Flying On Autopilot

The autopilot function was invented sometime in the early 30s to help ease the rigors of transatlantic flights for military bomber plane pilots. Any pilot today will certainly vouch for the value of this significant contribution to flight navigation. The autopilot function in life however is not quite as helpful. A plane can fly without the captain at the wheel while the autopilot is engaged. My life however, doesn’t fly so well without the captain’s hands on the wheel of my day to day excursions. It’s such an easy button to push though isn’t it? And when we put our lives on autopilot, we tend to cruise along unconsciously, thinking everything is okay. But what happens when we check back into the cockpit and find that we’re considerably off course? I hate that. It’s a chaotic feeling. It’s almost like those moments after waking up from a bad dream and trying to decide if it was real or not. There’s a better way to avoid all of that though if we’ll stay present and conscious of who should really be flying our plane. “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart,” said the writer of Proverbs. “Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) Sounds like a pretty good plan to me.

 

21 Day Challenge, Day 14

Faith is a key element in life; period. Without it, I’m not sure how anyone really makes it. Without making it religious, or political, here a few key thoughts about faith.

Just as, what you think becomes a driving force in your life, so does what you believe. If I believe (have faith in) that my car is going to start in the morning when I head out to work, then it’s not on my mind all morning as I get ready for work. I know it’s going to happen. Because I have faith that it’s going to work properly, I don’t worry about it. [I used to have an older vehicle that instilled in me less faith, so I know how that feels.]

From a larger perspective, faith in a superior being that somehow is the driving force behind life is comforting. Regardless of your religious or denominational background, it’s generally accepted that roughly 88% of the world’s population believes in God. It’s a fairly safe bet that you fall somewhere in that 88%. So why do we not look more to that source for divine guidance when we attempt a life change of some sort.

As far as I can tell, nearly all religions have the central message of God as being love. And if you love someone, you want the best for them. Therefore my conclusion is that God wants the best for us. So our faith can start there. And when we attempt to change something about our life, the next natural conclusion is to ask for help from our divine creator, and trust that he will. From a practical perspective, faith is a positive. And positive faith, trusting the loving desire from God for us, alters our outlook on the journey to change. The mere act of believing changes the physiological makeup of our brain. And a positive faith (thought life) is the key to producing productive action steps.