If you ask me the question, “what does it mean to be self-aware?” one answer that I can definitely give is: ‘it means to become aware.’ To be more specific, in order to be self-aware, we have to change our habits, routines, impulses, and reactions.
What we have to do, in order to become self-aware, is to stop being so predictable and to become more proactive. If we’re always reacting, then we have to take the initiative, if we’re always reacting, we have to take initiative to change our habits, routines, impulses, and reactions.
We can’t do that if we’re always reacting because we end up like our parents did who started to act out at a young age. It is a natural human tendency to get reactive, but we’re not to blame. We just have to make it stop.
This is usually called “stopping the auto-pilot,” and it’s one of the most important things that you can do to reduce your chances of becoming an addict. Â In order to stop the auto-pilot, you first have to recognize that you’re an addict. To stop the auto-pilot, you have to make yourself a choice to be proactive instead of reactive.
We have to recognize that we are addicts. We have to become aware of our behaviors and we have to choose to be proactive. The choice is simple, but the consequences can be dire.
The consequence of being an addict is that you’re constantly tempted, in and out of your home. You’ll do anything to keep going, anything to stay off the road. It goes without saying that we have to control our urges. If we don’t, if we make ourselves crazy over something that we don’t actually want, then we’re doomed.
Are you really addicted to some of the things we do in our homes? Perhaps you have a habit of checking your phone every five minutes, or you even keep a dog on a leash while youre in the kitchen. Maybe you have a habit of checking your fridge every five minutes, or have a habit of leaving the car running while youre at the office. These are all habits that can be controlled.
In the film, there is a conversation between Colt and an older version of himself from his past. The older Colt says, “You know, I used to be a hero,” at which point Colt is shown to be a man who has run from his own past.
Just be honest with yourself, and take a step back. You can control your own life, you can control the things that matter most to you, and you can also control the things that you can control.
Of course we don’t want to control our own lives. We don’t need to control the things that matter most to us. It’s just that, a lot of us do forget that we are in control of those things. We are so wrapped up in our own lives and the decisions we make that we forget to look in the mirror and see what a person we really are.
