Don’t you feel we are living in autopilot? Don’t you think we are running full speed but we do not know where are we going? Aren’t our days the same day over and over? It certainly describes what I have felt many times. There is only one way to come out from living autopilot, it’s easy and yet incredibly challenging, but first, allow me to tell you a story.
“There was an Indian (a native Venezuelan) enjoying the sun and the clean air, as he fished on the shore of the Caribbean Sea. His basket was full and was about to leave when was stopped by a corporate executive that was spending his vacations there.
Why do you leave? You are having a great day fishing! – asks the executive.
I have enough, why would I need to fish more? – answers the Indian.
Well, with the extra fish you could go to the market and sell the fish!
What for?
So, you could have money to hire someone to fish with you so you can sell even more fish and earn more money.
What for?
Well, with this extra money, you could buy a boat, and you and your employee go out to the sea and fish even more fish! And sell it and have even more money!!! – said the executive getting very excited with the idea.
What for? – keeps answering the Indian.
Well!! With all the extra money, you could have several boats, and fish tons of fish, and you would have tons of money, you could be rich!!!
What for?
So you can live the life of your dreams!!!!
And the Indian looks at him and answers: which is what I was doing just now.”
Let us ask ourselves, why would we want more fish?!?!?!
I said at the beginning the answer to NOT living in autopilot, or as Simon Sinek describes it, of “living intentional lives” is simple, yet very challenging, become best friends with our WHY.
WHY is the driving force of our life. WHY is the reason for our endurance and resilience when times are difficult. WHY is what allows us to see opportunity in a challenge, lessons in difficulty. WHY is what takes through the night.
It is when we know WHY we are doing what we are doing that inspiration, creativity, optimism, and awareness is present in our lives. We feel we live in autopilot because we do not have a clear answer for WHY we are doing what we are doing. And as our work consumes basically 12 hours of our awake time, then, knowing WHY we do what we do for a living is one of the most important WHY’S we have.
The beauty of the Yoga lifestyle is that it is based on practice, basically, is based on repetition. We can become masters of anything if we do it enough times. The same goes for WHY. If we ask ourselves regularly WHY we will master that question.
If we become best friends with our WHYs we will immediately feel and see the way through.
This week I invite you to sit down, revise in which area of your life you feel you are living in autopilot, and then answer the question:
Why am I ___________________?
If you feel autopilot in your working life, for example, the question would be Why am I in this job? If the question relates to another aspect, just adequate the question. Knowing WHY is not negotiable if we want to live intentional lives. We must know WHY we do things; that feeling of Autopilot is just your entire system telling you it is time, to sit down, and find out WHY!
Eckhart Tolle states clearly that unawareness, living in autopilot, begins to disappear the same second we are aware we are unaware. Therefore, just the fact that we are asking the question means we are already walking the path of awareness.
Pedro Misle
This week in our live sessions in YOGA BREAK Private Facebook Group we will be sharing thoughts and practices related to this topic. If you are not a member yet, click here to join for free and enjoy!
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Excellent post!
Great delivery. Outstanding arguments. Keep up the good work. Amandie Gibbie Bove