The Problem with Autopilot
So lately the world has been a less consistent place for me. Which is a bit silly to say because I am pretty sure the world is never consistent or predictable. Except for maybe, death is predictable but not when. Taxes are predictable unless you're super rich, then you avoid paying most of what you owe and it's a super surprise how much money you save!
But I digress, my initial statement rings both true and naive for me at the moment.
When I say consistency, I really mean that many times we can just hit autopilot in life. Some things we do every day do not require much effort or new learning. That's okay. I don't need to meditate while balancing on one leg every time I brush my teeth. That would just be exhausting. Autopilot is probably fine for some things, like putting on my pants or washing dishes for the millionth time. Even though I am a huge proponent of meditation and being present in the moment, I am far from present most days when conducting personal hygiene activities. Just not that exciting.
Of course there are many other cases when we should be present but aren't. Like while driving. Do you ever get to your destination and you don't remember much about the trip? That always makes me feel a little sketch. Practicing being present in the moment is quite important. Like a muscle I feel that power grow stronger with practice and the occasional, "WTF Sam!" I want to share a few examples of being more present that have helped me that might also help you. Please keep in mind this is a total work in progress and not all-inclusive.
The Cell Phone Conundrum.
My phone brings me anxiety. I wouldn't admit that except for a weekend in the mountains without cell phone reception is one of the most relaxing things I could possibly do. As much as my phone brings me productivity and connection, it brings with it a lot of distraction and nonsense.
Currently I have Sprint service, unlimited talk/text/data for $70/mo. I am seriously considering changing to a plan where my data is not unlimited so that I can #1- learn to be more deliberate with why and how I spend time on my phone and #2 - save a little money. Paying for the data I actually use would encourage me to check my email and social media less often. That's my goal and now I would have a way to hold myself accountable (or else pay a stupid amount of money, to what, check my email for the thousandth time today?).
Wow, save money and have less anxiety! When my iPhone dies eventually, even though I do love the technology, I will be willing to consider switching to a different phone that allows me to use a slew of cheaper wireless companies.
Social Media, always beckoning me like Lord of the Rings, my precious!
In general, I'm starting to place more limits on my use of social media. I ditched my television because I hate advertisements, the news is nearly useless to me as a human being, and it was wasting some of my free time. But then social media became not so much a way to connect and check in with friends as a way to advertise products/services, catch up on the news, and make you feel like everyone else is on vacation all the time and you're not.
Okay, that's not exactly true. But in realizing what I do not like, I can decide for myself whether or not I want to use the tool and how I want to use the tool. As a business owner, Facebook is one of the easiest ways to get information to customers and it feels a little less violating than spamming people's emails. And we are quite a small business so...we need a Facebook page and website. I decided for my personal page I would focus on posting whatever I found helpful to the world and try like hell to not get caught up in the superfluous garbage we so easily find on the internet. Easier said than done but it's great to have goals!
So I do things like, allow myself to post any time of day but only allow myself to scroll through and consume social media at set times (and with a time limit in mind). I also blocked a crapload of people b/c consuming negativity and hatefulness doesn't really do it for me. The closer I follow my own rules, surprise, the happier I am!
Adulting and Finances
A lot of our bills and investments are on autopilot these days. This can be a great thing if you're using autopilot to make sure you always pay your future self with investments AND you're never late on your bills. That said, I noticed when I made a lot more money, I wasn't all that concerned about bargain shopping and comparing services.
Now that I live on a lower income, I realize how stupid I had been. I could easily have another 50k in the bank or in investments today had I paid just a little more attention. This massive savings would not have required me to eat ramen and beans out of the can every day (or at all). My lifestyle would have been just as awesome. What kept me from achieving this was autopilot syndrome I think.
Re-evaluating things like your car insurance, renter's or home-owners insurance, cell phone needs, and other policies like life insurance can be helpful. I am not married and I have no kids but I had TWO life insurance policies. Obviously I wasn't paying any attention to this bill every month. Last week I went back to ONE policy with the military and my mom will still get a ton of money if I die on duty. If I die off duty, I have zero debt and enough assets to pay for my funeral and several exotic overseas vacations. It was only $260/year and yet that money was a complete waste and better spent elsewhere in my life.
I raised my deductible on car insurance and gained another $140/year. As long as I avoid an insurance claim every 3 years I will save money. So far in my driving life I have never made an insurance claim but I could make one every 5 years and still save money. That sounds reasonable to me.
I also saved $20 on internet after looking at my most recent bill. I was being charged for paper billing even though I never recall opting in for paper billing. I was also being charged for a service that fixes my internet for free if something goes wrong. That's odd, my internet has been working fine since installation. One phone call and I'm keeping $20/mo extra in my pocket.
Effort is Important for Happiness
Without effort we couldn't be happy. Having everything handed to us and done for us would be quite miserable. In essence, when everything is easy, life can become quite boring and pointless. Funny that this is how we are sold so many products and services we don't really need. I am trying to do this by walking, biking, or skateboarding to more locations and minimize driving my expensive and super inefficient vehicle. It's not making my life harder since I absolutely hate sitting in traffic or sitting at stop-lights. Traffic and wasting gasoline brings me anxiety and frustration. It's much more fun for me to get somewhere self-powered as long as it's practical.
I also made the effort to sell some things I was no longer using. I learned Facebook Marketplace is a great way to do this in your local area. In three days I sold a washer/dryer, four used truck tires, and an emergency battery. I still have a couple things left for sale but they might be over-priced a little or just really stupid things no one really needs (like framed pictures of eagles - in very nice wooden frames though!). These things can be donated if they do not sell at a lower price.
The satisfaction I got from getting these things out of my space and earning a little extra cash was quite nice. That's gas and groceries for a month paid right there!
I also became a Costco member after doing a bit of research. I shared my membership with my business partner so that I only paid $27.50 for the entire year. Yesterday I purchased things like bulk toothpaste, body lotion, vitamins, paper products, and some food that I can freeze. This was also the first time I'd ever used coupons in my life! I searched prices online after arriving home and learned that in one trip I had already saved way more than the cost of my membership. It's important to note however that I had a shopping list and stuck to it. If you just start buying more things you don't need because they're cheap and on sale, saving money at Costco doesn't really work. I kind of think that's how the store works but you don't have to fall into that trap.
To End This Post
Let's be honest, adulting is hard. Our priorities in life can be summed up in where we spend our time and our money. I am working to be a little less autopilot so that I can maximize the awesomeness in my life and minimize unnecessary suffering. The phone, the internet, social media, and all the products and services that exist in our world can be used more judiciously. When we start to pay a little more attention to these things, we have more freedom in choosing what it is that we really want.
I am finding that I love the effort and the decrease in autopilot in my life. I am slowly improving my awareness of how I use my time. Money is a proxy for time and freedom in our culture, so each time that I save money but maintain the same awesome lifestyle, I am happier knowing I just freed up more of my time! Certainly we will need to spend money on the things we do value, like housing, healthy food, some insurance coverage, and the occasional vacation or time away from city-life, but all of us are probably spending time and money on things that are giving us zero value and happiness. Search them out and do away with those things. See where adding more effort in your life might actually bring you more happiness and fulfillment.
If you have any experiences or recommendations for me to consider, please post!
But I digress, my initial statement rings both true and naive for me at the moment.
When I say consistency, I really mean that many times we can just hit autopilot in life. Some things we do every day do not require much effort or new learning. That's okay. I don't need to meditate while balancing on one leg every time I brush my teeth. That would just be exhausting. Autopilot is probably fine for some things, like putting on my pants or washing dishes for the millionth time. Even though I am a huge proponent of meditation and being present in the moment, I am far from present most days when conducting personal hygiene activities. Just not that exciting.
Of course there are many other cases when we should be present but aren't. Like while driving. Do you ever get to your destination and you don't remember much about the trip? That always makes me feel a little sketch. Practicing being present in the moment is quite important. Like a muscle I feel that power grow stronger with practice and the occasional, "WTF Sam!" I want to share a few examples of being more present that have helped me that might also help you. Please keep in mind this is a total work in progress and not all-inclusive.
The Cell Phone Conundrum.
My phone brings me anxiety. I wouldn't admit that except for a weekend in the mountains without cell phone reception is one of the most relaxing things I could possibly do. As much as my phone brings me productivity and connection, it brings with it a lot of distraction and nonsense.
Currently I have Sprint service, unlimited talk/text/data for $70/mo. I am seriously considering changing to a plan where my data is not unlimited so that I can #1- learn to be more deliberate with why and how I spend time on my phone and #2 - save a little money. Paying for the data I actually use would encourage me to check my email and social media less often. That's my goal and now I would have a way to hold myself accountable (or else pay a stupid amount of money, to what, check my email for the thousandth time today?).
Wow, save money and have less anxiety! When my iPhone dies eventually, even though I do love the technology, I will be willing to consider switching to a different phone that allows me to use a slew of cheaper wireless companies.
Social Media, always beckoning me like Lord of the Rings, my precious!
In general, I'm starting to place more limits on my use of social media. I ditched my television because I hate advertisements, the news is nearly useless to me as a human being, and it was wasting some of my free time. But then social media became not so much a way to connect and check in with friends as a way to advertise products/services, catch up on the news, and make you feel like everyone else is on vacation all the time and you're not.
Okay, that's not exactly true. But in realizing what I do not like, I can decide for myself whether or not I want to use the tool and how I want to use the tool. As a business owner, Facebook is one of the easiest ways to get information to customers and it feels a little less violating than spamming people's emails. And we are quite a small business so...we need a Facebook page and website. I decided for my personal page I would focus on posting whatever I found helpful to the world and try like hell to not get caught up in the superfluous garbage we so easily find on the internet. Easier said than done but it's great to have goals!
So I do things like, allow myself to post any time of day but only allow myself to scroll through and consume social media at set times (and with a time limit in mind). I also blocked a crapload of people b/c consuming negativity and hatefulness doesn't really do it for me. The closer I follow my own rules, surprise, the happier I am!
Adulting and Finances
A lot of our bills and investments are on autopilot these days. This can be a great thing if you're using autopilot to make sure you always pay your future self with investments AND you're never late on your bills. That said, I noticed when I made a lot more money, I wasn't all that concerned about bargain shopping and comparing services.
Now that I live on a lower income, I realize how stupid I had been. I could easily have another 50k in the bank or in investments today had I paid just a little more attention. This massive savings would not have required me to eat ramen and beans out of the can every day (or at all). My lifestyle would have been just as awesome. What kept me from achieving this was autopilot syndrome I think.
Re-evaluating things like your car insurance, renter's or home-owners insurance, cell phone needs, and other policies like life insurance can be helpful. I am not married and I have no kids but I had TWO life insurance policies. Obviously I wasn't paying any attention to this bill every month. Last week I went back to ONE policy with the military and my mom will still get a ton of money if I die on duty. If I die off duty, I have zero debt and enough assets to pay for my funeral and several exotic overseas vacations. It was only $260/year and yet that money was a complete waste and better spent elsewhere in my life.
I raised my deductible on car insurance and gained another $140/year. As long as I avoid an insurance claim every 3 years I will save money. So far in my driving life I have never made an insurance claim but I could make one every 5 years and still save money. That sounds reasonable to me.
I also saved $20 on internet after looking at my most recent bill. I was being charged for paper billing even though I never recall opting in for paper billing. I was also being charged for a service that fixes my internet for free if something goes wrong. That's odd, my internet has been working fine since installation. One phone call and I'm keeping $20/mo extra in my pocket.
Effort is Important for Happiness
Without effort we couldn't be happy. Having everything handed to us and done for us would be quite miserable. In essence, when everything is easy, life can become quite boring and pointless. Funny that this is how we are sold so many products and services we don't really need. I am trying to do this by walking, biking, or skateboarding to more locations and minimize driving my expensive and super inefficient vehicle. It's not making my life harder since I absolutely hate sitting in traffic or sitting at stop-lights. Traffic and wasting gasoline brings me anxiety and frustration. It's much more fun for me to get somewhere self-powered as long as it's practical.
I also made the effort to sell some things I was no longer using. I learned Facebook Marketplace is a great way to do this in your local area. In three days I sold a washer/dryer, four used truck tires, and an emergency battery. I still have a couple things left for sale but they might be over-priced a little or just really stupid things no one really needs (like framed pictures of eagles - in very nice wooden frames though!). These things can be donated if they do not sell at a lower price.
The satisfaction I got from getting these things out of my space and earning a little extra cash was quite nice. That's gas and groceries for a month paid right there!
I also became a Costco member after doing a bit of research. I shared my membership with my business partner so that I only paid $27.50 for the entire year. Yesterday I purchased things like bulk toothpaste, body lotion, vitamins, paper products, and some food that I can freeze. This was also the first time I'd ever used coupons in my life! I searched prices online after arriving home and learned that in one trip I had already saved way more than the cost of my membership. It's important to note however that I had a shopping list and stuck to it. If you just start buying more things you don't need because they're cheap and on sale, saving money at Costco doesn't really work. I kind of think that's how the store works but you don't have to fall into that trap.
 |
| Just buy what you're already consuming and still need (like toilet paper and toothpaste). |
To End This Post
Let's be honest, adulting is hard. Our priorities in life can be summed up in where we spend our time and our money. I am working to be a little less autopilot so that I can maximize the awesomeness in my life and minimize unnecessary suffering. The phone, the internet, social media, and all the products and services that exist in our world can be used more judiciously. When we start to pay a little more attention to these things, we have more freedom in choosing what it is that we really want.
I am finding that I love the effort and the decrease in autopilot in my life. I am slowly improving my awareness of how I use my time. Money is a proxy for time and freedom in our culture, so each time that I save money but maintain the same awesome lifestyle, I am happier knowing I just freed up more of my time! Certainly we will need to spend money on the things we do value, like housing, healthy food, some insurance coverage, and the occasional vacation or time away from city-life, but all of us are probably spending time and money on things that are giving us zero value and happiness. Search them out and do away with those things. See where adding more effort in your life might actually bring you more happiness and fulfillment.
If you have any experiences or recommendations for me to consider, please post!
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