In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to fall into the trap of living on autopilot. We wake up, go through the motions, and repeat the same routines day after day. In some ways, it’s good for us as it limits our mental energy; in other ways, not living mindfully and by design can be particularly limiting. It may even have long-term adverse effects on your body and mind.
The Dangers of Living on Autopilot
Life on autopilot may seem comfortable and familiar, but it has its dangers. When we feel we aren’t in the driver's seat of our own life, our lives become based on habitual patterns developed from societal conditioning or past experiences. It can lead to an unsatisfying existence. We become disconnected from our true selves, our relationships suffer, and we can heighten feelings of disconnection, frustration, and anxiety. When we operate on autopilot, we miss out on the richness and depth of our experiences.
How do we begin to break the habit of autopilot and live with intention?
One of the key ways to break free from the autopilot mode is to cultivate mindfulness and presence to live our daily lives with intention. Mindfulness involves
paying attention to the present moment's
actions
without judgment. By practicing mindfulness, we can become more aware of our thoughts, emotions, and actions, allowing us to make conscious choices and live with intention.
One way to become aware of potential auto-pilot habits is to spend time honoring what areas of life are not being done by intentional design. Using a sentence stem before engaging in an activity can help you do this. The sentence stem I challenge clients with is
"I am choosing ……. Versus….. because …….” before they engage with something. In doing this, one becomes more mindful of their actions, and the key is to do it without judging your choices.
The mindful sentence stem, what does it look like?
Workplace Example
Day in and day out, you feel like you aren’t being productive; you may mention that you lack focus and don't do the tasks you’ve set out to do. You may just be on auto-pilot and need to shift your habits.
Example: "I am choosing to scroll through my emails versus writing the proposal because ……."
Sometimes, the answer is intentional: "I need to see what communication is happening." Other times, "Well, I don't know because I always do.” or "I don't feel like working on the proposal."
Home Example
Day in and day out, you express you want to get better sleep and have better eating habits. Yet, you talk about always going to bed late and having a “fourth dinner.” You want to shift these habits, but you can't seem to do it. Try on the sentence stem, again without judgment:
"I am choosing to not go to bed and scroll through my phone proposal because ……."
Sometimes, the answer is intentional: "I am not tired, and I will scroll for an extra 20 minutes." Other times, "Well, I don't know because I always do." or "I am not used to going to bed early."
Another example:
"I am choosing to have a bowl of ice cream even though it is 11:00 p.m. at night because ……."
"I want to." or "I don't know, maybe I'm just tired and should go to bed."
Leading a life by design is honoring that our minds decide our actions. The first step is to become aware of the actions we are taking. In doing so, we are providing ourselves with the opportunity to reflect intelligently to either accept our habits or make a change. It allows us to think about what is underneath some of the things we do and decide whether they are working or not working and spiral up from there.
If you want to learn how working with a coach can help you spiral up and reboot your life to one lived by design, set up a chat with me.
