Stuck on Autopilot? Using Mindfulness to Defeat the Wandering Mind
“This is the real secret of life – to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.” -Alan Watts
Our mind is a strange place. As John Milton suggested, it can either be our own personal heaven or hell. It can be our greatest resource or enemy. It’s a lively place that has plenty of tricks — one of which is to wander.
Most of us know the feeling of driving somewhere familiar and upon arrival realizing you remember nothing about your journey. We can “drive” for miles on autopilot as the Wandering Mind (WM) takes us on a separate journey to our to-do list, a difficult conversation we had earlier, or scheming what we would do if we won the lottery.
The WM has just robbed us. A little piece of life we will never get back.
Not only does the WM take us out of the moment for much of our lives, but it can also take away our happiness.
Wandering Away From Happiness
Killingsworth and Gilbert conducted a study that asked people to report throughout the day what they were doing and how they felt. They found that over 50% of the time the participants’ minds were wandering.
In addition, over 50% of that time the mind had wandered, it went to neutral or unpleasant topics. Regardless of the activity, this made people significantly less happy than if they were present with what they were doing. If the mind wandered to a pleasant topic, the participants were no happier then if fully present.
The researchers explained:
“A human mind is a wandering mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind. The ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at an emotional cost.”
Mindfulness To The Rescue
Mindfulness is kryptonite to the Wandering Mind.
Simply put, mindfulness is the act of having non-judgmental awareness of what is happening in us and around us. It allows us to be present, and divert attention back to the current activity.
It’s a skill that can be cultivated during meditation or at any moment during the day.
For example, instead of being swept away by the WM during your drive home; roll your window down and feel the warm breeze on your arm, or listen to the variety of sounds from the passing street.
Of course, being present with a task is easier when its something more novel, stimulating, or challenging that requires more focus. The real trick is when it’s something a little more mindless, such as washing dishes or taking a stroll through the park.
This is one of the reasons why achieving a state of “flow” is so desirable. While in flow we lose track of time, and are totally immersed in the activity as the WM is sidelined.
Defeating The Wandering Mind
I must give caution: when starting to integrate mindfulness, you will be given only a small amount of kryptonite to defeat the WM. But with each time you practice your brain will be given another small amount until after weeks, months, and years of practice the kryptonite will be so powerful the WM will have no choice but be at your mercy.
Although the WM will always be a part of your daily life, it will now be better managed through mindfulness, so that doing the dishes doesn’t become 10 minutes of mind wandering to why your partner is a lazy bum.
As we become more aware of our thoughts, feelings, and environment from moment to moment, we give ourselves the power of freedom and choice; and allow ourselves a greater sense of happiness (and who doesn’t want that?).
Slowly we can become unglued to our mind’s proclivity to be placed on autopilot, which in the past had a destination that wasn’t always in our favor.
Try catching the WM this week; be curious where your mind went. Notice the activities that bring about the WM more often than others. Download apps like Calm and Headspace to start your education and practice of mindfulness daily.
Adam Lencioni is a licensed mental health counselor empowering individuals and couples to overcome their personal obstacles and create flourishing, satisfying lives. He currently practices at CFC Therapy Group in Chicago, IL. Contact him at adam@cfctherapy.com.
