Are You on Auto Pilot?
Posted on February 10, 2018 by Gerry Hansen, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.
There is a natural law called hypnotic rhythm, and it is what causes you to go “off task,” kicking (or clicking) into autopilot.
How much of your life are YOU going on autopilot?
My favorite example that resonates with most people is when you open up your email when a notification pops up, even though five minutes ago you committed to yourself to stay on task and finish up what you were doing before answering the phone, checking your email or answering your texts.
Once your brain learns something, you just know what to do. Like brushing your teeth, you instinctively know how it goes, and you just do it. No thinking or focus needed.
Would you be surprised to know that decision making can be done on autopilot too? Yes, you can get caught up in a trance of making the same decision over and over again. Many of these will not be of service to your well being, and you may even classify them as bad habits.
One of the best ways to disrupt this cycle is to tune in to your third brain. This is your “gut instinct,” or “intuition.”
We have three brains! Yes, you heard me right, three brains: your head brain, your heart brain and your gut brain (or intuition). You may have experienced long periods in your life where you have cut yourself off from the neck down by numbing out or ignoring that ping in your gut and turning to “rational judgment.”
ListenToYourGutSignOur gut resides in the neighborhood of our solar plexus and the third chakra (in and around the belly area). When it is functioning well, we trust its guidance and adjust our actions to be of better service to ourselves and those around us.
This area is also called your “Power Center” and is the place where we find the courage to act, to reach out and to create change. When your Power Center is out of balance you may notice that your breath is shallow, you don’t speak up, you may leave conversations wishing you had said something (or said it differently) or wishing you had acted on an opportunity that you didn’t see until it was past.
To reconnect to your Power Center, focus your attention on it by taking time to care for it. Begin now…take five deep breaths into your belly. When you breathe into your belly and fully exhale, you will release stagnant energy and create more space to be filled with fresh, nourishing breath. The more you practice this simple cleansing exercise, the more clear and communicative your gut feelings will be and the more comfortable you will be with trusting and acting on it’s emotional and intuitive intelligence.
Another news flash…there is scientific evidence that our gut is a far more effective brain when it comes to making decisions. Your gut brain is intuitive and emotional, so it understands the WHY. To ignore this is to be separated from a valuable source of knowledge. If you are struggling with decisions and feel you have to choose between your head, heart, and gut, you might find the struggle doesn’t lead you to the greatest decision.
So when you take the time to listen to your gut, which means paying attention, you are tuning into your emotional and intuitive body intelligence. This pulls you out of autopilot into working your Power Center and highest good.
