8 Signs You Live On Autopilot. It’s time to turn it off
Imagine arriving to work. Stepping out of your car meeting the colleague asking you: “How was the trip?” Is it easy to remember details: how many times you switched lanes or stopped at a traffic light? Anyway, you arrived to work safe.
Living on autopilot means that our brain’s automatic function predetermines our actions and decisions, our daily habits, thoughts, emotional state, following results of your activity and after all — our whole life.
When we live on autopilot, it feels like someone else is driving, not us. This means living life by default, without real intentions. Life is “happening to us”. It might actually have brought opportunities, joy, interaction. But instead our satisfaction disappears in a brain fog. In practical terms this means that you get stuck in the old routine missing chances, opportunities, joy and other unique moments of your life.
According to latest research, most people can not remember what they watched on TV. Being at home we tend to forget, that the most important moment is here and now and we are to interact with family and friends, without being constantly distracted.
What about you? Here are some tips to check if you are on autopilot
Waking up in a bad mood or not feeling excited or inspired to get the day started. There is nothing today you are looking forward to and you have no idea of how it will proceed. Perhaps you think there is a better life to be lived.
Daily routine looks predictable. You do what is familiar. You do repetitive activities and you just follow your standard plan. Is there any room for improvisation or last-minute changes in your daily life? Can you face challenging situations with some courage?
Feeling stuck in ongoing situations. Letting yourself drop into age-old habits, even though you know it’s not serving you anymore. Rarely trying something new or discovering opportunities. Do you believe your life could be more joyous and fulfilling?
Staying deep in thought. When doing something you are thinking about other things, things that aren’t currently happening. Example: while reading, planning or while talking to someone dropping out of context.
Feeling busy, restless or distracted. You might feel like something is missing. No time to pause and reflect on how you are feeling or what you are doing at the moment.
Time flies and you forget whole parts of the day. For example, you arrive at a destination and have no clue of how you got there. Can you remember clearly what you did throughout the day?
Your default setting is to say ‘YES’ to please others. You might even let other people’s demands or expectations define your choices. Simply automatically saying ‘YES’ to a commitment or extra workload, and as a result getting lot of things you don’t actually want to do. Check if you are paying attention to what is essential for you.
Wasting time automatically checking your phone for updates and mindlessly scrolling through the social media, emails or favorite apps on a constant basis.
These are the basic signs you’re on autopilot. Can you witness one or more of these symptoms? Such behavior leads to hours of wasted time of precious life instead of doing something meaningful. As a result, it may feel like you are missing out, that life is just passing by you.
It is surely efficient and makes sense sometimes. Getting things done is crucial for personal and professional success. But we forget to switch back ‘on’ every once in a while and start operating permanently on autopilot. We forget to be conscious of our actions, to be cognizant of our inner voices, and to recognize the power of our intentions.
It is more comfortable to let life happen to you than making it happen. But if your autopilot is always on, you are just existing, not living.
One of the simplest way to start switching from Doing to Being Mode is being Mindful.
Everything is fresh. Every day we learn new things. Every experience is an adventure. The endless chaos around us, if anything, fuels our curiosities.
Created by Elena Vysotskaya in collaboration with Valeria Karachevskaia
Elena Vysotskaya is a kindness officer empowering busy humans to make the difference via mindful way of life and self-discovery. The primary aim of approach introduced by Elena is to live with more kindness, awareness, choice, empathy, patience, compassion and resilience. Areas of expertise: emotional intelligence, self-confidence, mindful leadership, executive burnout, workplace stress, well-being
Elena Vysotskaya | InsightTimer | Facebook | MindfulDirectory
