Noise, thoughts, distractions, procrastination’s………. It’s always 100 miles an hour! If it’s not we feel lost. Busy busy busy, go go go, I’ve personally found myself spinning out of control at times and feel like I’ve been lost in technology. How many times do you sit down to watch TV or a movie and find yourself playing on your phone and not even watching the movie? What about the times when you’re on your phone multitasking from Instagram to facebook and downloading a new app to play with to then only find yourself forgetting what it is you were actually doing in the first place?
Let’s agree it can be freaking crazy if we let it be! All these applications and resources that make our lives not only easier and potentially more profitable are also the biggest distraction. They risk us really getting to know the most important person and soul in the world, YOU! Ask yourself this, when was the last time you sat down with a clear mind and just thought, and breathed? I know some of you are amazingly skillful and have mindfulness as a daily habit and I applaud you for it but for the general population, it’s never!
Personally the only time I get to spend by myself away from kids, business or anything else that is going on is usually the toilet! I’ve even managed to screw that up by playing on my phone most occasions. But why is it even important? Why be on your own? Getting to know yourself on a deep personal level will broaden your ability to know what is a right and wrong discussion in life, it’s the time where you can reflect on past experiences and future plans without any judgement or conflicting pressure from other sources.
Spending 10 minutes a day on yourself, will leave you feeling revived and driven while in control of your direction. When doing so ensure you have no distractions around you, close your eyes and just breathe. Let your mind wonder and take you on a journey. For many this will be hard, I personally can’t sit still for 3 minutes without twitching or thinking what I need to do next. If you’re like me you need this even more.
It may take time to build up to 10 minutes without your mind wondering to job lists and school pick up but that’s fine, progress is success! Check out https://www.headspace.com/ for some great guided meditation for regular mindfulness sessions.
We all (or definitely should) care for physical self through physical training and know our bodies need maintenance, our brain is no different and needs that attention also. Mental health along with obesity is by far the fastest growing health issue in the Australia. My favorite mindfulness actives aren’t as simple as putting myself in a room for 10 minutes and switching off, I wish it was that easy for myself although I’m on my way to getting it under wraps.
I often use the breath technique founded by Wim Hof, his work can be found at http://www.wimhofmethod.com/
Goal and outcome manifestation, creating a deep belief in what it is you want in life and reminding yourself daily of this path will guide you to a better you. A great leader in this field is http://www.proctorgallagherinstitute.com/
Make yourself spend a forced period of time on your own where you don’t have any other option than to think and enjoy time by yourself, whether that’s getting dropped off 5 kms from home without a phone or a dollar in your pocket to make your own way home, or the more enjoyable experience floating!
Now this may take a session or two to really be able to release your tension and thoughts though once you have found the “sweet spot” it then takes much less time to be one with yourself. I often find ideas and clarity in life comes rushing to me while all the small petty issues from day to day seem to just float away.
With so much media embedded into our daily lives it’s hard to process it all, find time regularly to force the issue to switch off from technology and anything else distracting in your life and ideally all negative thought. You will then truly start to work out who you are and where you should be going.
I recently wrote a piece on my experience on being able to change my outlook on life, it’s again another piece in the puzzle to having an amazing life
