Don’t underestimate the power of your autopilot.
Learning to drive a manual-transmission car is the best metaphor I can think of to explain mindlessness, and the relationship between the conscious and autopilot parts of your mind.
Automatic transmissions may work just fine to translate your intended direction via the steering wheel, gas pedal and brakes. But people are often drawn to the manual transmission because it gives you a different level of control.
If you haven’t yet, coming to understand how to operate a manual transmission can be very eye-opening. You learn that an automatic transmission is actually directing many more functions than you had ever realized needed attention. Decisions about what gear to use, at what speed, and many others, are all conveniently made without us even being aware of them. But if the automatic transmission starts to have problems – slow acceleration, stalling, or abrupt speed changes – you have little recourse for control without manual options.
Whether it’s driving a manual or spending less time living on auto-pilot, the solution is to increase awareness of the mechanisms in play and improve your responsiveness to them. Increasing your tangible knowledge can be a good first step. But knowing and doing are two separate steps.
Understanding the mechanisms in play can help you see things more accurately, and that can be the beginning of positive change. But the doing is your own creation. It’s very tempting to look outside of yourself for answers. But the most vital information is already within you.
