Posted by Steve in Weight Loss | 8 Comments
Have You Ever Been On Auto Pilot
I was telling a co-worker of mine the other day a story about the time when my first daughter was born. I had been sleep deprived for weeks on end and I was practically falling a sleep at the wheel on my drive home from work. Most nights I had to pull over on a side street for a 15 minute power nap.
One night in particular freaked me out but now looking back I can see the importance of it. I got in my car at work like any other night and started to drive. Swiping my security pass was the last thing I remember until I opened the car door in my driveway!
I had driven 50 km and didn’t remember a single red light, left turn, right turn or any other cars on the road.
Your Body’s Auto Pilot System
I’m sure that all of us have had situations like this where you do something that you’ve done a million times before in the past but have no recollection of actually going through the motions.
I think this is your body’s auto pilot system. It engages when there is a problem or when you are out of balance. In the the incident above I was way over tired and my mind just couldn’t devote the energy needed to focus on every little detail of my drive home. In essence it tuned out everything around me.
It Happened Again
What triggered me to tell this story to my friend was something that happened a few weeks ago. It happened again . I was driving home from work but didn’t remember swiping out of the parking lot, just getting into my car and from there the very next thing I knew was that I was handing the debit pin pad back to the lady at the McDonald’s drive through.
I had driven 10 minutes, placed my order (which I always get), pulled out my wallet and entered my pin# for my debit card before coming out of my auto pilot mode. No word of a lie! The next words out of my mouth were WTF (the long version). I didn’t know weather to laugh or cry.
Formed From Habits
I am convinced that this subconscious auto pilot system is formed by our habits and gets triggered when you are doing something that your mind sees as a major problem or threat.
In the first incident I was extremely sleep deprived and since I had driven that same route day in and day out for so many years, my mind and body already knew what was expected of them without me even thinking about it.
The same thing goes for the “McDonald’s situation” as my wife calls it. I had done that drive through run so many times that once triggered my body and mind knew what they were to do. Instead of sleep deprivation this time it was excessive hunger. I had been trying a new way of eating and I was starving!!! Mcdonald’s is apparently my default choice for food.
This is something that I am going to work on changing over the next few months. I know it’s not an easy thing to change and it will take time to make it happen.
What are your thoughts? Please share your stories with me, tell me I’m not alone in this?
Wow, that’s scary. That hasn’t yet happened to me, however, I have had work situations in which I went on autopilot, delivered all the requirements and then 2 minutes later couldn’t remember the process I had done. That was back when I was a lead unix sysadmin, mind you.
Best of skill in changing!
Barbara
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Very insightful- and something I can completely identify with. It wasn’t until I started paying attention to what I was doing (almost moment by moment) that I realized what I needed to do to turn things around. Autopilot was a bad mode for me- paying attention, clarity, and focus have made all the difference. Thanks for a good read. Best wishes for your continued success.
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It has already happened to me. I’ve already bought my groceries that way (fortunately, I always eat the same things, so I didn’t find much junk in my cart when I exited the store). I even took (and passed!) an exam while on auto-pilot. Every time it has happened, it was in similar circumstances of exhaustion or sometimes illness–it’s like only a part of my brain kept on functioning, and only for the most important task at hand.
The positive thing is that it helps me keep calm and composed in the face of pressure: I tell myself that I can’t fail, since even in dire circumstances I’m able to do what needs to be done. (Of course, this is probably just an illusion, but whatever pep talk helps…)
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It is amazing how many things in life we do on auto pilot – the days can just pass on by and I think that we often forget to stop and appreciate what is happening in each moment. Thanks for your story – nice reminder to approach life proactively and enjoy living.
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I agree autopilot is very powerful. Just think about this though, if we eat out of habit, then can we not avoid junk food out of habit? I believe we can because that’s exactly what I’ve done! Believe me, if I can do it, anyone over-eater can. Yes, autopilot may seem scary at times but it’s amazing when you can turn it around to your benefit.
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Got to be careful about this, actually I knew a person who went autopilot at night when he was sleeping that is walking in sleep.
I think we do so many small small things in autopilot without even noticing mostly eating.
-Ben.
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It is a little bit scary how easy it is to get stuck on autopilot. Balance is so important when it comes to our diets and health that it is easy to get into a routine. A routine that can consist of unhealthy eating habits that we dont even realize we are engaging in. It is of the utmost importance to keep things fresh, engage in new trends and experiences and make the most out of your opportunities and choices
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I couldn’t be one, I have poor eyesight. So sorry for me, thought I find it exciting and adventurous, I just can’t be.
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