- marlienligtenberg
How to deal with a restless mind
My favorite meditations on Headspace are 'Restlessness' and 'Finding focus.'
That reflects the default status of my brain. I don't know about you, but my mind is restless all the time. Sometimes I wonder if I am the only one with the attention span of a goldfish. Some days, a busy brain is a flow of creativity that results in awesome ideas. But more often, the restlessness is withholding me from focus.
Clear to do's but no focus
When I am restless in an unproductive way, I end up spending a lot of time (way to much time) on things I actually didn't prioritize. And mind you, I have an enormous Trello-list with all realistic and small to do's. And I also have very clear goals for every day, week and month. I became quite good at planning over the years. Very nice and all that, but it is no guaranty that I will do what I intended. And at the end of the day, I don't feel productive! If you have the same, let me share how I deal with my restless mind.
How to go from restless to focus
I basically have these Headspace meditations on repeat. What I learn there is this:
I can keep my mind the way it is. It's just how the mind works, it triggers on instant thoughts and feelings. If I get mad for being restless and, in my eyes, very unproductive, then I will be even more restless and inefficient. I don't have to change my brain to deal with this.
I only have to change my reaction to restlessness. Instead of wanting to get rid of it, there is only one thing I have to do.
That is: noticing that it is a bit restless. ''Ah, a new thought.'' ''Okay, here is a feeling popping up.'' Noticing. Not changing it, not following it up. Not doing a new task. Notice the thought or feeling... and let go.
And then gently bringing my focus back to the task I was doing.
Eat, sleep, notice, repeat
I need to do this a lot. On some restless days; literally almost every hour. And honestly, sometimes that is a bit tiring. Then I just wish my brain was different. But if I want that focus and flow, and a rewarded feeling at the end of the day, this just works very well. So it's about doing a little step back, noticing your relentlessness, and going back to the focus again. That helps to go forward.
Good luck, I am so curious if this works for you and if it helps you to experiment with this!