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The human brain is a fascinating organ.
It essentially functions as a three tier system with most of the basic functions of day to day living handled by the “primitive” hindbrain (brainstem) component.
The hindbrain essentially allows the forebrain more bandwidth to perform its higher level functions with greater efficiency by taking the minutiae off the plate.
Can you imagine if you had to remind yourself to breathe every few seconds or instruct your heart it is time for the next beat?
You would barely have enough energy and brainpower to think of anything else.
Going Through The Motions.
It is interesting that certain things in my life have been tiered in a similar fashion with the most basic routines being put on autopilot and done almost subconsciously.
Unfortunately my real world tiering system is not as elegant, or as reliable, as the one mother nature designed, and the results can often be quite comical when I do deviate from my regimen.
My morning routine of getting ready to work is like a choreographed dance, with certain activities completed with clock-work precision.
I have specific places for various components of my outfit and have gotten into such a routine that if one component is out of place it can alter the desired result, often not recognized until it is too late.
A perfect example happened just the other day.
I arrived at work and immediately noticed my pants button had come undone.
Odd. Never happened before.
So I re-buttoned my pants and went on my business.
Shortly afterwards it happened again.
I was thinking to myself what is going on?
The pants were fairly new so it could not have been that.
I certainly had not let my “dad bod” get so far out of control that I was reenacting a popped can of biscuits at work.
I slowly came to the realization that I went to work without my belt on.
Apparently my hindbrain let me down and my forebrain was now finally sorting through the haze.
Tracing back my steps I deduced that I indeed forgot to put my belt back in its proper place after using it on my day off when I wore jeans to go out.
My brain on autopilot must have simply skipped over this important wardrobe step when it did not see the belt and just assumed it somehow was already around my waist.
Take Home Point: Although putting things on automatic and “setting it and forgetting it” is desirable, there are times when the system can, and does, go awry.
It is therefore important to periodically check in and see that each desired step is being carried out the way it was intended.
It means that you are checking in to make sure your portfolio maintains your desired asset allocation, your automatic bill payment systems are still valid, and/or your automatically deducted monthly membership fees are still applicable.
Subconscious Learning.
Another fascinating thing I have discovered about the human brain is that if you subject it to the same environmental cues over and over again, it begins to adapt and soon anticipates outcomes (which do not always come true).
Most of us are quite familiar with Pavlov’s behavioral experiments.
By associating a bell with food, Pavlov was able to condition dogs to salivate upon hearing the bell alone.
Apparently I have been conducting my own Pavlovian conditioning at work with myself as the unknowing test subject.
As a radiologist I am quite fortunate that I have a great office setup that includes a decent music system.
I have a playlist currently topping out at 67 songs which loops throughout the day.
If you asked me to list the songs in order off the top of my head, I could not do so.
Sure I will be able to tell you the majority of the titles in that playlist but certainly not in the correct order and it would be highly doubtful I could list all 67.
In order to do so I would need to take time and try to memorize the list, which I am sure I am capable of but truly have no desire to do so.
However a strange phenomenon has occurred.
When a particular song is ending, I automatically know what the next song is.
Two completely unrelated songs have become associated in my mind because subconsciously my brain has linked the ending of one to the beginning of the next after hearing it from so many loops.
It is purely an auditory cue because, if I was just shown the title of the song, I would most likely be wrong predicting the next song title.
It is also interesting that this stimulus response setup has carry over.
When I casually hear the song outside of work I automatically think the next song in my office playlist will play next (it does not).
Of course I could have avoided this by originally setting my playlist to random play but at this point it is too late.
Take home point: There are many subtle environmental cues that our brain picks up on and begins incorporating it into our reality.
This is the very premise of subliminal advertising.
It is especially important in the financial world that our reasons for pursuing a particular course of action are because of our own rational thought rather than being influenced by these behavioral manipulators.
[And yes the inspiration for this post truly came from me forgetting to wear a belt to work the week before I wrote it. 🙂 ]
Note:
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It’s amazing what our brains can (and can’t) do, isn’t it? I got thrown off my eating schedule the other day (I generally eat small meals every couple of hours until I finish dinner). And suddenly couldn’t remember whether I’d eaten two protein bars or just one. (This matters because I have a protein bar, another bar, then peanut butter and peanut butter again — yeah, I’m a foodie haha.) It’s so on auto-pilot that I associate the time of day with what food to eat, not stopping to remember what food I’d already eaten. And of course the sameness… Read more »
LOL. I have done the same thing as well. At work I almost have a regimented time for snacks, lunch, drinking water etc. If for some reason something goes out of whack, the whole house of cards falls down.
I’m glad I’m not in charge of telling myself when to breathe or I would be in trouble some days 🙂
Have a great one and I hope to see you at FinCon
Pants around your ankles for the win! Way to find inspiration in unusual places, my friend,
CD
Lol. Yes I tried to make lemonade out of lemons. Fortunately as a Radiologist in a dark room sitting down most of the time it didn’t matter at all that I was beltless
I just realized I have the same issue with my (currently) 53 song playlist! I never really liked the idea of “random” (isn’t that the exact opposite of a purposefully ordered list???), but now I’m beginning to see the benefits of random song play. If it keeps me constantly surprised, that has to be good for my brain, right?
I’m glad I’m not the only one 🙂
Yeah I think random is a good choice from now on but now I’ve gotten so use to my work playlist that I kind of like knowing what’s coming ahead subconsciously 🙂
Great minds think alike 🙂