A study by Daniel Gilbert a Psychology Professor at Harvard reports that almost 50 percent of our time, we are not consciously aware of what we are doing and are operating on autopilot (Psychology Today February 2019).
I wondered how many of our habits and unwanted behaviours may be linked to this. How conscious are we when we eat for example?
I consciously made myself more aware of my eating habits and noticed I was eating unconsciously whilst on my computer. So have a biscuit with my tea, yum, type away and then look down and I’ve eaten another biscuit that I don’t really remember eating, or at least did not consciously enjoy!
I’ve now created a rule where I don’t eat whilst I’m on my computer. Hard at first and I might stand up looking at my computer (does that count) but I’m more conscious and I’m pretty sure eating less biscuits as a result.
An article on Psychology Today this month links to this topic and talks about how to increase your self-awareness. They discuss how “developing clarity within yourself improves self-assessment, decision-making and overall happiness.” (Psychology Today – how to increase your self-awareness)
One of the tips they recommend is Emotional Labelling, which I describe more in my previous blog – “Feeling Overwhelmed!”
Labelling your emotions helps you be more present and approach behaviours in a more measured way. This then helps you be more conscious of what you are doing.
What behaviour would you like to do less of? Next time you do it, practice being more self-aware and conscious and see what you notice.
Awareness brings choice and choice brings freedom (
