How's the watching your brain at work going?
Last week, I revealed I once got an actual and explicit assignment to be a pain in the ass.
This is me right now appointing myself to that role. I'm actually starting to understand it as a sacred calling. Every human I've encountered has learned how to do things. Most of that we've learned from others. “Don’t go into Mr. McGregor’s garden: your Father had an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor”
And much we've had to learn for ourselves. Notwithstanding the explicit instruction of Mrs. Rabbit, Peter went into the garden, had his own accident there, got further instruction from the sparrows who implored him to exert himself, and lived to become a pie another day.
Metacognition: Peter. What were you not thinking?
Peter wasn't tracking his unconscious drivers of his attention and energy -- in this case greed fueled by hubris.
When I say unconscious, I don't mean inaccessible. Our unconscious is our mind's cellar and attic, along with the plumbing, air ducts, wiring. supporting structures in the walls, that aren't readily apparent as we move through our customary spaces, but they're not unknowable.
Three weeks.
Three weeks would make a leisurely sail from Troy to Ithaca.
Odysseus took ten years to return to Ithaca from Troy. Events took a turn when his companions "killed and feasted on the cattle of Lord Helios, the Sun. And He moves all day through Heaven, stole the light of dawn from their return.'
Warriors. What were you thinking?
The Warriors weren't tracking the unconscious drivers of their attention and energy -- in this case greed fueled by hubris.
Metacognition is the practice necessary to minimizing our risk of hubris. I can't say avoid the risk. Hubris appears to be an unavoidable part of the human condition. Nonetheless, I'm imploring you to exert yourself.
The basic practice of metacognition begins with three weeks. The choices you make within a three week period reveal the unconscious drivers of your attention and energy. This time, you're not looking at what you planned; you're looking at what you did. On what did you spend your time, attention, and energy, in short, how do you apply your fundamental life forces in actionable and visible ways.
Observe:
What catches your attention?
What misses your attention?
What raises your energy?
What depletes your energy?
You don't get to control your life until you become conscious of the unconscious drivers of it.
Next week: watching your own tells.