Staying Awake to Life: How to Stop Moving Through the Motions and Start Truly Living
There was a time when I felt like life was happening to me, not through me.
I was checking all the right boxes—doing meaningful work, showing up for people, handling responsibilities—but something felt off. Not in a dramatic, crisis kind of way, but in the way that makes you pause one day and wonder:
When did life start feeling so routine?
I wasn’t sad. I wasn’t burned out. But I was numb.
It hit me one morning when I was sipping coffee and scrolling through my phone, barely tasting what was in my cup, barely noticing the sun rising outside my window.
That’s when I realized: I had stopped paying attention.
Somewhere along the way, I had started existing instead of living.
I had let the days blur together.
I had let wonder take a back seat to productivity.
I had started coasting instead of truly being here.
And I don’t want to live that way.
I don’t want to look back years from now and realize I slept through my own life.
I want to be awake for it.
How Life Slowly Slips Into the Ordinary
Nobody sets out to live on autopilot.
But it happens—slowly, gradually, until one day, we realize we’re just going through the motions.
We wake up, go to work, run errands, scroll, check emails, binge a show, go to bed—and repeat.
And while there’s nothing wrong with routine, something in us starts to fade when we stop noticing the beauty in the ordinary.
It’s like we’re waiting for life to start—for the next big trip, the next relationship, the next exciting chapter.
But in doing that, we miss the fact that this—this normal, everyday moment—is life.
And if we don’t pay attention, it will slip by unnoticed.
How to Wake Up to Life Again
If you’ve ever found yourself just getting through the days, rather than experiencing them, here’s what I’ve been practicing to pull myself back into the moment.
1. Stop Rushing Through the Small Stuff
Most of life isn’t made up of big, defining moments—it’s made up of a thousand small, ordinary ones.
The problem is, we rush through them.
We eat while scrolling.
We listen without really hearing.
We spend time with people while our minds are somewhere else.
But when we start noticing—really noticing—life comes alive again.
The way steam rises from your coffee.
The way your child’s voice sounds when they’re telling a story.
The way a song feels different when you actually listen to the lyrics.
If we want to stop feeling like life is passing us by, we need to stop rushing through it.
2. Do More Things That Make You Forget to Check Your Phone
When was the last time you got lost in something?
When you looked up and realized an hour had passed, and you hadn’t even thought about checking a screen?
For me, those moments usually happen when I’m:
Walking outside without a destination.
Sitting with someone I love, talking about nothing and everything.
Writing something that actually means something to me.
These are the moments where life feels full.
But they don’t happen by accident—we have to create space for them.
Pick up a hobby that isn’t tied to productivity.
Go somewhere new, just for the sake of experiencing it.
Get outside without headphones, without a podcast, without a distraction.
Find the things that make time disappear.
Then do more of them.
3. Say Yes to the Things You’ve Been Putting Off
We always think we have more time.
We assume we’ll get around to the things we really want to do someday.
But life moves fast. And too often, we wait until it’s too late to do the things that truly matter.
The trip you’ve been thinking about taking? Book it.
The friend you keep meaning to catch up with? Call them.
The thing you’ve been wanting to create? Start it.
Stop waiting for life to be perfect before you start living it.
Because the perfect time? It’s right now.
4. Feel More, Even When It’s Uncomfortable
I used to avoid big feelings.
If something was sad, I distracted myself.
If something was uncertain, I tried to control it.
If something was uncomfortable, I numbed it.
But the more I do this work—the more I sit with people at the end of their lives—the more I realize:
I don’t want to live half-alive.
I don’t want to avoid sadness just because it’s uncomfortable.
I don’t want to hold back joy because I’m afraid it won’t last.
I don’t want to live so cautiously that I miss the fullness of being human.
If something makes you cry, let it move you.
If something makes you laugh, lean into it.
If something makes your heart race, pay attention.
Because feeling everything—the hard, the beautiful, the unexpected—that’s what makes life real.
Stay Awake to Your Life
We don’t get a second chance at this.
We don’t get to rewind and relive the moments we missed because we were too distracted, too numb, too focused on what’s next.
We only get now.
And I don’t want to sleepwalk through it.
I don’t want to look back and realize I was so busy getting through the days that I forgot to live them.
I want to be awake for my life.
I want to notice the ordinary magic woven into each day.
I want to live with curiosity, with presence, with the kind of attention that makes even the smallest moments feel holy.
Because that’s the thing about life.
It’s not something we have to do.
It’s something we get to do.
And I never want to stop seeing it that way.
Shareable Thought:
"Life isn’t something we have to do. It’s something we get to do. Don’t sleepwalk through it—wake up and live." 🌿 #StayPresent #LiveFully #WakeUpToLife
For more reflections on mindfulness, presence, and meaningful living, visit genequiocho.com.
