In a world that moves at lightning speed, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. We find ourselves rushing from one task to another, and constantly juggling multiple responsibilities. But amidst this chaos, have you ever stopped to ask yourself – are you actually in control here?
For most of us, the answer is no. We’re dictated by our internal programs and often don’t even realize why we’re doing what we do. You might just be running on autopilot, without a deeper awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and actions.
This is the trap of unconscious living, and it’s a rampant problem in today’s world. Not just because it leads you nowhere, but because it’s a deeply unfulfilling state to be in.
If you want to live a wholesome life, it’s essential to bring awareness into everything you do. Live consciously by steering the course of your life in a direction that serves your growth.
Whether you’re going about your daily tasks or eating a meal, every moment offers the opportunity to be present with the experience. As we’ve become conditioned to life on the go, living consciously has become somewhat of a lost art.
That’s why I’m going to teach you how to resurrect this lost art form in this article, which will create space for a more wholesome life experience.
What does it mean to live consciously?
Living consciously is to be mindful about every action you make, and to be present with each experience you have. It’s to live deliberately, and in a way that aligns with your highest interests.
Therefore, living consciously is the act of bringing awareness, thought, and consideration to your decisions rather than making them out of habit. It extends to every aspect of your life, such as your relationships, career, lifestyle, and feelings.
The practice of living consciously is related to living mindfully. To learn more about mindful living, follow the link below:
Why is it important to live consciously?
Let’s be honest. Most of the time we’re just doing things out of habit without really thinking about why we do them. We just do them because they’re normal patterns, and there are a million other things on our minds.
Since we have become accustomed to such a fast pace of life, we forget to be present with the experiences we’re having, which is what life’s about. Your awareness of how you’re living allows you to live life in a better way, that leads to your growth and wellbeing.
Think about it. How often do you watch a show or scroll on social media while you’re eating a meal? How often are you thinking about something else when you’re talking to a friend, working, or going for a walk?
You might find that your mind is always separated from your body. And that’s what living consciously is about: Bringing it all back to the present moment, and allowing yourself to be here in the now without distracting yourself.
So when you live consciously, you live more fully. You’re present with the experience you’re having, and that allows you to make better decisions rather than acting unconsciously.
Instead of always being caught in your mind and acting on impulse, you take time to consider everything you’re doing by living in a way that promotes growth.
Is there a difference between being awake and living consciously?
Being awake, at least in a spiritual sense refers to a higher state of awareness of oneself and reality, and the self-realization that we are spiritual beings in human bodies. In this sense, waking up is a spiritual phenomenon. You can learn more about that here:
Living consciously on the other hand refers to how you interact with yourself and the world around you.
Even though someone who is awake will usually live more consciously than someone who isn’t awake, there is no direct correlation. Being awake is a state of awareness while living consciously regards your actions and behaviors.
What does it mean to live unconsciously?
Unconscious living is to live passively. It’s to run on autopilot without being present with the experience you’re having, or being aware of the decisions you’re making. Instead, you’re just doing them because they feel normal to you.
Living unconsciously is to lack self-awareness. It’s the autopilot mode people tend to get stuck in where life happens to them, and they have no awareness of it. This is to be dictated by your unconscious programs without the realization that you’re run by them.
Unconscious people usually spend their entire lives dealing with the same obstacles, because there is no desire to overcome them. So instead, they go in circles and continue experiencing the same painful things in their lives. more about that below.
Unconscious people don’t look at themselves or reflect on their life experiences. They tend to blame external circumstances rather than their own decisions, due to their lack of self-awareness.
Until we reach a point of self-awareness where we’re forced to look into who we are and why we do the things we do, we remain dictated by our unconscious programs, and as a result, live unconscious lives.
How to live more consciously
Are you living consciously? It’s time to really look into if you are or not, and where you could use some improvement.
Below are some prompts to think about. Take this seriously, and be honest with yourself. If you haven’t really thought about one of the questions, make sure you give it some consideration. This will only help you grow as a person, and bring new possibilities into your existence.
With everything said, it’s important to stay consistent with your practices and to apply the information in this article. Living consciously isn’t a switch that you just turn on. It’s an everyday act and a lifestyle that you need to cultivate.
- Are you living congruently with your values?
- Do you think critically about your life?
- How often do you reflect?
- Are you aware of your actions and behaviors, and why you have them?
- Are you continuously working on yourself?
- How often do you multitask?
- Do you take full responsibility for your decisions?
- Do you act on impulse, or think before you do?
- Do the things you do add value to your life?
- What is your living condition like?
- Are you living the life you actually want to live?
- Do you constantly have issues in your relationships?
- How present are you in day to day life?
- Do you have strong intentions for your life?
- Do you have plans for your life?
- Are the reasons why you want to do something dependent on other influences?
- Do you neglect self care?
💵 Be conscious with your spending
It’s extremely easy to be unconscious with spending. This is something that so many of us lose the ball with because we unconsciously spend on things that don’t give us value.
I’m not saying that you have to be frugal, but consider each purchase before you make it, and ask yourself whether it’s actually in your best interest. You can still have fun and enjoy your money, after all what’s it for if you can’t enjoy it? But focus on buying things that actually improve your life.
You could spend a hundred dollars on a drunken night out which could be some fun. But you could spend that same hundred dollars on a course that benefits your life. Likewise, you can buy lots of junk food, or you can invest that money into a healthier lifestyle.
On the other hand, you might have all these tedious subscription fees for services you never really use. Essentially your bank is leaking, but you’re not conscious of it to plug up those holes.
So think about what you’re purchasing, and if there’s something else you should be using that money on. Tidy up your spending, cut back, and redirect it towards things that actually improve your life.
🕜 Be conscious about your time
Do you tend to waste away your time procrastinating? Are you constantly scrolling on social media, watching shows, and playing games? Assess how you’re using your time, and ask yourself whether you’re using it wisely.
Time is the most valuable asset in our lives because it can’t be replenished. Therefore it’s important to be conscious about how you use your time each day, and to really think about what you’re using it for.
For the most part, are you investing your time into productive activities that move the needle in your life? Because if you’re not, you’re just robbing yourself with temporary satisfaction.
So strive to use your time more wisely. There are a million things you could be doing that will actually benefit your life.
You don’t always need to be doing something productive. This will lead to burnout. But you should be regularly using your time to work towards bigger things in life, whether it’s a better career, a happy family, a great lifestyle, or an avocation that can make the world a better place.
Get into the habit of leveraging your time, and make sure you’re using it to progress your life in some way. If you’re wasting it away on activities that don’t even make you feel good, be aware that you’re doing it, and change.
❤️ Be conscious in your relationships
To live consciously in a relationship, you need to be aware of your partner’s needs, and the relationship dynamics. There should be acknowledgement and respect, and you should always be aware of what you’re doing and how it affects the other person.
When people are living unconsciously in relationships, those relationships tend to break down. They tend to only think about themselves which leads to a lack of acknowledgement and regard for the other person.
It’s important to resolve conflicts early and to be aware of one another’s boundaries.
But living consciously doesn’t only apply to romantic relationships, it applies to all of your relationships. It starts by being aware of other people’s needs and wants, and learning how to navigate social interactions skillfully.
🍏 Be conscious about your health
The choices you make regarding your health are important. It’s easy to let ourselves go and barely think about what our bodies need.
So think about how conscious you are when it comes to your health. Do you tend to neglect your physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual health? Health is a whole lot more than just your physical body, you can read the article below to look into it.
What’s important is to build your lifestyle around nourishing yourself and finding a balance. If you’re constantly eating junk, never exercising, swallowing your emotions, and watching TV, of course, you’re going to feel like shit.
That’s because you’re completely neglecting your health. You need to be conscious of these four elements of health and work on each of them to be at your best. Think about the following:
- What is your diet like?
- Do you get enough sleep?
- Do you exercise?
- How much coffee or alcohol do you drink>
- Do you take care of your mental health?
- Do you have a lifestyle that encourages fitness?
- Are you nourishing your spiritual body?
Start making better decisions regarding your health, and take action.
🤝 Be conscious about your decisions
Do you think about everything you do before you do it, or do you make decisions out of habit? Do you consider where that decision might lead you, and what outcome it may have?
After all, your decisions create your life. If you’re making unconscious decisions, you might wonder why your life didn’t turn out the way you expected. If you are conscious of your decisions, then you are always moving in a positive direction.
For a broader picture, living consciously means to live your life in a way that aligns with your higher values. Use your values as a compass and make decisions based on your values. After all, as long as you refine your values and base decisions on them, you can’t be led astray.
If you value spending time with family, then weigh that up when you’re at a crossroads between going on a lucrative work trip or staying at home with the people you care about. If you value adventure, make decisions that facilitate an adventurous life rather than settling for a comfortable yet vanilla life.
Refine what is important to you, and make sure the decisions you make on a day to day basis revolve around the bigger picture.
🏡 Be conscious about your environment
The sorts of environments that you spend your time in make a big impact on the overall quality of your life. So to live consciously, you want to assess the environments you spend your time in and the people you spend your time around.
For example, if you’re in a toxic relationship, or perhaps a living situation that doesn’t serve your highest interest without being aware of it and striving to change it, then you’re not living consciously.
If you hang around people who are no good for you, whether they are bad influences, energy vampires, or simply just don’t make you feel good, then you need to change it up.
Maybe you’re living a lifestyle that you just don’t resonate with at all, but you keep doing it because you haven’t considered other possibilities.
You need to be conscious about where you are in life and what sort of settings you are in because your set and setting really do make an impact. So make sure you’re around positive influences who bring you up, not unconscious people who suck you dry.
👁️ Live with intent
Ultimately, living consciously is to live your life with intentions. When you have intentions about where you want to go, what you want to do, and what you want your life to look like, it gives you a sense of direction.
So really think about what you want out of life, and where these desires come from. Hold your intentions close and use them to pave the path forward, knowing that there’s a reason why you’re doing what you’re doing.
If you’re in a relationship, think about your intentions for that relationship. Can you see a future with that person? Do you want to start a family with them?
Think about your intentions for your career moving forward. Do you see yourself climbing the ladder, or changing it up? Do you intend to buy land and have a nice place, or are you looking to have an adventurous life and perhaps live in a different country?
As you can see, it’s important to know what you want with life, as a way to know where you’re heading. As I’ve always been told, live with intentions but not expectations.