#17) The Human Autopilot?

What does taking a shower, driving a car, and mowing the grass have in common? We're about to find out here on "Always Be Better" with Mel Windham.

So, you want to see something cool? Come over this way and I'll show you. 

[Mel walks to piano.]

Okay, I'm going to demonstrate something -- oh, I almost forgot.

[Mel's son appears from nowhere playing video games. He looks confused.]

[Then Mel reappears wearing a tux.]

Hey. This is better. So, now I want you to watch my right hand. Here goes nothing.

[Mel plays the beginning of Chopin Etude #5 -- his right hand fingers are moving like crazy.]

Okay. Did you catch that? My right hand was moving faster than I can think. How is that possible? Some people call it muscle memory, but really, it's the brain. I'm training my brain to memorize these movements. Instead of thinking one note at a time, I am simply telling my brain, "Execute Chopin Number Five." And it goes. You want to see how this works? Well, come back over here and I'll show you.

[Mel moves back to his desk.]

Put simply, I used the human autopilot that we all have. Do you think I was born knowing how to execute Chopin Number Five? Of course not. Through systematic practice I was able to memorize tiny micro sequences, and then stitch them all together. I have no idea how it works, but I know how to do it.

And do you have to be a musical genius to be able to do this? Not really. You could do it, too, if you put the necessary effort into it. All that hard work we musicians put into this is really learning how to program the brain, but once we figure it out, it becomes much easier. I'm actually considering including a couple of pianos tips in this video series -- we'll see.

My goal today is to bring to your attention your own human autopilot. It's something we all use every day. Think back to when you learned how to walk. It took a lot of coordination. There's balance, knowing which muscles to use -- how to move the legs, and the feet, and even the arms and the head. We use our entire body when we walk, even our eyes and ears, and sometimes our nose to help us -- guide us in the right direction. 

And when we first started out, it took a lot of trial and error. Like many toddlers, we probably fell on our butts a hundred times. Each time we fell, we changed up the sequence -- moved the knees a little differently -- threw out the hands for balance -- and so on until something worked. And then we did it again and again to lock it in. That's how we programmed our "Walk" macro. Now today, if we want to get to the other side of the room, we simply say to our brain, "Walk," and our brain takes care of the rest.

It's amazing if you think about it.

Now think about the last time you took a shower. As you step in and turn the water on, do you think about every single thing you're doing? Do you tell your brain to pick up the soap, hold it under the water to get it wet, twist your hands just right so you don't drop it, and so on? Or do you simply think, "Brain -- shower"?

Or when you drive, are you thinking about every single movement your hands make on the steering wheel as you make a right turn? Here -- without looking, answer this question -- do you cross hand over hand as you turn the wheel? Or do you kind of shift your hands along the wheel without crossing? If you can't remember, it's because you've already programmed the "make a right turn" macro into your autopilot. Or when you want to go faster, do you think, "Push down on the pedal with my foot," or is it more like, "Speed up"?

It's entirely the same thing with mowing the grass. Maybe you struggle the first time you do it, but after a while, you just do it without really thinking.

And how do you know the auto pilot is on? Simple -- if you can think about other things at the same time, such as singing, planning, analyzing that last TV show you watched, or whatever -- then you know your brain isn't thinking about the menial tasks you're doing. Your body is in autopilot, allowing you to work on other things with your brain.

When I vacuumed buildings eight hours a day, it allowed me to come up with all kinds of crazy stories and plans, and even some musical ideas. All because my body was in autopilot.

Over this next week, I'd like you to watch yourself. How many times do you catch yourself in autopilot? Depending on how observant you are, you may find hundreds of examples in one day.

This wonderful autopilot allows us humans to specialize and do amazing things, and once you see that it exists, you can take advantage of it and do even crazier things. It can also work against us -- a bad macro can slow us down. We'll talk about all of this in later episodes, but you can start thinking about it on your own, now -- how do you take advantage of your own autopilot?

Thank you for watching and I'll see you next time on "Always Be Better."