How to stop living on autopilot
Autopilot has become the default mode of our mind.
Evolutionary speaking it was a mechanism that prevented us from overloading. That's why once we have learn something, like driving, we don't have to think about it again, it happens automatically.
So far, it is an incredible capacity of the brain. The problem starts when ALL of our actions and behaviours happen automatically.
Researchers had proven that living on autopilot makes us unhappy because we end up sleepwalking through life, making it difficult to make intentional decisions about how you want to work and live your life.
5 Signs that tell you that you are living on autopilot:
You go through your day without thinking. You prepare your coffee, eat your breakfast, grab your keys and leave the house without even knowing how.
You can't seem to put your phone down. You automatically check your phone for constant updates even though you just did it!
You talk without thinking. For example, you say things to your kids that are like mantras that you don't even know where they come from or why you said them.
You are lost in thought Your partner or your kids are talking to you and you need to ask them to repeat what they said because your mind was somewhere else.
You have a difficult time remembering. You keep things in places and forget where you put them.
The opposite to autopilot is MINDFULNESS.
The only way to change our minds is by observing them first.
So for this week, I propose you choose at least one of the above activities and pay attention to it.
For example, let's say:
put your phone away consciously for "x" amount of time.
observe where is your mind when your children or your partner talk to you and make the effort to focus it on them.
pay attention to actions that you don't normally need to think of, like grabbing your keys and putting them in your bag, washing dishes, brushing your teeth or consciously taking steps.
Practicing little exercises of mindfulness will help you learn how to observe your mind and therefore your subconscious patterns.