Are You Asleep at the Wheel?
Imagine yourself in the driver's seat of your own life and
career (which you are). You're in charge and get to make all the
choices, turns, detours, and stops along the way. You are
responsible for creating your own reality. Do you know where you
are going and aware of the choices you make along the way every
single day? Or, are you asleep at the wheel?
Just as your wouldn't want to be asleep at the wheel of your car
because the results could range from the unexpected to the
tragic, the same holds true for the way you approach your life.
If you find yourself unconsciously doing the same thing today
simply because it was the same thing you did yesterday (and the
day before, and the month before that, and the year before
that), perhaps it's time to wake up or the years will pass by
and you'll wonder, "How did I get here?"
This asleep at the wheel thing is more prevalent than you might
think, too. So many people are simply burned out at some level
and go on autopilot. If you take a look around you I bet you can
see countless examples of people who stay in dead end jobs they
don't enjoy simply because that is where they ended up. If you
look on a broader scale, you can see organizations of all sizes
keep doing what they're doing only because that's the way it has
always been done. After all, status quo is the path of least
resistance even if it is ultimately the most unsatisfying and
unsuccessful approach to achieve results.
How Asleep are You?
Answer these few quick questions with the first thing that comes
to mind:
- Who was the last person you came in contact with and what was
he/she wearing? - What do you remember about the last time you
drove to/from work? Did you get there and not even remember how?
- What clothes are you wearing right now (and don't look)? -
What did you eat for dinner last night?
How did you do? Were you able to quickly and easily answer these
three questions in detail or was your response more like, "Huh,
I don't really know"? While none of these questions are really
all that important in the grand scheme of things, what they can
tell us is how conscious we are to the people and things around
us.
What You Can Do
No one gets behind the wheel of their car with the intention to
sleep through the ride because they don't want to end up in a
ditch. So what can you do to make sure you don't drive your life
or career into a ditch unknowingly? Intentionally choose to be
awake at the wheel of what you do and how you show up in the
world every day. If you've ever traveled to a new place you know
that you can't fall into autopilot when you're experiencing
things for the first time. If you've been on autopilot for a
long time, you need get some of that "newness" into your life,
so here's some suggestions to get you started:
- Take a different route to work every day. It'll make you think
and notice your surroundings. - Wear an outfit of clothing that
is different than your normal garb. If you normally dress
formal, dress down. If you tend to wear conservative colors, buy
something with a splash of bold colors. It'll wake up your
senses and help you feel a little different even in your
familiar surroundings. - Get away from it all. Take a vacation
or trip - short or long, expensive or cheap - to clear your mind
and get a new perspective. - Try a new cuisine of food you have
never eaten before. Experiment at home or go out and experience
a whole new palette of flavors.
These little tricks will start to awaken your senses. Waking up
from the slumber of autopilot is the first step to getting more
of what you want in your world and less of what you don't want.
Once you wipe the sleep out of your eyes you can start to make
new, intentional choices at every turn along your journey.
Copyright 2005-2006, Paula Gregorowicz and The Paula G Company,
All Rights Reserved.
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