But as it turns out, Mondays may not be so bad. In fact, the first day of the week represents a fresh start, explains an article in Fast Company. According to it, research by the University of Pennsylvania showed that Google searches for the word "diet", visits to the gym, and formal commitments to pursue goals all spike on Mondays. Searches for information on how to quit smoking peak on Mondays as well. It's almost like its New Year's with all the resolutions at the beginning of each week.
The human tendency to not make decisions all the time reflects a fundamental truth about the way our brains are built. “Of the 10 million bits of information that each of our brains process each second, only about 50 bits are devoted to deliberate thought - in other words, 0.0005 per cent. We're wired not to be ever-vigilant. We're built to avoid continuous decision-making”, explains the article. Our brains are simply incapable of thoughtfully considering every decision we can possibly make. Instead, our brains leave it up to our unconscious to make the vast majority of choices. Only when we spot something new or threatening our conscious brain is called into action.
Mondays, New Year's and our birthdays stir us up enough to cause us to consider whether or not we’re headed in the right direction. They propel us to consider decisions that we might otherwise have overlooked altogether. And that is a good thing: Being aware of choices we can make and actually make them is a recipe for a life lived actively.
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Your Brain Is On Autopilot More Than You Think - Here's How To Wake It Up