Planes have autopilots so they can fly themselves for awhile.  This frees the human pilots up to relax a little during less critical phases of flight.

All too often, we think we can put important parts of our lives on autopilot as a way to cope with being over committed and stressed out.

Automated navigation systems guide planes when they are on autopilot to keep them on course, but there is no GPS for life. 

If you aren’t actively engaged in running your life, then it is straying off course and who knows where you might end up?

You Never Know Where You’re Going Until You Get There

You probably heard about the Delta-Northwest Airlines flight that flew 150 miles past the airport it was supposed to land at while on autopilot in October.

These guys seriously screwed up and they endangered the lives of the 140+ passengers onboard not to mention the other crew members.

The pilots flew 45 minutes past their intended destination and didn’t answer radio calls for an hour and twenty minutes!  This is a very dangerous thing to do in Post 9-11 America.

However, I’ve been thinking that we often do the same thing with critical aspects of our lives.  We dangerously lull ourselves into thinking that it will all work out somehow whether we are giving it the attention it needs or not.

When we do this, we are not only endangering our own livelihood, but the future of our entire family and possibly generations to come.  Our children learn their behavior from us and they are likely to pass it along to their kids — good or bad.

It is imperative that we WAKE UP and take care of the important things in life or we might wind up so far off course that it is impossible to recover without serious consequences.

By the way, the FAA revoked the licenses of the two Northwest pilots.  I guess now they can rest or talk or work on their laptops in the unemployment line instead of in the cockpit. 

It is a shame really.  Their lapse in attention to what was important has cost them their career, their reputation and a ton of heartache.  How do you recover from all that?!?  You don’t.

The 7 Areas Where You Can’t Afford to Live on Autopilot

I’m convinced that there are certain areas of life that just won’t take care of themselves.  We have to give these things the attention they deserve or it will cost us big time down the road.

Here are 7 critical areas you need to take off autopilot:

1.  Raising Your Children

You absolutely cannot afford to let your children grow up on autopilot.  You have to provide them guidance, correction and boundaries.  They are either following you or someone else.  If it isn’t you, then how do you know what they are being taught?

As parents, it is easy to become complacent.  It takes a lot of work to engage with your children and provide the discipline they need.  It is tiring and sometimes it feels like you are just spinning your wheels.  It is often hard to discern any progress, but I can assure you that involved parents make a difference.

2.  Loving Your Spouse

An ignored marriage will grow stale and distant.  I’ve written before about how love is a verb.  It takes commitment and action for your marriage to flourish.  Both partners need to offer 100% to the relationship for it to be successful, but things have to start somewhere.  Why not with you?

It is easy to rationalize excuses for not engaging in your marriage.  You can think things like, “He wouldn’t appreciate it even if I tried” or “There is no way to please her”.  Of course, these are just excuses rooted in fear and laziness.  Seek guidance and give your marriage your best and you might be surprised.  You might end up with the dream marriage.  Are you willing to live with the alternative?  Get busy and get your marriage off autopilot!

3.  Managing Your Career or Business

What have you done lately to move yourself forward in your career or business?  This is another area that we often put on autopilot.  We get comfortable where we are at and stagnate.  It takes concentrated effort to move to the next level.  You can’t do it on autopilot.

Set a goal and make a plan to achieve your objective by a certain date.  Write it down and talk about it with your spouse and friends.  You have to focus your thoughts and actions if you want to get moving again.  Don’t let yourself remain stuck where you are at for another minute!

4.  Controlling Your Personal Finances

Way too many people let their personal finances run on autopilot.  I know because I’ve been there.  The primary symptoms that result are spending more than you earn and piling up debt on credit cards.  The bad news is, that for most, there is a day of reckoning.  We’ve seen a lot of people experience that day lately as they’ve lost their jobs, homes and hope.

You have to get on a budget if you want to get control of your money.  I just heard a collective whine out there!  I know this is not what you wanted to hear, but it is the only way you are ever going to turn your life around and fix your finances.  Yes, you will have to make some changes, but these sacrifices are gains, not losses!  Get control of your finances today.

5.  Preparing for Your Retirement

We are all getting older.  The march toward retirement goes faster than you think.  Ignoring it will not make it go away.  Are you saving for your retirement?  Some of you think you are too young for this to be a concern, but I can assure you that you are not!  You are simply leaving this part of your life on autopilot.

You should be putting as much as possible back in your 401k and other investments for retirement.  You should also be learning what you can about health insurance options once you retire.  I’ve been helping my mother with a lot of this lately and believe me, it is never too early to start educating yourself.

6.  Protecting and Improving Your Health

You reap what you sow when it comes to your health.  It really doesn’t take that much to live a healthy lifestyle, but it is easy to ignore.  Although there are some immediate benefits to exercising and eating right, the real payoff is down the road.  Long-term thinking is your greatest tool for success when it comes to health and many other important areas of life.

We all need to start making healthy living a priority if we want to live long and prosper.  I’d hate to think that I’d saved and sacrificed in other areas of my life only to have poor health rob be of the fruits of my labor once I retire.  I don’t know about you, but this is not an area that I want to leave on autopilot!

7.  Growing in Your Faith

Last, but certainly not least, you can’t leave your spiritual life on autopilot and expect a good outcome.  I recently wrote about how growing in my faith is a key component of my life purpose.  Faith adds significance and meaning to a world that otherwise seems random and chaotic.  It also provides a critical moral compass that we all need.

Just as with all these other areas of life, your faith doesn’t grow unless you give it the attention it needs.  It is so easy to backslide or veer just a little off course if you aren’t paying full attention to your spiritual walk.  Sometimes these little detours can cost you big time.  Don’t let it happen to you!  Seek to grow continually in your faith.

What other ways do we live on autopilot?

Photo by Peter Kaminski