Living mindfully is an attitude that you can cultivate in your life. But first, you have to be willing to let go of autopilot.
Many people live on autopilot without realizing it.
You find yourself living the same cycle. You wake up, send the kids to school, do your job, eat dinner, and go to bed.
Then tomorrow, you do the exact same things again.
If you want to break the cycle of autopilot, you have to understand what causes it. Once you know this, you can change your outlook so you’re living in the present.
If you’re living on autopilot, it’s most likely caused by one of these reasons:
Too Much Familiarity
When you learn something new, it requires the best of your awareness and energy at first. But the better you master it, the less effort it takes. For example, think of riding a bicycle.
When you were first learning, you needed to invest all of your brain power in doing it. Once you learned this skill, you didn’t need to pay as much attention. You could ride your bike on autopilot.
Too Much Information
Have you ever had a computer or laptop overloaded with advertisements?
Dozens of them pop up and fill your screen. You try to close one but another five open instead. If you’re like most people, you fix this problem by hitting the power button and shutting your computer off.
This is similar to what happens when you have too much information in your brain.
There are dozens of things you need to remember and do. But when your brain is overwhelmed with information, it’s hard to get anything done, so you start operating on autopilot.
Temporarily, this is helpful, but let it go on for too long and you’ll barely remember what you did today.
Too Much Work
The more tasks in our lives that are done by habit, the less alive we feel. This makes it easy to disengage from your daily life and start living on autopilot.
While you may not be able to throw away your to do list, try to approach your routine tasks in a different way.
For example instead of buying groceries from the same store you always do, go to a store where you don’t normally shop.
Mix up the menu for the week so that you’re trying new dishes.
Blast music while you work on a client’s project.
Too Little Passion
After being diagnosed with a serious illness that would take the use of his arms in the future, one man focused on living more mindfully.
Everyday tasks like making a sandwich or cleaning the bathroom became enjoyable because he delighted in the fact that his muscles were still functional.
You don’t have to suffer a serious disease in order to regain your passion. Just focus on doing everyday tasks slowly and mindfully.
Learning to live in the moment is a process. Don’t feel bad if you struggle with it at first. You’ll get the hang of it if you keep trying.
Want to let go of autopilot and start living? Download your free workbook for suggestions and ideas!
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