Have you ever driven home after a day’s work and not remembered even one detail about your commute?
It may feel like you just zoned out while your hands and feet knew which direction to steer and pedals to push with seemingly no awareness on your part.
But it wasn’t always that way.
The first time you drove that route, you probably had to think about it in detail before and during your commute. But as you drove it day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, less and less intentional thought was required.
It may seem a bit scary when you think about it, but it’s actually a good thing.
Our brains are designed to recognize patterns and automate them, so we don’t have to use precious resources on things we do on repeat. I like to call this autopilot or default mode.
Many aspects of our lives, thoughts, actions, movements, even feelings and reactions can be automated and run on autopilot.
When was the last time you stopped and thought about the things you do – day in, day out?
If you are like most of us, your answer is probably “never”. You just go through your day doing all the things you’ve always done.
Take a few moments to think about some of the things in your life that are set on autopilot.
You could probably fill a notebook with all the little things you do without thinking each day, and frankly, most are good things like brushing your teeth and checking all the door locks before bed.
You may also notice some autopilots in your day that aren’t so good, like doom scrolling on your phone, saying yes when you don’t mean it, snapping at your partner or child, drinking or eating more than you planned.
If there is an area of your life where you want to turn off autopilot and take back your controls, I can help.
Use the button below to get on my calendar for a complimentary session.