New legislation recently passed by the Senate may save lives among nurses, physicians, and other healthcare workers overwhelmed by the relentless load of working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rarely are we genuinely thoughtless—that is, without thought. But often we are not giving our thoughts much consideration. In today’s world, there is much distraction, and sometimes we are guilty of distracting ourselves just to prevent our minds from focusing on the things that are most important (electronic devices proliferate and give us many opportunities to engage in mindlessness). So, to be genuinely able to think about thinking, we must avoid going onto autopilot.