Decider

This poem was quoted at the beginning of Daniel Wegner’s book The Illusion of Conscious Will:

A leaf was riven from a tree,
“I mean to fall to earth,” said he.
The west wind, rising, made him veer.
“Eastward,” said he, “I now shall steer.”
The east wind rose with greater force.
Said he: “‘Twere wise to change my course.”
With equal power they contend.
He said: “My judgment I suspend.”
Down died the winds; the leaf, elate,
Cried: “I’ve decided to fall straight.”
-Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)

I’ve noticed what feels like a voice following the action-producing mechanism.  For example, if I feel an itch on my nose and my hand rises to scratch it, this action begins to happen before I really notice it.  But then following it as quickly as it is noticed is a voice saying something like, “I’d like to scratch my nose now.”

An image came to mind related to this.  It’s like a quiet person going about his business silently, with an obnoxious person following him around saying everything that they’re doing.  The silent person makes his way to the store.  The obnoxious person tags along, and as soon as he realizes where they’re going yells, “I’m going to the store now!”