n every aspect of our lives, whether it is our in corporate or personal life "compartment", we exist as creatures of habit. Most of the choices we make every day are based on information that we’ve "learned" from past experiences and that "learning" becomes entrenched in our nervous system in a way that makes repetitive "habits" of thinking and behaving a consistent part of our daily life.

In some instances these "habits" serve us well. We can become extremely efficient at what we do, we can perform a task reliably every time by switching to "autopilot". However, some habits of thinking become so entrenched that they can make us feel that we have no control over our lives. We literally become a bundle of reflexes- responding automatically a "stimulus" in our environment. Over time we become conditioned with many "thought" habits that limit our success, and even limit our happiness once we are successful.

How many famous people do you know who seemed to have everything and yet committed suicide? The primary reason has to do with their self-limiting thought patterns.

Most of the time we are unconscious of our habits or habitual patterns of thinking, but every now and then we "catch" ourselves "stuck" in a habit. For example, do you take the same exit ramp on the way to work or on the way home on most days? At the same time, have you ever found yourself taking the off ramp to work on a Saturday even though you’re heading for the shopping center?

After awhile the majority of our life can become "autopilot". Our brain tricks us into believing that going into "autopilot" is the only way to "get through" our day, just like it "tricks" us unto taking the exit ramp for work on a spectacular Saturday morning.

Unfortunately, it is when we spend so much of our life on "autopilot" that we start to experience "stress". Occasionally we find that that the things we’ve tried in the past aren’t working. Our "auto-pilot" simply isn’t enough to keep us going through all the "stuff" that happens every day at work and we wonder why we feel so much discontent. We feel trapped, like we live in Dilbert’s world with no say in what happens, short on time and not as effective as we might like to be accomplishing what we wish to achieve both at home and at work.  And no matter how "hard" we work, it never seems like enough.