6 Steps to Mindfully Disrupt Autopilot Mode - A Daily Practice

Most of us move through our days on autopilot more than we realize — thinking the same thoughts, reacting the same ways, and repeating patterns without even noticing.

While this can help us get through routine tasks, it also means we can easily become entangled in our thoughts, identifying with them as truth. The problem is, left unchecked, autopilot keeps us stuck in familiar habits, even when they’re not serving us.

Disrupting this automatic mode isn’t something that happens by accident; it requires intentional practice.

When we learn to recognize the moment a thought arises and consciously decide whether or not to act on it, we open the door to greater freedom and choice. In this post, I’ll walk you through a six-step practice to help you disrupt autopilot and cultivate a deeper awareness in your daily life.

1. Sit quietly. Close your eyes. Feel your body.

    •    Let your attention move inwards and drop into the body—feet, hands, breath.

    •    No need to fix, change, or control anything. Just notice what’s already happening.

2. Wait for the next thought.

    •    Like you’re waiting for a bubble to rise in still water.

    •    When a thought comes, notice it as an event. A movement. A flicker.

    •    Say silently, “There’s a thought.”

3. Notice the feeling tone of the thought.

    •    Is it tight? Is it urgent? Is it open? Is it gentle?

    •    Just feel its flavor. You don’t need to follow it. You don’t need to act on it.

4. Ask quietly:

“What would it feel like to do nothing with this thought?”

“What is it like to just let it pass?”

5. Return to the open space.

    •    The space where the thought appeared.

    •    Rest there—even if only for a few seconds.

6. Let action arise naturally.

    •    If an impulse or clarity arises from this stillness, trust it.

    •    Let your next move come from that place, not from the first reflex.

You can do this practice in a chair, at your desk, in the car before a meeting—anywhere. Stay present with each of the step for as long as you’d like. The power is in the pause, the willingness to notice and let go of being swept up.