When you consciously keep thinking of something, your unconscious mind will somehow spontaneously(自发地) push that idea or issue back to the surface even when you are doing something else, because your unconscious mind accepts, stores and plays back everything that the conscious mind focuses on. The unconscious mind is like a “yes” person, agreeing, accepting and reminding.

Hence, your unconscious mind can respond positively or negatively, depending on how you have consciously conditioned it — by constantly thinking about something. For instance, if you keep telling yourself that it is very difficult to study English or that your English lecture is boring, then that thought will always crop up uninvited when you are chatting with someone or doing something else. That is how the unconscious mind works. Successful athletes who consciously, continuously and consistently focus on superior performance actually perform well because they are driven by their unconscious mind. It’s important to understand that whatever you consciously focus on, your unconscious mind will accept it. You need to think positively so that your unconscious mind will respond likewise. If you find yourself in a negative mood, discontinue that mood.

You must not hold a negative thought too long, or it will come back again and get more rooted in your system. Once you are in a negative system, it would take much more reprogramming to uproot the bad “trees” in your mind. You could have a full-grown negative “forest” in your mind — and that could take ages to uproot. So replace it with a positive thought. Affirm(强化) consciously, continuously and consistently your new positive image. Focus on the new trait visually and see yourself succeeding in it.

Review your behavior. Do you moan and groan too often? Do you talk like a loser? Are you small-minded, selfish and unforgiving? It’s time you consciously conditioned your unconscious mind to work in a positive manner.

Next time your plane lands, listen to the sound of the tyres hitting the ground. The reason the tyres don’t explode is because they are made of natural rubber. The tyres of cars, motorbikes and trucks are also often made of the same stuff.

Natural rubber comes from trees. Workers cut the trunks of the trees and collect a white liquid called latex(乳胶). In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, huge numbers of rubber trees were planted in countries including Malaysia, Burma and Brazil. More than a century ago, scientists discovered how to make man-made rubber, but natural rubber is much stronger and can last much longer. Nearly half the rubber which is produced each year is natural rubber and there is always a need for more.

Rubber trees are not easy to grow. They are affected by changes in temperature, too much or not enough rain, high winds and disease. Some trees survive while others die and it’s all down to their genes. Two British organizations, the Tun Abdul Razak Research Center(TARRC) and The Genome (基因组）Analysis Center (TGAC) , have been working together to look at rubber trees. This is the genes fit together in very long chains of DNA. The genome for a plant such as a rubber tree or animal needs to grow. The genome contains all the information the plant or animal needs to grow. The genome for a plant such as a rubber tree is smaller than a human genome but it is still very long, which is why it has been so difficult to find. As Ewan Mollison of TARRC says, the work has been like putting a picture puzzle together where all the pieces show blue sea and blue sky.

Now scientists can use the rubber tree genome to produce stronger trees. By understanding the genome, they can change the DNA in rubber trees in useful ways. They can also do it much faster than before. In the future, it will be possible to grow trees which survive climate change and disease.