I believe what really gets me going in the morning is the fear of going on auto-pilot. Especially, when I haven't consciously decided to switch it on.
The feeling of being on auto-pilot is like being dragged by time. Sometimes people don't even realize if they are on auto-pilot! So my question to you in this blog is "Are you on auto-pilot?". You'll probably have the answer by the end of this blog.
But first!
What does it mean to be on Auto-pilot?
I am sure you might have heard this term in the context of airplanes. The pilot switches onto auto-pilot when the plane has to stay on a particular course and manual control is not necessary. It's a time when the pilot gets to relax. He can be a bit fresher when he takes up manual control during the landing or makes important decisions regarding the direction of the plane.
The plane keeps moving throughout the journey because it has enough fuel to keep going. Irrespective of the control whether it is auto-pilot or manual control the plane will keep going until it's out of fuel.
I am sure you knew what auto-pilot means but the above line was the main reason I had to explain the whole thing XD.
I have this weird habit of trying to connect physical entities to explain human thinking. It's funny how the resemblance is uncanny!
How?
We all are on a plane called life (damn so cheezy!). Everyone's plane has limited fuel. Can you guess what that fuel is? It's TIME. And sadly, It's a one-time fill-up. It took me a very long time to realize how time is like actual fuel! (I'll probably write about it in a future blog).
Now take a few minutes and read the plane analogy again with this new context in mind.
In our life, being on auto-pilot is like standing still while the world around us moves forward. Though we are still we use up our fuel. Just like having the AC on in the car while it's at a halt. Though it ain't moving it is still using up precious fuel.
The main idea behind living a conscious life is understanding how we are using the current moment. I am currently writing this blog. Why? Because it is letting me express a thought that I have. Also, it's making me better at writing. You right now are reading it. Something in you wanted to know what this is all about! You were open to a new idea in life. You took the manual control of clicking on the blog link when you could have done so much more easier and fun things.
I am happy to say, you my friend are not on auto-pilot at this moment. Unless you are using this blog to procrastinate on something even more important, in that case, I hope you understand the point of this blog and get to that task immediately!
What being on auto-pilot looks like?
Firstly, Probably the most anticipated example! Mindlessly scrolling on Instagram. I was a victim of it myself. But in recent times I have made myself a little more conscious about the use of it. I have literally forbidden myself from going in the reels section now xD.
Secondly, Not starting that new thing you always wanted to start, by giving yourself some excuse which won't make it possible rather watching random videos on youtube. (I literally do that! though a lot less now)
Basically, anything that is nothing but momentary satisfaction. Something that instantly makes some part of you regret doing.
I personally relate the feeling of auto-pilot to the feeling of being dragged. Being dragged by life. I am just lying there while stuff just happens.
What shall be done?
The natural answer is to be more conscious about all the choices you make. Understanding how limited hence precious the time you have right now is. Being accountable for all the choices you make on how you use your time. Taking control of your mind. Getting over that temptation of taking the easy road.
This is easier said than done, but it's only possible when you are willing to go through that required hardship. It's not easy to do the healthy thing nowadays when the unhealthy stuff has been normalized.
I have a lot more stuff to say in the above-quoted sentence. Maybe something for a future blog.
Just remember one thing, The airplane pilot is respected on how he/she controls the plane.
Some real-life examples for switching on manual control:
Switching off NetFlix before the next episode loads.
Rather than scrolling once more, quiet Instagram and get to work.
Going to bed on time even if your friends are online and having fun.
Taking out time to read.
Exercising every day even if you don't feel like it!
I somehow love this concept a lot! This has helped me a lot for being where I am today and it still hasn't shown its complete potential. It's a slow process to embrace this lifestyle. It takes time but if the purpose is clear it won't seem that hard. I hope you got something out of this blog! If you have any experience with this concept I would love to hear about it!
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See you next week!
Cheers!