“Autopilot is the thoughts, emotions and behaviors that occur automatically without making a conscious choice to think, feel or act a certain way,” says Dr. William Marchand, a psychiatrist, author and mindfulness teacher. “Autopilot thinking is those famous inner scripts that run through our heads like a marathon with no end. All self-talk is autopilot unless one makes a conscious decision to imitate and continue that self-talk.”

Though these thoughts are normal, some can be less than helpful. Consequently, negative autopilot thought patterns can become a habit. This is where mindfulness comes into play.

“We all have negative autopilot thoughts. For example, ‘I’m not good enough’ is a common autopilot thought,” Marchand says. “But how do you know that you aren’t good enough? You don’t. It’s an autopilot script. And you wouldn’t be aware of this if you weren’t taking the time to be mindfully aware of your thoughts.”

Left unchallenged, negative autopilot thoughts can gain momentum. As a result, they spin out of control and create more negative self-talk.

“The more time we focus on any particular train of thought, the more energy and momentum it gathers,” says author and life coach Sharon Ballantine. “In other words, when we feel happy and keep that focus, we get happier and happier. But when we feel bad in any way and keep that focus, we feel worse by the minute until we end up miserable.”

To change this, we first need to make a conscious effort to accept the present moment, no matter what it entails.