You know you say yes too quickly. You know you overthink. You know you shut down or start explaining yourself when you feel misunderstood.

You might even know exactly why you do those things.

And still...there you are doing them.

There's a difference between knowing your patterns and recognizing them while they're happening. And sometimes we spend so much time trying to understand ourselves better that we miss what's happening right before the familiar response takes over.

In this episode, a rainy drive through Dallas-Fort Worth and a memory of navigating with Mapsco lead to a different way of thinking about self-awareness. Because knowing the roads isn't the same as knowing what's happening on them right now.

In this episode:

• Why understanding your patterns doesn't necessarily mean you'll recognize them in the moment
• What an old Mapsco and the Waze app can teach us about self-awareness
• How protection strategies can become familiar routes we follow automatically
• Why recognizing a pattern afterward is still meaningful progress
• What may happen in your body before you say yes, shut down, overthink, or over-explain
• How your thoughts and the urge to fix or figure things out can be early signals, too
• Why body sensations are information, not instructions
• How noticing a pattern earlier can create more room for choice
• Why you don't have to choose differently every time for your awareness to matter

A question to take with you: What happens two miles before you do the thing you always do?

Got a question about your own patterns? Submit it at https://www.mrscoachwatson.com/askdeb

Resources mentioned: Beyond Awareness, a 12-week small group experience beginning October 20: https://www.mrscoachwatson.com The State of Self-Awareness & Change study: https://www.mrscoachwatson.com/awareness-study