Are You Going Through Life on Autopilot? Try This One Thing to Regain Control

 It occurred to me one day after I poured my coffee and sat down to drink it that I didn’t even stop to consider whether I needed it or not. I just did it.

Then, I started to wonder. How often am I just mindlessly doing things? Have I settled into a routine without even considering if that routine was beneficial or not?

The answer, my friends, was YES!

When I realized that my daily routine was mostly on autopilot, I was floored. I had this A-HA moment about mindfulness that I had completely blown off before.

For some reason, I thought mindfulness was hard. Like you, I’ve read articles about paying attention to your actions, not eating dinner while watching tv, chew your food a certain number of times etc.

However well-meaning those tips were, they just didn’t resonate with me. I couldn’t grasp how slowing down was actually going to make me better. My mind works in hyper speed with multiple tabs open at once. So, slowing down and doing one thing with deliberate intention felt so wrong.

After my lightbulb A-HA moment, I can see how my resistance to taking slow and deliberate action was blocking me from tuning into what I needed.

Mindfulness is about curating a life of intention vs settling for a one-size fits all generic life.

Once I reframed what mindfulness meant to me, it became easier to apply in my own life. Now, instead of a cup of coffee in the morning automatically, I’ll stop and ask myself if I need or want it. Maybe it’s a tea day or I skip it altogether. Then, I looked at the food I was eating.

Was I eating because I was bored, stressed, or hungry? Were my food choices something my body wanted, or something my mind thought would be good? Before I put anything in my mouth, I stopped to ask myself WHY I was doing it and how much did my body want or need.

 This was a game changer!

I started to expand this mindfulness into helping me make decisions about all things big and small.

Here are some examples:

• When choosing clothes, shoes, jewelry, or essential oils/perfumes in the morning, I tuned into what vibe I wanted to portray that day. (Confident? Feminine? Powerful?)
• Instead of mindlessly taking the recommended label suggestion of my supplements, I tuned into my body to ask how much it wanted or needed.
• On my days off, I asked myself what I felt like doing that day as opposed to what I felt I "should" do. 

Suddenly, mindfulness became like a game. It wasn’t hard work after all! I just had to find a way to define the concept that made sense with the way my brain works.

Instead of just rushing through life on autopilot, I finally slowed down enough to consider if what I was doing was even beneficial for me.

When you practice mindfulness, you’re giving your brain and body a chance to voice your preferences instead of constantly allowing autopilot mode to override them. The more you become aware of what you want and need, the happier you become. You put yourself in the driver’s seat to curate the life you want instead of settling for what a life on autopilot allows you to have or feel. You, my friend, take control of your life again.

Isn’t that fabulous?

If you need a little help slowing down, releasing anxiety or overwhelm, and taking control of your life again, then let’s work together! I’ll help you create a plan of action and release any fears or blocks to getting exactly what you want. You can get started HERE.

April Darley is a Confidence and Resilience Coach specializing in helping overwhelmed women release anxiety and doubt so they can become more confident, decisive, and have better quality relationships with others. Through the Three Brain Realignment Technique (TBRT), you'll learn how to step into your own power, and comfortably deal with life's challenges.