Hi John,

Very nice to hear you appreciated the insights in the post! I do indeed strive to clarify the academic research on neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics, and derive strategies useful for daily life based on it. That's what my nonprofit organization, Intentional Insights, http://intentionalinsights.org/, is all about :-)

Our Autopilot system does deserve a lot of respect. The crucial thing is to notice when it doesn't get it right using our Intentional system, and then nudge the Autopilot system into the right course of action. That way, we can rely on our Autopilot more often, make less mistakes, expend less cognitive energy, and achieve greater success in reaching our goals!

You might enjoy this article on building will-power, which is just a way of improving our capacity to manage our Autopilot system better: http://intentionalinsights.org/7-surprising-science-based-hacks-to-build-your-willpower

Best,
Gleb