+1: #865 Pilot + Co-Pilot + Autopilot

You're listening to Optimize with Brian Johnson. More wisdom in less time.

Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. In our last couple ones we talked about Seneca's wisdom on the importance of fortifying our pertinacity until our will to do the right thing becomes a a disposition to doing the right thing. And that's basically exactly what we talked about a little bit ago when we explored the algorithms module we recently went through in the mastery portion of our Optimize coach program. As you may recall, bonus points and high fives if you've already tattooed this line on your optimizing consciousness. I often say that it's all about using our willpower wisely to install habits that run on autopilot via algorithms. And here's a super quick recap of the basic idea that I think we really want to get. By the way, I got goosebumps as I typed that. Yes, as we've established by this stage, I'm a little weird. Things like this get me that fired up. So our basal ganglia is an ancient part of our brain. In fact, it's 500 million years old. All mammals have it. Among other things, it basically figures out what behaviors seem important to us because we do them often and decides to save us all the effort of having to think about doing them by helping us do them automatically. Thank you, basal ganglia. Now this is super helpful for the good stuff. My hunch is you don't need to negotiate with yourself every night when it's time to brush your teeth and you probably just automatically put on your seatbelt when you get in a car. Thank you, basal ganglia. Of course, this isn't so helpful for the sub optimal behaviors. We'll save that chat for another time. Today I want to talk about a handy dandy little framework I developed for our coaches to help them master the process of, I repeat, using their willpower wisely to install habits that run on autopilot via algorithms. I encouraged them to think about a pilot, a copilot and an autopilot. The pilot, that's your daimon, that optimist. Best part of us that basically always knows the right thing to do and is always whispering in our ears. If we'd only slow down long enough to listen. The co pilot, that's you. Our job, as I see it, is to simply pay attention to what the pilot is guiding us to do and then of course, do it more consistently. The autopilot, that's our basal ganglia. It's waiting for us to program the optimal behaviors. It's almost like the basal ganglia is our pre installed brain hardware and our job as co pilots is to listen to the pilot, then program the behavioral software that gets us doing the right thing more and more consistently. Obviously part of a longer chat, but there you go, that's today's plus one. Pilot, copilot, autopilot. Are you playing your role well? What little behavioral software upgrade is your pilot asking you to program these days? And is today a good day to fortify your pertinacity such that the optimus best you becomes the default you? Fantastic. Happy optiflying one plus one plus one.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Optymyze with Brian Johnson. To find out more, go to Optimize Me.

Sam.