Chapter 24.
What if the limitations you perceive in your life are nothing more than a “manufactured fog”? Let us explore the concept of transcendence, illustrating that moving beyond your current circumstances is not a fantasy, but a deliberate, cumulative journey, each new moment building on the former. This journey, when understood and consciously undertaken, can lead to remarkable quantum leaps in personal growth. Drawing inspiration from The Wizard of Oz, we reveal how discerning the mechanics of power allows you to see past illusions, dismantle limiting beliefs, and step into an empowered reality. Just as Dorothy and her companions discovered that the “great and powerful” Oz was a man behind a curtain, we can unmask the illusory nature of many perceived limitations, realising that the power to change often resides within ourselves all along. There is immense power in understanding power itself, making a positive “tipping point” in its distribution, both individually and collectively, within tangible reach.
The “manufactured fog” that obscures our potential is often woven from subtle yet pervasive threads: ingrained societal norms, dominant media narratives, historical conditioning, and the very structures of external systems that reinforce a sense of individual powerlessness. This fog can manifest as self-doubt, collective apathy, or the acceptance of insurmountable challenges. This fog often frames complex decisions into preset, simple narratives. These oversimplified stories, while easy to grasp, frequently omit vital details and ultimately distort reality. Consider the issue of climate action. The nuanced reality involves intricate scientific models and global economic interdependencies. However, the fog frequently compresses this into simplified narratives, such as “It’s either the economy or the environment,” suggesting a forced trade-off. What’s lost in these simplifications is immense. The “economy vs. environment” narrative obscures the opportunities for “green growth,” while the “individual action” narrative prevents a holistic understanding of collective power and systemic leverage. By presenting these complex issues as simple narratives, the fog discourages deeper critical thought and makes it harder to identify the true levers for change.
To transcend this, we must first understand the mechanics of power—not merely the overt political or economic forces, but the social, cultural, and psychological dimensions that shape our perceptions and actions. How does this power manifest in our daily lives? It is present in the stories we tell ourselves, in the unexamined routines that govern our days, and in the collective assumptions that define our societal discourse. Gaining clarity on these dynamics is the initial step; it converts vague feelings of limitation into precise points of leverage for change. As works on social dynamics affirm, from Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish to Noam Chomsky’s Manufacturing Consent, recognising these subtle influences is vital for true liberation. Foucault, for instance, illustrated how power is diffused throughout society, operating through seemingly benign systems like education, medicine, and even daily routines. His concept of “disciplinary power” shows how individuals are subtly shaped and controlled by internalising norms and expectations, leading to self-regulation. Chomsky’s work on “manufacturing consent” highlights how media can shape public opinion, reinforcing existing power structures and discouraging critical thought. For the individual, understanding these mechanisms—how beliefs are formed and how narratives are constructed—is paramount. This knowledge shifts our relationship with perceived barriers, transforming them from insurmountable obstacles into challenges that can be strategically addressed. It is the first step in reclaiming agency in a world designed to diminish it.
Once we possess this understanding of power, the question emerges: now what? This is where the power of habit enters the frame as our most potent tool for empowerment. To fully grasp this, we turn to the insights of Daniel Kahneman, articulated in his work, Thinking, Fast and Slow. Kahneman introduced the distinction between two modes of thought: fast thinking and slow thinking. Fast thinking is the brain’s automatic, intuitive, and effortless way of operating. It’s your mental autopilot that makes snap judgments and handles routine tasks without you even noticing. Slow thinking, in contrast, is the deliberate, effortful, and logical side of your mind. It kicks in when you need to focus, analyse, and make conscious choices.
Kahneman’s work, alongside behavioural scientists like James Clear and Charles Duhigg, illuminates how habits leverage fast thinking. The essence of forming a new habit is training a behaviour to move from the effortful realm of slow thinking to the automatic domain of fast thinking. Initially, any new action demands your full attention. However, through consistent repetition and strategic design of your environment, the neural pathways for that behaviour become strengthened. The action then becomes progressively less effortless, until it can be executed almost unconsciously by fast thinking. This automation of beneficial routines is an act of self-engineering. Instead of expending conscious energy on mundane tasks, that energy is liberated. This allows us to engage more fully with complex challenges, foster innovative thinking, and strategically apply our understanding of power. For example, cultivating a daily habit of critically evaluating news sources can become a semi-automatic process driven by fast thinking, which allows for continuous discernment of the “manufactured fog” without inducing mental fatigue.
In a world designed for digital distraction, the habit of reading a physical book is an act of defiance. It is a commitment to deep, analytical thought. As Nicholas Carr argues in The Shallows, our brains are incredibly plastic and are being rewired by the constant stream of notifications and fragmented content. Reading long-form texts, however, actively counteracts this process. It forces the brain to engage with sustained arguments and dense information, strengthening the neural pathways responsible for focus and critical reasoning. This practice is essential for avoiding a post-literate society, a trend discussed by the journalist James Marriott, where the capacity for intellectual debate and a functioning democracy can diminish. The physical act of handwriting is a cognitive workout that yields remarkable benefits for the brain. Neuroscience research, as explored by academics like Virginia W. Berninger, reveals that the physical act of forming letters on a page activates a wider array of neural networks than typing. This leads to deeper memory traces and a more profound understanding of information. Journaling is the practical application of this insight. It is a tool for emotional regulation and self-discovery. As demonstrated by the research of James W. Pennebaker in his work on expressive writing, the act of putting your thoughts and emotions on paper can lead to significant improvements in psychological and physical health. It provides a unique space to process experiences, clarify your thoughts, and reflect on your journey without external distraction.
The deepest impact of new habits, particularly through the lens of Kahneman’s dual systems, lies in their capacity to actively “programme” your future self. This is more than mere discipline; it is an act of self-authorship. By consciously aligning our automatic behaviours (fast thinking) with our chosen values, we systematically solidify the practical changes we are working so hard to achieve. These incremental shifts, accumulated consistently over time, create a powerful momentum. They rewire our internal landscape, making desired actions feel natural and effortless, thereby building a resilient foundation for sustained personal growth. Duhigg’s exploration of “keystone habits,” for instance, demonstrates how certain habits can initiate a chain reaction, leading to a cascade of other positive changes across various aspects of life. This “programming” taps directly into neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganise itself by forming new neural connections.
To empower this process, we can integrate the concept of mantras or guiding principles. These are not just empty phrases, but concise statements designed to act as mental shortcuts for our fast thinking, guiding it towards desired outcomes or triggering slow thinking when needed. A mantra like ‘let data drive your decisions’ serves as a reminder to resist snap judgments and instead engage in conscious thought. This short phrase, repeated and internalised, can become a prompt for behaviour change. It can nudge our fast thinking to defer to the more analytical slow thinking, particularly in areas where our intuition might lead us astray.
The synergy between understanding power and cultivating habits is the pathway to true transcendence. Knowledge of external power structures, informed by thinkers like Foucault and Chomsky, provides the “why” and the “what” for our journey beyond perceived limitations. Intentional habit formation, grounded in the principles illuminated by Kahneman, Clear, and Duhigg, provides the “how,” offering a pragmatic, repeatable means to enact this understanding in our daily lives. This creates a powerful feedback loop: deeper understanding informs better choices, which are then cemented by effective habit formation, leading to liberated cognitive capacity for even deeper understanding and more effective action. Through this continuous process of critical awareness and deliberate action, the “Transcendent Individual” emerges—one who not only sees beyond the “manufactured fog” but actively participates in dissolving it for themselves and for the collective.
This intentional cultivation of new habits, therefore, is not just a personal endeavour; it is a quiet revolution, building the capacities within us to contribute to that positive “tipping point” in the distribution of power. This “quantum leap” is not a magical, instantaneous event, but a rapid acceleration of progress—a sudden, qualitative shift in perspective, capability, or understanding that unlocks previously unseen possibilities. It’s the moment when cumulative small changes lead to a breakthrough, enabling you to operate at a significantly higher level. It can manifest as finding a clear solution to a long-standing personal challenge or a rapid mastery of a new skill. Using the quantum leaps of clearing the manufactured fog and programming yourself with deliberative habits, you can transcend where you are now to become a truly heartening version of yourself.
Next Chapter: Transition: From here to where?
Bibliography
Caligiuri, Michael P., and Linton Mohammed. The Neuroscience of Handwriting: Applications for Forensic Document Examination. CRC Press, 2012.
Carr, Nicholas. The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. W. W. Norton & Company, 2010.
Chomsky, Noam. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Pantheon Books, 1988.
Clear, James. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. Avery, 2018.
Duhigg, Charles. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. Random House, 2012.
Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Vintage Books, 1977.
Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.
Pennebaker, James W. Writing to Heal: A Guided Journal for Recovering from Trauma and Emotional Upheaval. New Harbinger Publications, 2004.