Intentional or Just on Autopilot?

In this episode of Hell Yes Habits, Elyse Bushard discusses the importance of breaking out of autopilot and living intentionally. She emphasizes the need for self-awareness and making conscious choices that align with personal values. Elyse shares actionable tips for creating habits that foster a fulfilling life, encouraging listeners to prioritize joy and reflection in their daily routines. The conversation highlights the journey of self-improvement and the power of small, intentional changes.

Takeaways

• Ditch the just fine mindset and embrace a hell yes life.
• Living on autopilot can drain your energy and motivation.
• Intentional living means making conscious choices every day.
• Check in with yourself before diving into daily tasks.
• Choose one priority each day to focus on.
• Protect your energy by saying no to what doesn't serve you.
• Create micro moments of joy in your daily routine.
• Reflect on your day to assess alignment with your values.
• It's never too late to start living intentionally.
• Small, actionable habits can lead to significant changes.

Transcript

Elyse Bushard (00:06)
welcome to Hell Yes Habits. I'm Elyse, a marketing professional by day and your go-to coach for building the habits that create a life you can't wait to wake up to. I'm so glad you're here. This podcast is all about ditching the just fine mindset and making room for the magic in your everyday life. And let me tell you, this isn't just a podcast. It's the start of a movement, a Hell Yes Habits movement.

It's about breaking out of autopilot, showing up for yourself in ways that matter, and creating small but powerful habits that lead to a big, bold, hell yes kind of life. Each week, we'll have real, honest conversations about juggling all the things, career, relationships, family, and those moments when you just need you time. I'll share actionable tips, lessons from my own journey,

and inspiration to help you stop settling and start thriving, baby. You in?, let's do this.

Elyse Bushard (01:17)
Hello, hello. Hey friend, welcome back to Hell Yes Habits. You know what we're all about here. This is the podcast that helps you build a life that feels like a big hell yes for you. And I'm your host, Elise. If this is your first episode, welcome. If this is your 30 some episode, thank you and welcome again. And

I actually, for the first time in 33 weeks, ⁓ didn't record on a Friday because I happened to fall on the fourth and I just took the day off. I could have recorded ahead of time, yes, but I figured everyone deserved a day off even if my podcast didn't release. And so here we are, it's Saturday, it's the day after the fourth. And how are we, by the way, already in July? I don't know, but here we are.

And today, I'm just gonna dive right in because we're getting real like we always do about something that has been coming up a lot in my life, whether it be personal development I'm listening to or conversations that I'm having with people at work, in my life that I love, my friends and my family. And it's not...

like something that like I'm always aware of, but it's something that I know that once I say it, everyone will be like, yeah. And the question that like I've been sitting with when I was thinking about this podcast episode is am I being intentional or am I just on autopilot? And I think it's something to pay attention to because when we're comfortable,

our brain and our body just, it wants to repeat and do the same things. And sometimes if you're not careful, it becomes something that is just autopilot that you do all the time without actually putting purpose or intentionality behind it. And so if you've been feeling a little off and unmotivated, scattered like me, ⁓ or just straight up drained,

I want you to know that you're not alone. ⁓ And let's just talk about it, let's dive in. So first I wanna talk about the autopilot side of this, and then I'll get it into an intentionality. So like I said, I'm sure that every one of us have had those weeks where you blink and suddenly it's Friday, but you can't even remember what you did all week.

You just kind of were going through the motions and it's like your life becomes this to-do list or checklist, if you will. Like you wake up, you brush your teeth, you make your bed, you answer emails, maybe you scroll Instagram, maybe you do the laundry, ⁓ maybe you say yes to plans that you don't even wanna go to, and then you crash at night, wondering why you're so tired.

If that sounds familiar, I know that it sounds familiar to me because that is what my life is sometimes. Sometimes, and sometimes that's okay, right? We're human and we're all trying to figure out all of this stuff. But that's like the autopilot of our lives. And the sneaky part is it's not because you're doing something wrong.

It's because you're not doing things with intention. And I've been there, especially during those seasons where I'm overwhelmed and saying yes to everything and trying to do it all. But here's what I've learned, ⁓ is just because something is familiar doesn't actually mean it's

⁓ is aligned and it is intentional and it's with purpose at all. really, living in autopilot isn't living at all. It's just going through the motions. And again, sometimes it's needed. ⁓ If we've been through an overwhelming season, I noticed myself checking out and going into autopilot. And sometimes it's needed to like give ourselves a break.

But to live in that all the time is actually more draining. And who wants to live that way? Like all the time. And what I want to talk about too is like, what is intentional living really? So ⁓ the next part of this is living that intentionally. And you know when you're living aligned and intentionally because it doesn't actually mean you have every

decision every second of your day planned with like military precision. It means that you're choosing. You're choosing how to spend your time. You're choosing what matters. You're choosing how you respond instead of just reacting to what's going on in your life. And being intentional simply looks like asking things like, what do I actually want today?

and like pausing. ⁓ And then what would make me feel proud at the end of the day? Like when your head hits the pillow. Like, and these aren't usually tangible things that you can check off a to-do list. Like we all have like things that we have to accomplish either for work or for other people. But what would make you feel proud at the end of the day is usually has to do with the kind of person you are.

and how much intention you put into the things that you love and the things that bring you joy. So it's like, what do I actually want today? What would make me feel proud at the end of the day? And who do I want to pour time into? And that's another important, so it's not just what you're doing, but it's like who you're surrounding yourself with and where do you need to set a boundary if

the people that you're surrounding with aren't allowing you to live an intentional life. And really though, something important to think about is it's not about perfection in this intentional space at all. I am perfectly imperfect and I love being perfectly imperfect because perfect just sounds boring. ⁓

If you look on social media, it looks like this big, beautiful thing. really, it's not about that perfection piece. It's about just awareness. And so.

Let me give you an example of this. So ⁓ the other morning, for instance, I ⁓ realized I had jumped straight into work mode without checking in with myself at all. And this can happen a lot if I end up picking up my phone and not opening my personal development app and opening my email or a text message or something that pulls me away.

from focusing on myself and centering myself. So I like, when my morning starts started out like this, like paused like mid day and I was like, why am I already feeling so drained? And why, like, it's just being aware of these things and asking yourself these questions. And I literally said,

it out loud is like, is this how you want to feel today? And the answer was no. So I stopped what I was doing. I took a break. went outside. I worked out. I breathed and that intentional pivot changed like the entire tone of my day. And so again, it's about not perfection, but being aware when you're in those spaces.

⁓ And also just knowing what you can do to pivot that. And that just comes with practice and also being aware of what you need personally. Some people might ⁓ gravitate towards meditation or just closing their eyes and breathing and letting go of stress. ⁓ That's another thing that I've been

trying to do more of is let go when I'm feeling stra- when I am feeling frustrated and being intentional about ⁓ the person I want to be and when I start feeling like I'm getting frustrated I'm like why am I getting so frustrated? And like almost like keep asking myself until I figure out the root reason and then I'm like duh I picked up my phone this morning and it was the first thing

that I saw was a work message about this client that was, and that's what I started my day with. Like, it's crazy. the effect that that can have when I don't do my norm, when I'm not intentional about my morning routine. You have to, and it takes effort, and it takes practice, and it's not gonna be perfect every day, and you're gonna slip. So let's talk about

Because you know we're all about habits here and habits are what fuels our hell yes life and Basically for intentional living I kind of went through a couple of these ⁓ already, but like

I wanna go through just like small doable shifts that can actually make a difference so that this can be actionable for you. And so here are five like ish hell yes habits you can start doing today to get back into that intention. Number one is check in before you check out. And what I mean by that is like before you open your phone and go to Instagram, your email or a group chat,

Take one minute and breathe and ask yourself, what do I need this morning? Because that sets the tone for you and it makes you more aware of how you're feeling. So a lot of times it's a habit. It's a habit that I wanna break, but it's a habit that I've formed to open Instagram when there's like low moments and...

usually it makes me feel worse. ⁓ Sometimes I need to check out, right? But it's being aware of those spaces. But sometimes it makes me feel worse. Like I'm already in a negative head spot. So when I go into Instagram, I immediately go into comparison mode and I'm just perpetuating this cycle of and spiral of me ⁓ comparing myself to others.

That is the headspace that should not be scrolling on Instagram. ⁓ check in before you check out. Number two is choose one priority, not 10. ⁓ So what's the thing that would make today feel like a win? And do that first. So you don't need to do all the things to feel accomplished. But like, what's the one thing that if you got done today,

it would be a win for you. Whether that is start going through your closet or I'm sitting in my closet now so that's why that is in my head. But ⁓ if it's those types of things or if it's your laundry or if it's call and make an appointment that you've been putting off forever. Like ⁓ make it or if it's working out like you're trying to build that habit so like

You worked out, check off. I like to do mine in the morning. But like it doesn't matter when you move your body. Just move your body when it fits into your schedule. And number three, so that was number two is choose one priority, 10. Number three is protect your hell yes energy. And if it's not a hell yes, it's a no. And or not or a not now.

You don't owe everyone and everything your time and energy. You just don't, plain and simple. So that's number three, protect your helliest energy. Number four is create micro moments of joy. A couple episodes ago, I talked about making a joy list. ⁓ And these are things that bring you joy that ⁓ don't make sense to anyone else but you. But creating those micro moments of joy creates

space for intentional living that isn't all like deep journaling and vision boards and taking a bath. Like those are not you. If those are your things, yes, do those. But those don't have to be like your form of self care. ⁓ It's it's things like putting on your favorite 2000s throwback, lighting a candle, making your lunch feel like a vibe.

⁓ if you took it outside or changed your environment or went to a park ⁓ and making joy like intentional in your life. And again, takes effort, right? You see a trend here. Not a lot of effort, but a little effort. And then number five is reflect before bed. So ask yourself, did I live aligned with what mattered today? If not, no shame, just reset tomorrow.

It's a journey. It's not if you fail or if you quote unquote fail, you should stop. It takes effort. It's ongoing. But like living intentional, like you know the days where you've had a good day because you've lived intentional versus a day where you just got a bunch of other stuff done that you're like, I'm so exhausted. But none of that filled my cup up at all. You know, you know those days.

And I know some of you are like, I don't have time to do this. I'm not talking about overhauling your current life. What I am talking about is creating small moments of intentionality that will add up. ⁓ So again, these are number one was check in before you check out. Number two is choose one priority, not 10.

Number three is protect your hell yes energy. Number four is create micro moments of joy. And number five is reflect before bed. ⁓ Those are things that I continuously work on. And again, not perfect. I wanna keep honing on on this. I don't want anyone to listen to this and feel like I am above them in any sort of way, or form.

⁓ This is something I constantly work on. And this past week, it could have been better if I'm gonna like, I was not living intentionally at all. I was just going through the motions and it feels like crap when I am just doing a bunch of things for other people and nothing for myself and not making decisions for myself and not like taking control of your life of the things that you can control.

There's a lot that we can't, right? But like, it's so important. So to kind of wrap this up, it is not, it's never too late to be intentional. And if you've been stuck in feeling like you're on autopilot, that doesn't actually mean you failed at all. Again, I catch myself still in moments of autopilot, but it's that awareness piece. ⁓

And it just means that it's time to wake up to what you actually want and create that intentionality again in your life, in whatever season you're in. And you're allowed to rewrite your day, your story, this hour, your timeline at any point, no matter if you're 20 or 70.

And you don't need a new month, a Monday, or a milestone to do that. You don't need to wait for your birthday. You don't need, like, you just need a moment of awareness in your life and the willingness to do something differently. So just ask yourself, am I living in an intentional way that fills me up? Am I living in a way that brings me joy?

And if not, like, let's do some small tweaks and do things differently. Let me leave you with this, okay? Because I know I've said a lot in this episode, but what would you, what would today look like if you were intentional with your time, your energy, and your choices? What would today look like if you were intentional with your time, your energy,

and your choices. Not perfect. I'm not saying perfect again. Not packed with things to do. That's again a to-do list. That's not what we're looking for. Just living on purpose and being intentional about living on purpose.

All right, thank you again for hanging out with me today. ⁓ Again, I'm sorry this wasn't released on a Friday. The holiday just fell on a Friday. But if this episode hit home with you, I would love to hear. ⁓ I'd love to hear what resonated with you and share it with a friend. Send this link to a friend to listen to. I love when the podcast grows. love... ⁓

I love to hear what your biggest takeaway is and how you're planning to live more intentionally. Cause we're all in this journey together and we're all building a hell yes life together. And if you're listening to this, thank you again. And ⁓ if you haven't already also hit follow ⁓ so you don't miss next week's episode. yeah, ⁓ until next time, let's go live on purpose.

Go find joy, your joy, not someone else's, but your joy. And as always, say, let's all create these helly-ass habits that create this helly-ass life that you're building right now when you're listening to this. Thank you, friends, and happy Fourth of July weekend, or just weekend, depending on where you're listening.