Often times, I’ll go on short bike rides in the morning. It’s a good way to let my imagination roam (especially after some strong coffee).
My destination is usually a big park in front of the local library. Sometimes I’ll sit on the bench and run through some patterns I’ve been working on.
I don’t know if you do a lot of bicycle riding, but it can be dangerous. I remember once, back when I was riding a couple hundred miles a week, I just bought some new pedals. The kind that you “clip” your shoes into.
Only I had forgotten they were there. When I got to the top of a hill (during rush hour, no less) I coasted to a stop and then fell right over, my feet still stuck in the pedals.
Forgetting you are stuck to something can cause problems if you’re not careful.
Another thing I’ve found that’s trouble some is that, during the winter, I’ve got this heavy jacket, only the hood kind of impairs my vision.
Instead of seeing the cars out of the corner of my eyes, which usually happens unconsciously, I’ve got to remember to turn and look.
When you forget to remember to elevate what’s normally unconscious, into the conscious, this can also cause problems.
I don’t know about you, but my brain’s pretty lazy. It doesn’t like to think if it doesn’t have to.
Which is precisely why our brains have evolved various filters, and triggers, so we don’t have to consciously remember to check for everything.
Often times those filters can be augmented by our beliefs. For example, I’m sure you’ve heard of something called “confirmation bias,” which is a filter that makes you find only what you want to find.
The news shows we watch, the kind of people we notice in a crowd, and hearing our names in a room filled with strangers are all examples of this.
Hindsight bias works the same way, only in reverse. We only remember things that support our beliefs.
But since beliefs are largely subjective, this can sometimes cause problems.
Like when I forget that I’d stuck my feet into the pedals. I’d made the change consciously, but it hadn’t quite sunk down into my unconscious, non-thinking, muscle memory.
That I fell right over, looking like an idiot, right next to a car filled with cute girls didn’t help much.
But actually it did. It was so embarrassing, I NEVER made that mistake again.
Truth is, our brains are filled with TONS of filters, triggers, and beliefs that can either help us or hurt us.
Learning what they are can be very helpful, to say the least.
Learn more here: