Ever practiced martial arts?
If you have, you probably figured out (real quick) that your mind does a piss poor job of controlling the body.
In fact, it’s the other way around.
Your body does what it does, and then tells your mind “Hey, we’re doing this now.”
And, just like an ego-driven CEO, your mind says, “Hey, I’m telling you to do this, now.”
Your mind claims to be in charge, but it’s mostly a puppet that thinks it’s in charge.
The amount of daily activity that you consciously direct is near-zero.
You are almost always the effect of your pre-existing patterns of belief / action rather than the cause of them.
The fancy psychology term is “Executive Function.”
Appropriate, no?
How Do You Snap Out Of It?
Like most Mentalist Powers it needs you to engage your MetaPowers.
It starts by recognizing that you’re on autopilot. Awareness is step one.
As soon as you become aware of your lack of awareness (going meta), here’s how to get back in the driver’s seat.
Ask yourself two questions.
- What pattern am I running right now?
- What pattern / mode / frame would be better?
This instantly allows you to be more purposeful (or should we say “mindful”) of your choices, and pick the path that aligns most closely with your principles, values, and best self.
Like most skills, it feels clunky at first, but your current emotional & mental strategies felt clunky at first; you’ve just been doing them for years so you have more practice with the old ways than the new.
Do the new way for just as long & you’ll be just as adept at those, now, too.