It was 6am on a cold crisp Monday morning…
The familiar sound of Ben’s iPhone alarm pierced through the silence in the room.
He threw himself into the shower where a whirlwind of thoughts about the week ahead began to occupy his mind.
As he pulled his coat on and left for the front door, he finished the last bite of breakfast that he barely tasted, and washed it down with an equally tasteless cup of lukewarm coffee.
Commuting to work, Ben’s mind whirred once more. What could go wrong at work this week? Would his manager give him more tasks than he could handle? He began to experience a tight knotting sensation in his stomach.
He sat down at his desk and muttered “good morning” to his colleagues, only half listening as they described their weekend activities to him.
The hours passed by and Ben’s wish of the clock hitting 5 finally came true.
He made his dinner and sat down in front of the TV. His mind began to wonder once more, worrying about his next day at work. He wished away the rest of the week and tried to focus on the upcoming weekend.
As Ben climbed into bed, he found himself struggling to relax as a barrage of questions bounced around his mind.
Eventually, he managed to drift off to sleep. It was a state of relaxation, where he was completely at peace with no worries in the world.
What felt like a few seconds later, his peace was disturbed and he woke up once again to an all so familiar sound.
It was 6am on a cold and wet Tuesday morning.
Are You Living In The Autopilot Way Of Life?
Take a moment to ask yourself…
“How present am I in everything that I do during the day?”
How does the answer to that question make you feel?
Does it make you feel happy? Sad? Perhaps slightly confused or anxious?
How much of your day is spent like Ben, running on autopilot, wishing for 5pm, rushing from place to place doing task after task?
When was the last time that you sat down for breakfast and really tasted what you were eating?
When was the last time you put your head down on your pillow and fell asleep instantaneously, without a whirlwind of questions occupying your mind?
When was the last time you spoke to somebody and really focussed on what they were saying, their body language, and their expressions, without thinking about what you’re going to say next?
These are all symptoms that you’re living in the autopilot way of life.
Did you know that 48% of people’s waking hours are spent mind wandering?
Yes, that’s right.
48% of the time you are awake, your mind is wandering aimlessly.
That means you’re literally spending half of your day thinking about random things, not what you should be focussing on.
This might sound funny, you might not even want to believe it, and that’s fine.
But the truth is, if you’re on autopilot then you aren’t making the most of every moment in your life.
Life is simply too short to allow it to pass you by without making the most of it.
And all of this isn’t to say you are unhappy or unsatisfied with your life.
You can be on autopilot and still live an extremely happy life.
What it means is that regardless of happiness, you aren’t experiencing the most important moment of your life.
The Present Moment
“There is only one time that is important – NOW! It is the only time that we have any power”
–Leo Tolstoy
Experiencing life in the present moment can benefit you in a number of different ways:
- Improved social skills
- Greater appreciation of things
- Improved creativity
- Reduced stress
- Less negative over-thinking
The list goes on…
The point is that the only way to escape the autopilot way of life is to live in the present.
What Can I Do To Experience Life In The Present?
Experiencing the most important part of your life can be achieved easily through the daily practice of mindfulness.
A common misconception is that the aim of mindfulness is to clear the mind.
Mindfulness is about becoming more in touch with life as you are experiencing it. Practising mindfulness can transform everyday experiences and make them more vivid, fun, enjoyable and rewarding.
Becoming more mindful will enable you to:
- Stop rushing through your days
- To step out of the autopilot way of life
- And to experience life in the only moment you can control, the present moment
How Can I Become More Mindful?
Mindfulness can be practised all day, every day – that is the true beauty of it.
You can cultivate mindfulness by focusing your attention on:
- Your current thoughts and feelings
- What you are currently doing
- What those around you are saying and doing
- Focus on what you’re eating and drinking – how does it really taste?
- Appreciating all of the small things in life
There are so many different ways to cultivate mindfulness it would be impossible to cover them properly all in one post. That’s why we created the Pursuit of Mindfulness…
Here At The Pursuit Of Mindfulness Our Mission…
…is to raise awareness about mindfulness and provide the tools to guide you towards the mindful lifestyle that you deserve.
We publish useful, non-technical, actionable content for you in the form of blogs, videos, downloadable guides and cheatsheets to help you in your own pursuit of mindfulness.
If you want to stop living the autopilot way of life and start experiencing life in the present moment, then click here to start your pursuit, and learn 12 ways practising mindfulness can enrich your life.