What do you mean by that?

So this idea became popular by Daniel Kahneman in his book, Thinking Fast and Slow, where he popularized the system one and system two.

He's basically saying that the brain uses two systems to process information to create the reality that each of us experiences.

system one is that automatic system it's always on and it's fast and it's providing it's automatic and it's providing instant responses to what we encounter and that includes emotions habits behaviors opinions and beliefs and then there's another system system two which works in conjunction with that and it allows us to plan, deliberate, monitor System 1 and also execute self-control.

So it's this other system on top of that that is responsible for the conscious self that we identify with.

And system one, essentially, in my metaphor of the self-driving system, is system one is the self-driving system, and we are the conscious system two driver.

that interacts with it and we decide whether to go with those responses or not.

But that doesn't speak to what your potential actually is, does it?

What is that?

Yeah.

So this framework is really, it's a metaphor to make understanding the brain and understand being human a little bit easier, and it does that by talking about what's known as dual process theory.

That's really the foundation of it all, and it sounds complicated, but this dual process theory idea was popularized by Daniel Kahneman in his book, "Thinking Fast and Slow," and all it really means is that there's two systems that go into processing information to make the reality that we all experience as humans.

So system one is always on, and it's scanning the environment and providing our first reaction to what we encounter, and that includes emotions, habits, opinions, and beliefs.

And then we also, on top of that, we have system two, and it's more intermittent.

And what this does is it's the conscious self that we identify with as I or ourself.

So what is deliberate attention, and how does it shape the brain?

So what does deliberate attention actually look like in everyday life?

Well, yeah, the brain is this impartial learning network.

So the brain learns based on where we place our attention.

So from the time we're born, where our attention goes, neural patterns grow.

And then through experience, we wire the self-driving system that serves us or that drives us.

And when we're first born though, attention is activated in two ways.

So we have a self-driving system that has an attentional filter.

So how should we think about emotions if the goal isn't to suppress them, but also not let every, uh, emotion dictate what we do?

Mm-hmm.

But this week, this week, I was able to do it, and this week, this strategy worked.

But I tried that through all the other weeks, and it, it doesn't work.

It works better for rage and frustration, like I've been able to implement it for that.

But there's some patterns that we have that are more difficult to override than others.

So this whole idea of going to our attention and applying the brake is great, and it, it works.

But at the same time, we have to strengthen our ability to be able to do that.

Uh, I will leave it to you for your parting words and any last message you want to share with, uh, the listener of this conversation.

So, yes, thank you for sharing your wonderful story with us, right? And, you know, most of the things you mentioned that were like, you were trying to change is actually what most young people today are currently battling with right so um i want us to now talk about your work and the self-driving view you know your book is built around the idea that we are like the conscious driver of a self-driving vehicle so can you explain that metaphor for someone hearing it for the first time

Yeah, sure.

And yeah, I relate to the audience.

Like my challenge was, I was, I guess, as we'll go into it, basically for myself, I was asleep at the wheel aligning with everything and I never really challenged it.

So I wish that I started listening to audio books when I was 30, but obviously no regrets because it led me to where I am.

But yeah, I didn't really start thinking the way I wanted to until I was around 30.

But it's never too late because the brain, you can always learn and you can always Take your life where you want.

So can you tell us more about this mindfulness and, you know, how it can help us just become better drivers of our own lives?

What is your findings on the lower brain versus the frontal cortex? Can you help us with that a little bit?

Yeah.

So with the brain, it's a network made of patterns.

These patterns are circuits.

We have a number of them.

We have I guess actually we could start first with the systems.

So there's Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, where he popularized System 1 and System 2.

But I guess my question is, do you think that we can learn compassion or do you think it's just something we have in us?

So, Alan, what is deliberate attention and why do you consider it one of our greatest human superpowers?

Yeah, it's definitely a superpower because deliberate attention is how we take the wheel.

Attention is how the brain wires.

And whatever we place attention on, patterns in the brain start to form.

With repetition, these become the automatic habits, skills, emotions that are available to us or the self-driving system.

Attention... can be activated in two ways.

So from the moment we're born, our self-driving system has an attentional filter.

How do you define mindfulness from a neuroscience perspective?

How am I gonna shift my attention? What does that mean?

Well, that's through, like we said, mindfulness.

And as you just said, though, before, with, um, when we do place our attention, everything comes down to attention.

So when our self-driving system does generate these thoughts, neuroscience states that what we fire, we wire.

So when our self-driving system fires any thought about low self-worth or fear or anxiety or anything, and when we attach to it as true, then we are just re- like, we're reinforcing that and strengthening that response.

So yeah, as you're saying, the challenge is now we need to use deliberate attention in a way that serves us to direct it somewhere else, and the way to do that is through mindfulness.

And mindfulness, then, well, deliberate attention, but the strategy of mindfulness, and, um, especially for me, it's more just slowing the breath and then going to bodily sensations.

You got one more chapter for us before we have to say goodbye?

So which part of our life is the system one and which part of our life is system two?

Well, that's a spectrum that varies for every person.

So the best way to understand that would be right now they're not commercially available, but there is this vehicle, it's a level four high automation self-driving car.

It's one step before a fully autonomous car.

So when you have a fully autonomous car, it doesn't even need a gas pedal or a steering wheel.

You'll go in and it will just do 100% of the driving.

But there's a model or type just before we have a fully autonomous car, and that's your level four high automation vehicle.

Um, how does the brain reinforce, uh, automatic behavior, and what step can we take to begin rewi-rewiring those patterns?

Can you explain the idea behind the self-driving you and how the self-driving car metaphor relates to the human mind?

Yeah, for sure.

So the way it works is there is a classification for self-driving cars where it goes from level zero to level five.

Level zero is the car that we know where we do all the driving.

And level five is fully autonomous.

So if you were to get into that car, it would do all of the driving and you wouldn't have to do anything.

One level before that is level four.

So from your perspective and a decade long of experience, so what's really happening or what's really happening beneath the surface?

and uh let's make this real like i want to bring your framework into a tuesday afternoon moment when someone is in a situation that's frustrating they're about to react the way they always react and the pattern is going to play out exactly as it is always does so what does the self-driving framework actually change in that moment

Yeah, that's a great example because yeah, we've all been there.

And let's say even more specifically that we're at work and someone sent us an email and we're frustrated and now we're about to send another instant email in response.

So all of that would be self-driving.

We are the driver that can, in that instance, go with it or take the wheel and stop that from happening.

But this isn't suppression.

This is, like you said, pausing in that moment.

And you seem to see differently, like what does unlocking potential actually mean through the lens of your framework?