Noticing

Noticing is progress: The first time we notice a habit, a reaction, or a thought pattern, something important has already shifted.

Much of our behaviour runs on autopilot.

We interrupt people without realizing it.

We check our phones without deciding to. We react before we’ve really listened.

But the moment we notice, the autopilot flickers and we step half an inch outside the behaviour.

That small gap is progress.

Noticing again is mastery.

Anyone can notice something once. Mastery appears when the noticing keeps happening. The irritation rises and you see it or the urge to interrupt appears and you catch it.

Over time the pattern becomes visible earlier and earlier, first after the reaction, then during it, and eventually before it.

That is where choice appears. Once you've noticed before the trigger to an automatic reaction, what will you do?