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It's quite interesting to me when I think about it. How much control does someone have over their own actions? Do they really know what they're saying/doing? For me, I remember actually turning my life off auto-pilot mode when I was walking down a hall in 9th grade and thought, "what if I think about everything I say before I say it? Then I won't embarrass myself or say anything stupid or offensive".
Granted, I often have my autopilot mode running during most times of the day in school still (since everything is so boring that it would be a waste not to auto-pilot through the day). But sometimes my autopilot lasts me the whole day. When you are with friends who you can casually talk with without worrying about offending them, you will probably most likely have AP turned on. I know it's turned on for me when I'm chatting with my friends over Xbox. I don't really think about things before I say them, they just come out.
Sometimes I can't tell if it's turned on or not. I don't even know if AP is turned on right now as I'm writing this. I'm supposed to be writing an oral report for the Canterbury Tales for English class right now, but I didn't want to forget about this topic before putting it in writing. I suppose that level of forethought perhaps makes me not in AP, but I guess I'll never really know (not that it matters that much right now). My AP mode just makes me function in life normally without much thought. I don't have to worry about getting a low grade in something or not getting work completed on time because AP won't allow me to. I know I'll get the work done. I always have in the past. My work ethic is far too important to me to allow me to not get something turned in on time.
But I've just thought about it now too. Does anyone else consciously know about their autopilot? Do others have this strange ability to just walk through life, without much thought, doing things that they are told to do? Or do people have to analyze everything they do and say, well in advance before they say it?
 
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Autopilot has fucked me over more times than I can count. I've really come to hate it.
I have a remarkable ability to say abnormal/socially inappropriate things, so I have to think about what I say. Problem is, when I think about what I say, I'm pretty good at saying things. So I say more things, and laugh, and have fun, and let my guard down. Then, I stop thinking about what I'm saying, autopilot kicks in and I say something horrible and/or retarded. Doesn't ruin me or anything, but it has made me facepalm so many times I'm surprised I don't have a hand-shaped dent on my face.
Good times.
I wish I could stop autopiloting, but you can't think about two things at once. Basically, when you're daydreaming at work, you cannot simultaneously analyze your thought processes and realize that you are daydreaming and should get back to work whilst still daydreaming. Your train of thought must instead happen upon the realization that you are daydreaming in the midst of your day dreams.
That cannot consciously be controlled. Sure, you can use indirect methods to build habits and restructure your brain in such a way that coming across that realization is easier, and some people may find that they can snap out of autopilot easier than others, but you cannot, independent of your autopilot thought process, realize that you are on autopilot and cancel out the autopilot mode.
On a side note, talking about more complex topics is a pain for me in text-based, relatively one-way communication. I find that choosing the phrasing is exceptionally difficult, and questions such as "What the fuck are you even saying?" cannot be easily and quickly answered.
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Yeah, this happen to a lot of people, just ask anyone that does a lot of high way driving, everyone has a story about passing their exit because they were on autopilot. Most people refer to this as "going through the motions". I think there is a large majority that are often stuck in autopilot, a good tip is to constantly ask yourself whats real. This way you define your reality and become more conscious of your actions and decisions.
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Hmm personally I have never thought of myself as ever being on autopilot. I know what I want and I take steps to achieve them so whatever I do, no matter how weird it is achieves a purpose in my eyes
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Interesting that you bring this up, as it's something I've thought about for a good amount of time. I'm curious if anyone can relate to these three distinct levels. Obviously the wording is going to be very subjective, but I'll try to convey what I mean as best as I can.
1) AP- As you say, going through the motions, not thinking, just acting.
2) Paying Attention- So obviously everyone can relate to this in some form. It's where you step back for a second, and say "I have to concentrate", or when you are thinking about some really complex issue. The standard "paying attention". I also think this is what the OP refers to as self-awareness, but that's not how I would have described it (again, subjective vocabulary for in-mind experiences ftl).
3) Self-awareness- This isn't just thinking hard about something, or really concentrating. It's a qualitatively higher stage. It's when I look out of my eyes, and feel the "me", the entity that is separate from my body. I don't just have councious thoughts- I watch them, I feel them. I'm not just thinking- I'm realizing that I'm thinking, and listen to my thinking from the perspective of a detached third person. I'm not auto-pilot thinking; I'm concious thinking. I don't even have to hear words of thoughts in my head. It's just a completely different state of mind.
That last one is obviously the one that I have the most trouble expressing. Anyone else get that, or at least understand what I'm saying? :D
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I wish I was on auto pilot more often, I think about anything and everything that comes my way. I have to look down when I walk down the street because the sheer volume of data coming at me gives me a headache. The cars/people/litter/buildings and then the design of each they way it is being drived or how people are interacting.
For years I suffered from terrible headaches and at my worst I got migraines almost daily. The stress of such thinking is too much for the brain to handle on a daily process, in this regard auto-pilot is great for day to day things like walking to the next class.
2 years ago I bought a rubix cube and mastered how to solve it to the point where I dont even remember the algorithms so I go on auto-pilot. It is my way of switching off and also just listening to the same music daily lets me stay in this auto-pilot state. Haven't had a migraine since but I still do get some major headaches.
Personally I think we need a good balance between the two states of mind and also when to apply each one.
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EPT
