Today, I am going to show you how to shift from automatic and habitual thinking and decision-making to reclaiming your autonomy and control over your life, work, and business.

Most people today, unfortunately, outsource most of their cognitive processes and therefore get trapped in autopilot mode.

Escaping it is not easy because the fundamentals you need to do it are hijacked by what other people and society want you to think and do.

That's a sign of a lack of cognitive autonomy, the ability to think independently, critically, and authentically, and make informed decisions free from undue control, external influence and pressures.

By regaining your mental autonomy, you can enhance your life and work, as well as boost the growth of your business, because your thinking becomes clearer and your decision-making becomes sharper.

Outsourcing them strips you of your true self and alienates you from your needs and wants.

A mind without independence is like a candle in the wind - flickering, bending, and eventually snuffed out by external forces.

By reclaiming your lost mental autonomy, you can regain your personal freedom and express yourself more authentically.

For example, a person who follows exactly the same morning routine every day - waking up, scrolling through social media, grabbing the same coffee - without ever questioning if these habits truly serve their well-being lacks cognitive autonomy and gets stuck on autopilot.

The same applies to a one-person business owner who relies on predetermined workflows and routine work (endless, mindless meetings and calls), never pausing to reimagine their work and strategy, or a solopreneur stuck with using an over-optimised but unchanging content strategy.

What Does It Mean to Break Free from Autopilot?

"The unexamined life is not worth living", said one of the greatest thinkers of all time, Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates.

We can safely claim that this is the foundation of cognitive autonomy, or rather its foundation.

Socrates urged his fellow citizens to constantly question their beliefs and challenge the automated, unquestioned adherence to tradition and dogma.

Thinking and acting independently is not about becoming agnostic and rejecting any belief or established thinking pattern. It's quite the opposite.

It's about holding on to your own thoughts and beliefs and making wise decisions without letting external factors influence them.

Instead of accepting easy answers, you must critically reflect on how you think and act, assess the standards against which you measure your actions and success, and reject the allure of quick fixes and shortcuts.

As the renowned cognitive scientist Daniel Kahneman outlined in his work, the human brain tends to revert to speedy, intuitive responses quickly. Relying on those automatic behaviours and heuristics, however, can lead to biases and systematic errors.

If we wanted to outline what cognitive autonomy is all about, we could identify three pillars:

• Attentional agency, or the ability to direct your attention and focus on things you choose and that matter, despite the distractions. We could call that mental independence.

• Cognitive agency, or the ability to engage in deliberate thinking and make informed decisions based on your own higher-order reflection.

• Mental privacy, or the ability (or rather skill) to keep your thoughts private to protect them from external pressures.

The foundation of cognitive autonomy and independence is metacognition. Although a modern term, see how it aligns perfectly with ancient wisdom and the teachings of Socrates.

Thinking about your thinking. That's metacognition in a nutshell. That means that you not only have to think with clarity, reason, and autonomy, but you also have to be able to reflect on your thinking, so that you can identify internal biases you must overcome, undue external influence you must eliminate, and a lack of authenticity - essentially, not being your true self.

This contrasts with operating on autopilot, where your thoughts and actions are pre-programmed by habit or external influence, and you don't even consider reflecting on them to check if they genuinely serve you or not.

Instead of taking the same daily route home, you can try another route, not because of necessity, but because you find beauty in change and unpredictability and can discover new sights, sounds, and insights along the way.

Instead of relying on established norms to run your business, take a step back, critically assess them, and reinvent your business strategies, plans and processes. Relying on automatic, conventional wisdom won't get you far.

As a solopreneur, you can establish regular check-in points to evaluate how your one-person business operates and performs, and try fresh, unconventional approaches and tactics, for example, your marketing, lead generation, or content creation.

If you are an introvert, you can regularly take a step back when finding yourself in overstimulating environments or uncomfortable social situations, and think, "Am I my true self, or do my thoughts, sayings, and actions serve to make me fit in?". As an introverted person, I do that a lot. If my friends want to extend the evening out, but I am out of energy already, I take a step back to assess my needs and decide, despite the social pressure to "just go for a drink after dinner".

Remember: the human brain is quick to run on autopilot, before you even have the chance to realise what is happening (i.e., what you think, say, and do). Let's explore this further.

How Is Your Mind Running On Autopilot?

Innate mental shortcuts and biases form the core of autopilot mode.

They are internal barriers that prevent you from thinking and acting with autonomy, often defaulting you to familiar patterns, even if you know deep down that they limit your understanding and creativity, and ultimately don't serve you.

How often do you regret something you say or do, and question your sanity because you already know that it doesn't serve you, and you wouldn't rationally choose that response?

Isn't it the same with bad habits? You strive to lose weight and eat healthily all day long, but when evening comes, you open the fridge and mindlessly binge eat, knowing deep down that you shouldn't.

It's that split second between your thoughts and intentions (I won't binge eat, that's not part of my new identity, I did well all day, and I can do it) and your action (I open the fridge and eat a bunch of unhealthy snacks).

That tiny gap is where all the shit (or magic) happens. It's about training your mental muscles to respond effectively in that instant. Meaning, take a step back, assess whether what you do aligns with your values and priorities, and make a conscious decision that you won't regret in a few minutes.

The environment plays a massive role in how well you train your mental muscles. If you are with your binge-eating friends at home watching a movie, chances are you will struggle to think independently and decide not to eat a whole bag of crisps or sweets. Cognitive autonomy requires practice, and for this practice to be effective, you need to train yourself to be more intentional and mindful.

Furthermore, emotions —or, more specifically, how you approach them —are a defining success (or failure) factor when it comes to escaping autopilot. They tend to steer you into automatic reactions rather than independent, thoughtful decisions. Recognising and moderating your emotional impulses is key to regaining control of your mindset.

To sum up, cognitive autonomy is influenced not only by external factors (such as attempts to control others, peer pressure, popular culture, media, social media, societal norms, and expectations) but also by internal biases and barriers, including one's mindset and emotions.

This is a key question to regularly ask yourself: Do you see the world with your own eyes, or is it tinted by the mainstream narratives fed to you every day and your internal barriers?

Will You Dare to Venture Off Autopilot? - The Power of Radical Curiosity

The willingness to challenge conventional wisdom and internal biases is essential for escaping autopilot mode.

It's the only way to train yourself to think independently and make conscious choices and decisions that reflect who you are and what you truly want and need.

That's what Radical Curiosity is all about.

It's much more than simply asking questions. It's a conscious, intentional practice of stepping out of the habitual autopilot mode that governs most of your daily life, if not all of it.

It's the antidote to routines, established assumptions (mostly false) and mental shortcuts, which may help you navigate everyday life a bit easier and smoother in the short term but can keep you stuck in the long term. For good.

Radical Curiosity is the foundation of developing more cognitive autonomy.

It starts with recognising when you operate on autopilot and encourages you to

• Slow down your mental pace (instead of running mental sprints and merging stimulus and response)

• Gently disrupt the patterns (instead of defaulting to the familiar)

• Ask deeper, open-ended questions to expand what you notice and understand (instead of trying to find quick answers to everything)

• Embrace discomfort and uncertainty (instead of avoiding sitting with now knowing)

Humans actually have innate Radical Curiosity. Do you remember how you explored the world when you were a child? That's what I am talking about.

As children, we are deeply curious and always ask "Why?" and "What if?". We somehow lose it as we grow older because:

• We accumulate experience (and trauma), thus creating faulty thinking patterns and internal barriers

• We become socially conditioned to fit in rather than be authentic and show our true selves, thus becoming vulnerable to external influence and pressure

Let's tap into that lost potential for Radical Curiosity again. It may not be lost, just hidden deep down inside.

By doing so, you can unlock greater mental independence, creativity, connection, and opportunities in every aspect of life.

5 Strategies to Build Cognitive Autonomy and Ditch Autopilot Mode

Signing out of autopilot mode and opting for a deeper, more conscious, and autonomous life and work mode requires creativity and out-of-the-box strategies that help disrupt the old way of thinking and acting, transforming every aspect of your decision-making process.

Here are 5 proven strategies to do it effectively, without losing yourself in the way.

1. Dynamic Journaling. Instead of simply recording data, i.e. thoughts, emotions, and actions (which is not bad per se), use storytelling or audio journals to capture your evolving thought patterns more holistically. Notice moments when you acted on autopilot and moments when you shifted from routine behaviour to deliberate decision-making.

2. Devil's Advocate Sessions. Schedule time explicitly designed for playing the devil's advocate, forcing yourself to defend your thoughts and actions from unexpected angles. That usually reveals many automatic patterns. Do you act and behave based on habit or insight?

3. Structured Socratic Inquiry. Just like Socrates did, question your foundational beliefs and assess whether they are authentic or just the result of external factors (opinions, criticism, expectations, influence or attempt to control you). Go beyond asking yourself just "Why?" and include this question as well: "What if the opposite were true?".

4. Contrarian Checklist. Regularly expose yourself to content from voices and sources that challenge the mainstream narratives you encounter, ensuring you don't get trapped in an echo chamber.

5. Mental Resets & Structured Reflection Intervals. Integrate deliberate, scheduled breaks for metacognitive reflection into your daily routine (including thoughts and emotions). Review your thought processes to identify recurring automatic behaviours or external influences.

Wrapping up

Autopilot is the silent thief of your autonomy, creativity, and authenticity. But you have the power to break free.

Every moment you choose to pause, question, and act with intention, you reclaim a piece of your true self.

Don’t settle for a life dictated by habit or external pressure. Instead, dare to disrupt your patterns, challenge your thinking, and lead with radical curiosity.

Your mind is yours—claim it. The world doesn’t need more people on autopilot. It needs bold, independent thinkers willing to chart their own course. Start today. Step off autopilot. Choose autonomy.

What’s next?

It’s all about mindset and strategy. As ancient Greek and Roman philosophers taught, we can only control our minds, thoughts, and actions. Focusing on this can help you avoid unnecessary struggle, get unstuck, and move forward faster.

If you need guidance getting unstuck and making crucial mindset shifts, I can help, especially if

• you want to quit your 9-5 job and create your one-person business, but you struggle to pivot (and then regret not making the leap)

• you are a currently struggling introverted solopreneur (stuck in failure, regret and a flawed mindset that doesn’t serve you)

DM me on LinkedIn, and let’s explore how Mindset Coaching can help you move forward and claim what you desire and deserve for a life and work with purpose, meaning and enjoyment.