You're hardwired NOT to think

"When you own your life and take charge of your choices, you position yourself for success.  You can consciously eliminate the less effective habits you follow without thinking — habits that keep you from the success you want — and replace them with more effective habits that will deliver the results you desire."

This has been called the age of the knowledge worker.  The great heroes of the age are all intellectual giants.  We elevate those with superior intellect to the top of the mountain and then stand at the base looking up in awe and admiration.

That's why I know it sounds amazing.  How can we be hardwired not to think?  Well, for most of what we do, automation just makes sense.

Have you ever had to use your brain all day?  Remember how your head ached?  Why would your brain hurt if it was doing what it’s designed to do?  It wouldn’t.  Your head aches because it spent too much time operating outside its intended design.

Understanding how you’re designed to work can help you live your best life more easily, avoiding the frustration that attends life.  It all starts by understanding that you’re hardwired not to think.

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Life on autopilot

Imagine what life would be like if you had to think about every breath you took in order to breathe. You wouldn't have time for anything else. So yes, automation has its benefits.

But automation also has its detriments.  Automating means doing that for everything.  We’re designed to operate out of a set of instructions.  And that set of instructions is habit.

Because most of what we do is automated and the instructions for that automation are our habits, we act out of habit for most of what we do.  And here’s the kicker: That means we do what we do without really thinking about it.

Notice our design is just to follow instructions.  There’s no evaluation of the instructions in the operational design.  We’re hardwired to follow a set of instructions, not pick and choose which instructions to follow.

This scenario sets the stage for much frustration in life.  We’ll follow the instructions in habit regardless of the effect those instructions have upon us.  Thus, many go through life experiencing failure after failure when they’re simply acting out of less effective instructions encoded in their habits.  Those who aren’t self aware enough to realize what’s happening will just keep doing what they do without thinking about it.

In many ways, we really are our own worst obstacle.

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Life by intention

But it doesn't have to be that way.  The same process that produces a negative effect can produce a positive one.  You just need to replace the less effective instruction with more effective instruction.  You need to adopt a better habit.

This is more than just quitting a bad habit.  When all you do is quit a habit, your brain (hardwired to have a habit) goes looking for one.  And the default selection is always the last habit you had.  So to get rid of a less effective habit completely, you must replace it with a more effective one.

To do that, live life intentionally.  Consciously choose what you do.  To go where you want to go, you must steer the ship of your life.  You must consciously choose your direction.  You must live with intention.

I know that sounds simplistic, but so many of us don't do that.  Again, we’re hardwired not to think. That means our default selection is to follow a habit rather than make conscious choices.  Many who just “go with the flow” find their lives unsatisfying.  But what they’re really dissatisfied with are their habits.

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Life with joy

What does all this have to do with LDS singles life?  Everything!  Many LDS singles dissatisfied with their lives don't realize they’re really dissatisfied with their habits.  They keep looking outside themselves for why they're single, when the answer they seek is really inside them.

You don't have the results you want when you don’t do what you need to do.  Instead of blaming others when your life isn’t what you want, own your life and blame yourself.  Take ownership of your choices and the role they played in leading you to the life you have now.  Examine your habits and replace less effective instructions with more effective instructions.  In short, reformat and reboot yourself.

When you own your life and take charge of your choices, you position yourself for success.  You can consciously eliminate the less effective habits you follow without thinking — habits that keep you from the success you want — and replace them with more effective habits that will deliver the results you desire.

It's not an overnight ordeal, but if you consistently stay at it, you can start seeing changes in your life.  You can see yourself moving towards the blessings you desire.  When you give your all to that process of continuously trying to incorporate into your life what’s right for you, you'll find happiness.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

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You can listen to the monologue from today's episode of Joy In The Journey Radio here.  Please also feel free to continue the conversation by leaving a comment below.  Want to hear more?  Listen to the whole show by going to the show page for this episode!