by how clearly and consistently its leader communicates direction and expectations, how much conviction they bring to that communication, and the extent to which they inspire trust.

I have observed executive leaders struggling to achieve KPIs because they focus on the action of leading their teams before they have addressed the state from which they are leading. Their minds are often preoccupied, time feels scarce, and they feel stretched in every direction while carrying the emotional heaviness of the workload and responsibilities they have taken on.

When we apply the “ descent into consciousness ” process together, they begin to uncover and address the underlying beliefs that influence their leadership style. Based on my mentorship practice, specifically with leaders who operate at an executive level, these beliefs are often formed before they take on an executive role and reinforced through repetitive emotional experiences while in the role.

The emotions are bypassed, and logical thinking is applied to solve problems. What they do not fully realise is that the effectiveness of logical thinking can be diminished by the emotions they are bypassing, because their body is keeping score and programming their subconscious intelligence.

Accessing Untapped Potential

The first step in accessing untapped potential is therefore to stop bypassing emotional discomfort and start viewing it as feedback rather than something to immediately suppress, avoid or overcome. The intensity of our emotional response can provide valuable information about the beliefs and patterns operating beneath the surface. The more uncomfortable an experience feels, the more curious we should become about what it is revealing.

To descend into consciousness is to access the layer beneath the emotion and identify what may be influencing our performance and results. It is about bringing this information into conscious awareness and then creating the conditions for that belief to shift. When this happens, behaviour, actions and strategy can begin to change from a fundamentally different starting point.

During my Accelerate Pathway programme, where I personally work 1:1 with founders and executive leaders over six to twelve weeks, we explore the subconscious level of intelligence that impacts performance on a cellular and vibrational level. We bring this information into the conscious mind, where changes in behaviour, actions and strategy can be formed.

We then begin to anchor our decisions and performance into a consciously constructed Future Self identity that guides our actions and the way we lead. Each session introduces the client to my Self-Mastery Framework, which teaches them how to descend into consciousness in their own time and optimise their state and performance by following the 3E Future Self Map contained within the framework.

The objective is not to create another cycle of working harder until burnout. It is to develop the self-awareness and internal alignment required to move towards an objective with greater certainty, empowerment and clarity.

Because the next level of your performance is not found by doing more, but by going deeper and bringing consciousness into your professional development as a leader or founder.