According to statistics from the National Coffee Association, Women indicate that drinking coffee is a good way to relax. Men indicate that coffee helps them get the job done.
Neither of these are true. But don’t blame the NCA for the falsehood, blame the people they asked. They are the culprits. They are Americans. And they are lying. But not on purpose. No. They lie because they don’t know the real reasons they drink coffee.
According to neuroscience, when it comes to making choices and taking action, the unconscious mind is in the driver’s seat. That doesn’t mean that our conscious mind doesn’t matter. Or that we shouldn’t take responsibility for our actions. It just means that by the time we make what we believe to be a conscious decision, a tsunami of activity has already transpired on an unconscious level, and there’s little that can be done to convince us that anything else, right or wrong, is a better idea.
Imagine, if you will, the scene in the movie Titanic where Jack and his friend Fabrizio are perched on the ship’s bow. Now, imagine if Jack were to have remained in that spot until the ship reached its final destination, after averting a catastrophic collision with an iceberg, of course.
As the ship docks, Jack is still waving his arms in the air shouting “I’m king of the world!” Only his ravings aren’t an emotional response to the exhilarating feeling of his exalted position. Rather, Jack is taking credit for the entire journey while completely ignoring the behemoth marvel of a ship beneath him that actually did all the work.
