How much of Your Day Do You Spend On Autopilot? 

When you woke up this morning did you say to yourself, “Hmmmm, what should I do first? Brush my teeth? Eat something?”?

Of course not.

You got out of bed and just started going about your day without intentionally “thinking” about it. You were an autopilot.

How much of your day do you think your spend on autopilot?

You spend a lot of your day on autopilot, and you don’t even realize it. In fact, you spend up to 95% of your day on autopilot according to the Max Plank Institute.

The problem with being in autopilot is – you could be giving your power away to your habits.

There’s an old Buddhist saying that goes something like “First you create your habits, then your habits create you.”

When you’re spending a lot of your day in autopilot, it’s easy to become disconnected from the awareness that you’re not prioritizing your physical or mental health, your relationships, your free time, yourself…

But everything you do is choice. Your habits drive everything you do all day.

Take a look around you right now. What do you see?

Your current reality is directly associated with your habits! So whatever you see, like it or not, your habits helped you get there. And although some habits are healthy, some aren’t and can dramatically alter your entire life if you let them go unchecked for too long, sweep them under the rug, or let them control you (aka give your power away to them.).

When you’re spending a lot of time in autopilot, you can get into a habit loop and assume small changes won’t add up, but they will. And they do.

But here’s the thing…

Your habits are driven by your identity – so this isn’t just about changing what you’re DOing, it’s about turning inward and looking at who, and how, you’re BEing.

If you’ve tried to change your behaviors or habits before and haven’t been successful, you’ve got some blind spots.

If you have blind spots (ALL of you do), it means that it’s time to find them. It could be that…

You’re not committed to the habit change and are too focused on the outcome

You know what you’d LIKE your life to look like, you know what habits you want to change, BUT you don’t make your effort 100%. If this is the case – you’re giving your power away to a lack of commitment, or to whatever excuse you’re using to not full commit.

Or, you have committed fully, but you’re so focused on being perfect and not allowing slip-ups that a tiny setback ruins your progress. If this sounds like you, then you’re giving your power away to your attachment to expectation.

Let go of the outcome you want. When you do, you’ll stop giving your power away to expectation. Things don’t always work out the way you expect, but they always work out. Allow yourself to be open to the possibility that things can turn out EVEN BETTER than you expect.

“Commitment is the bridge between where you are and where you want to be.”

You’re not setting your environment up to help you succeed

Have you created environments that support your transformation? If not, your environment is hindering you and you’re giving your power away to it. The environment around you, including the people that support you, impact you, your health, and ability to change and heal. If you’re environment is stopping you from making the internal transformation you need to create new habits – you’re more likely to fail and fall back on old habits and go into autopilot.

You’re trying to conquer too many habits at once

Just like it sounds. You want to do it all and have the best of intentions at heart, but you’re burning yourself out and feeling overwhelmed, so any effort you make ends up backfiring.

It’s not all doom and gloom— there’s a light at the end of your habit-filled tunnel. 

Connect with yourself and observe your habits. Check-in with yourself and see if you can identify what the source is of your tendency to feel like you have to burn yourself out?

There’s something going on with you more deeply that is leading you to act this way.

Is is some limiting belief that you’re not enough? A story you’ve created that DOING it all is the only way? Spend some time reflecting on this question.

What habits you do every day that are not beneficial for your highest and greatest good??

If you changed those habits, what would you do with that time? What would your life look like?

Once you’ve uncovered those habits, it’s time to apply strategies to help you spend less time in autopilot, break those harmful habits, and create new ones that set you up for success instead.

Here are some super simple and effective ways to start transforming and creating a new habit:

• Spot and eliminate triggers – are there particular triggers or times that you notice the unhelpful habit?

• Recognize that you are NOT your habit voice. That voice that tempts you – it isn’t you. When it comes up, acknowledge it. Then, choose to intentionally dismiss it and MOVE your attention to something positive.

• Find the root cause so you can heal from the source – who are you being that created this unhealthy habit that needs to change in the first place???

When you discover the root cause of WHY your unhealthy habits have continued for so long, you can take your power back and truly transform your health and well-being.

If you’re ready to commit, reconnect with yourself, and begin identifying the blind spots that may be standing in the way of your health and growth, know that this work begins with awareness—and the willingness to choose yourself.

Real healing happens when we slow down, listen inward, and reconnect with the deeper wisdom within us.

XO,
Dr. Rodgers

P.S. If you’d like supportive practices and reflections to help you reconnect with your health, intuition, and inner wisdom, I’d love to stay connected with you.

You can begin with my free Higher Health Healing Broth Ritual, a simple grounding practice designed to support nourishment, nervous system regulation, and reconnection with yourself.

💛 Receive it here

Disclaimer Statement: This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.