Want to Know Your Unconscious Patterns? Watch Yourself Eat, Drive, and Get Through a Tuesday
We all have a bit of a mystery about us. Not the cool kind, like spies or magicians – more like, why do I always finish a whole bag of chips when I only meant to have a handful? Or why do I lose my mind in traffic, even though I know it happens every day?
If you’ve ever wondered what’s really going on beneath the surface – those habits, reactions, and behaviours that seem to run on autopilot, here’s a little clue: you don’t need to go on a silent retreat, read twelve self-help books, or consult the stars.
Just watch yourself eat.
Or drive.
Or try to manage a regular weekday.
The way you move through these seemingly small moments reveals a lot more than you think.
You don’t need to be in a therapy room to do the work. The work starts with noticing. It starts with awareness.
1. The Way You Eat: More Than Hunger
It’s not just what’s on your plate – it’s how you show up to it. Rushing through meals? Sneaking snacks when no one’s around? Feeling oddly defensive about sharing food?
Those aren’t just quirks. They’re reflections. They speak to your relationship with need, satisfaction, shame, even scarcity. Some of us eat like we’re afraid there won’t be enough – of food, of love, of attention. Others eat perfectly when being watched, but lose control when alone. That’s not just about willpower. That’s about something deeper we don’t want to feel.
Your eating patterns may reveal parts of you you’ve pushed away – your vulnerability, your hunger to be cared for, your discomfort with taking up space. These are clues, not diagnoses. There’s no one-size-fits-all meaning. But if you look with honest eyes, you might start to see something you hadn’t before.
2. The Way You Drive: Zen Master or Closet Rage Machine?
If you really want a front-row seat to your unconscious habits, get in the car. (Or on the bus, or in line – same idea.)
Do you tailgate even when you’re not in a rush? Do you curse at every slow driver but justify your own swerving because you had a good reason? Do you get stressed when someone passes you, like it’s a personal attack?
Driving shows us our relationship with control, space, time, and other people getting in our way. If you’re a “lane switcher,” odds are you’re also a “life lane switcher” – chasing the idea that there’s always a faster way, even if it’s not the smartest one.
Chill, Anxious, Controlling, Explosive?
Your driving style says more than you think. Always in a rush? Constantly frustrated? Passive-aggressive with the horn?
This isn’t just about traffic. It’s how you handle other people being in your way. How you react when you’re not in control.
Ask yourself: where else do I get like this?
Is it when people don’t text back fast enough? Or when life doesn’t go according to plan? Do you speed through hard conversations or avoid the slow, uncomfortable parts of relationships?
Pattern spotted.
The Way I Drive – Hello, Inner Tyrant
Here’s where it hit me personally.
In daily life, I’m kind. Patient. Thoughtful.
But behind the wheel? That all goes out the window.
I become aggressive, impatient. I talk unkindly. I can’t stand slow drivers. It’s like another version of me takes the wheel – my alter ego, a full-blown road warrior. For a while, I brushed it off. “Everyone gets annoyed in traffic,” I told myself.
But then I really looked. And it hit me: this wasn’t just about driving.
It was a crack in the façade, a glimpse of something hidden. Beneath the irritation was something sharper – anger, entitlement, urgency. I started noticing it outside the car too: I’d get triggered when people were late, or slow, or needed too much explanation. I’d lose patience fast.
That’s my shadow. The parts I don’t usually see – but they still act out.
Noticing this wasn’t fun. But it was freeing. Once I could see it, I could work with it. Not shame it. Not deny it. Just ask, “What’s going on here, really?”
I sat with it and what came was a wave of tears. Underneath the anger was sadness. Disappointment. Hurt I hadn’t named. I realised I’d been protecting those more fragile parts of me with impatience and sharpness. The fast driving, the snapping, it wasn’t just frustration. And for the first time, I could see the soft, upset parts I’d been trying to outrun.
3. Your Tuesdays: Clues in the Chaos
How’s your average Tuesday? Rushed? Packed? Avoidant?
The way we manage our daily lives is rarely just about productivity – it’s a mirror. Maybe you say yes too often and end up resenting it. Maybe you avoid starting things, not out of laziness, but fear. Maybe your schedule is always full because silence feels unbearable.
These everyday patterns often reflect our deeper beliefs: that we have to prove our worth, or always be needed, or stay busy to avoid feeling what’s underneath.
The chaos isn’t random. It’s a map.
So What’s the Point?
The shadow isn’t some dark, evil part of you – it’s just unseen. It lives in your habits, your reactions, your tone of voice when no one’s watching. It leaks out in traffic. It shows up at the fridge. It whispers when you’re overwhelmed on a Tuesday afternoon.
And no, this isn’t about fixing yourself. It’s just paying attention.
Because when you notice, you create space. And in that space, change becomes possible, not because you forced it, but because you stopped pretending it wasn’t there.
You’ll still eat too fast sometimes. Still snap at a driver. Still blow off your calendar. But maybe, just maybe, you’ll catch it.
And that’s where everything begins.
Disclaimer:
This is just one perspective, shaped by personal experience. Shadow work isn’t a prescription—it’s a process. Your path will look different from mine. But if any of this rings true, consider it an invitation—not to fix, but to notice. Because self-awareness isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being honest.
And that, I’ve found, is where the real shift starts.