Definition: The soul-crushing autopilot mode where you mechanically perform daily tasks—like your job, basic hygiene, or pretending to care about small talk—while your internal enthusiasm has fully flatlined. You’re physically present but mentally checked into a void, sustained only by caffeine and existential dread.
This isn’t laziness; it’s advanced emotional resignation. You’re trapped in a psychological limbo between quitting entirely and needing to survive, performing life like a dispassionate marionette. The spark is dead, replaced by the hollow echo of routine and the quiet relief of knowing you only have 12 more years until freedom.
Example:
She mechanically typed reports, her internal enthusiasm flatlined, sustained only by bitter coffee and the dread of another pointless meeting.
—
He performed basic hygiene and listened to small talk like a dispassionate marionette, trapped in the hollow echo of routine until the shift ended.