Life on Autopilot
“Living on autopilot” is a common phenomenon that is caused by performing daily and repetitive routines. It is a state of mind where we live our lives without conscious thoughts. This leads to a lack of awareness and focus. It could also cause us to not notice better opportunities or to change how we react to situations.
I believe that living on autopilot is a coping mechanism that so many people operate in because of the reality of the world that is sometimes too hard to bear. Life can be quite hard for many people, and turning off the awareness may have originally started just to get them through one day at their terrible job. This then lead to a few days at work—just to get through the misery. This turned into only lacking awareness at work. We can then turn into realizing all of the harsh realities that we don’t want to deal with outside of work. The lack of awareness is then brought to the grocery store when it’s busy or to an event that you only feel obligated to attend. The next thing we know, we are barely living our lives. We are just waiting for it to be over.
When we operate without conscious thoughts, it is hard to notice and appreciate the small things that make life enjoyable. We also miss out on important opportunities for growth, self-improvement, and community-improvement.
One example that I have is a reoccurring example that I see often where I live. First, I’d like to say that I don’t blame anyone for this. It is just a perfect example of so many people living on autopilot. I bring my reusable grocery bags with me to all of the grocery stores. I have several in my house and in my car that get rotated in and out. Typically, if there is a self-checkout line, I always choose that because I am a firm believer that society needs to start being responsible for their own actions—even at a grocery store or restaurant. [I’ll write more about that later.] There are some stores that do not have self-checkout yet. When going through the line, I always speak clearly and let them know that I have my own bag(s) and can bag the items to make it easier. More than half of the times that this has happened, the cashier acknowledges what I say and immediately rings up the item and puts it in a plastic bag. I understand that this is what 99% of the population around me expects and wants from them. It really just amazes me how lack of aware they can be. I know that most grocery cashiers are exploited in their work and wages are not fair—I really understand and empathize for that. I understand that being on autopilot will get them through their day at a job that may not be so great—I have been there before! What I would love to see happen in society is that regardless of the job or who we all are working for, we are aware of our surroundings for our own benefits. Some people may read this and say that those cashiers on on “someone else’s time” and “they shouldn’t care.” I can see that—partially—but what I see even more is a world where people are valuing their own life and others. It may be someone else’s time clock you are punching, but it is still your time on Earth. That counts big time!
After all, self-awareness is a key to self-improvement. Self-improvement is a key to community-improvement. Community is a key to worldwide-improvement.
To avoid living on autopilot, it is important to take a step back and assess our daily routines. It is really difficult to do this sometimes. It is hard to accept the reality that has become our lives, but it is so vital for the future of humanity that each person becomes aware of all of the power that each human has to make this world better. We can try new things, break up our routines, and challenge ourselves to be more present in our daily lives. By doing so, we can improve our overall quality of life and cultivate a greater sense of purpose and fulfillment.