You are capable of taking in 2 million bits of information a second….. but can only consciously process 5-9 bits at any one time according to psychologist George Miller. Therefore, we are unconsciously processing A LOT of information. (Mark Newey)
Mark Newey discusses The Mind Matrix in the naked “I”, specifying that willpower uses the conscious mind but 91% of action is unconscious. This 91% of what our brain processes is already wired from previous experiences, learned thoughts, feelings and subsequently behaviours; they are set into our unconscious mind, which leaves only 9% available for the conscious mind….where we try and utilise willpower. Tricky!
What does that mean? We do a lot of things without thought, we do them autonomously. Like eating the entire pack of biscuits, getting home and barely remembering the journey or writing a text. When we were younger and learning, these behaviours were in the conscious mind and each step would have to be consciously thought through, as things are repeated time and time again these pathways get set.
So is there any hope? In a word, yes!! You can with persistence start bringing your unconscious processes into the conscious to relearn!
How? Noticing and being present. There are courses in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) to support you in this.
Everyday is a school day!
Action Architects 