Reclaiming our autonomy.

Autonomy is one of our most fundamental drivers. It features somewhere in just about every article written about motivation and "happiness", alongside notions of mastery, purpose, and a few others. 

Despite that, we seem willing to give it away at a moments notice. This thought surfaced for me this morning as I entered data into an app as part of a programme to lose some of the excess weight I put on over lockdown.

The app itself is pretty useful, tracking the data I put in and advising on the foods I am considering. Beyond that, however, comes an avalanche of other offerings, from meditation to exercise regimes and "buddy groups", without which I will apparently be helpless. 

It chimed with a stream on LinkedIn over the weekend on what constitutes a profession, as more and more areas claim that status as they persuade us we cannot do without them, from the "fitness industry" to the "coaching industry." It seems we have become so obsessed with performance that no corner of our lives cann…