It’s tempting in our 24/7 world of rolling news, access to the entire world online, and social media that never sleeps, to get caught into a trap of constant busy-ness. I wanted to share my thoughts and tips on the practice of slowing down, to guide you in doing less to feel happier.
Feeling like you’re always on the go, having to fill every second of the waking day with doing things. As we get promoted in our careers, meet partners, have families, the constant activity never seems to cease. Bouncing from one thing to the next without pausing or taking stock or even thinking about why we are doing it. They don’t call it the Rat Race for nothing. We’re like rats on wheels, mindlessly going round and round until either our physical health fails, or our mental exhaustion forces us to stop.
The problem with all the activity is that wherever you go, whatever you do, you are still the same person with the same thoughts, the same mind. You can’t outrun yourself. All that happens is that you squash down feelings rather than dealing with them, you make yourself physically and mentally ill and you still have the same underlying feelings that you don’t like. Like Jon Kabat Zinn talks about this in his book, ‘Wherever you go, there you are.’ He explains the benefit of Mindfulness Meditation, and that the route to true peace and happiness is to slow down and act more mindfully. It’s one thing to say it and another thing to actually bring this way of living into our lives.
Sometimes the endless activity is created by us, because subconsciously, we are afraid to stop. After all, what if we don’t like the person that we are when we start to look inside. Far preferable to ignore that and go out, ticking the next thing off our to-do lists, or out with friends, or down to the pub. It’s the same reason people say that they don’t like to meditate, because their thoughts are noisy and active and they can’t imagine sitting with them. They prefer to create activity and be busy to push away unpleasant thoughts, they are secretly afraid of boredom and mental clear space, because it’s uncomfortable to have the thoughts come in.
The reason that the Buddhist Monks seem blissed out and happy, is that they have come to terms with their inner world, they practice training their minds to accept things as they are, not as they want them to be, they still have feelings, but they practice observing the feeling and not being swept along by it.
They react less to them as a result. That’s not to say that they don’t do things, but they do them mindfully, intentionally. Being with the present moment. I’m not suggesting that we all need to become Monks, but I do think there is a lot to be learned from the practice of slowing down and focusing mindfully on one thing at a time.
More and more people are starting to get rid of smart phones, because they recognise they are a drain on our inner resources and a distraction from ‘real life’. They are designed to give you a dopamine hit and they are addictive.
Do you feel overwhelmed?
Do you feel out of control?
Do you feel like you’re constantly chasing your tail?
Do you feel you’re not actually happy or content?
I can help with all these feelings and help you discover WHY you’re experiencing these feelings. In turn I can eliminate these feelings and transform your life.
You can learn more about what my client’s say here. You can book a free discovery call with me to see if we are a good match for me to help you.
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In the meantime, try a short digital detox.
Leave your phone at home and go for a walk outside. Begin to notice what you see around you. Look at the clouds, and think of the clouds like the thoughts in your mind.
Just like thoughts, the clouds pass over, they are there, and then they shift and move with the wind. Imagine that you are the sky and your thoughts, feelings and emotions are the clouds. I love this analogy as it describes to me the feeling of ‘being with’ my feelings, and then allowing them to pass over me and float away, leaving me with a clear sky……and calm.