Living On The Autopilot [Psychology & Mindfulness] [Tips]

What is ‘the auto pilot’? What does it mean when you ‘live on autopilot’? And how do you get rid of this psychological / mindfulness phenomenon? Read along…

What does it mean if you live on autopilot?

Living on autopilot, what does that really mean? It means that you do all kinds of things automatically without thinking about it. Often without even realizing that you are doing it.

A simple example is washing your hands. Often you are already thinking about what to do next while washing your hands. This means that hand washing is done ‘automatically’, so without you being consciously involved.

The automatic pilot is actually very healthy!

There is a very good reason why we have autopilot. It is very useful. If we always had to consciously think about everything we do, such as breathing or putting on our clothes, it would be very tiring and even difficult.

However, we have gone (very) far in the other direction …

The automatic pilot has a few serious pitfalls that everyone encounters on a daily basis.

• We ignore the little joyful things in life. The things in the here and now.
• In fact, all those little things in life are actually gigantic miracles. And we miss that because of the automatic pilot. nature, for example, or our own body … they are all gigantic miracles that we should actually be ecstatic about.
• We draw conclusions without realizing. In other words: judging and everything that comes with it.

The consequence? Negative moods and stress.

What can you do about it to live less on autopilot?

How can you live less and less on automatic pilot?

• By doing automatic things consciously, such as washing hands, brushing your teeth, eating, opening door handles or walking.
• Meditate
• A body scan
• Mindful eating
• Mindful walking
• Other mindfulness exercises (you’ll find 84+ here)
• Develop your intuition.  As a result, you get very powerful out of the autopilot.
• Enjoy and honor the little things.
• Do pattern breaks . Small and large. For example, sometimes take a day off. Or just dance.
• Allow your feelings.
• Take a (deep) breath.

To your success!