Shhh…

Following on from my post about productivity, I want to break down my three anchors and discuss why they work for me. Firstly, I’m not saying this is a universal thing that everybody should do to be the best. I simply want to discuss and share what I find works for me. Perhaps then you can try it for yourself or find your own anchors. The first of my three anchors is Mind, for which I practice meditation. 

Why?

A mind is a noisy place, a deceptive place, filled with self-doubt, continuous thoughts and worries. At least that’s how I feel sometimes anyway. When you’re feeling anxious about something it can sometimes completely take over your thoughts and distract you from what you need to do. There’s a great video from actor Chris Evans, discussing this very thing (Video Linked Below). He ends up giving a fantastic piece of advice that really resonated with me. Simply “Shhh…”. When you’re worried or whatever is it, just “Shhh…”. Tell your mind to be quiet.

Although I only came across this advice recently. Telling your mind to be quiet,  I feel is a very profound thing when you’re overthinking something, which we all do. It resonated so much because I have had an interest in meditation for a while now and at a base level, meditation is telling your mind, “Shhh…”. I feel this is an important thing to keep in mind when going about your day to day.

This year I have been trying to practice meditation every day. Meditation was something I was always interested in. In 2016 I actively tried to start to practice it and its effect on me was…odd. I don’t know if this is just how I remember it, romanticize it, or whatever, but, I felt awake. It felt like a cloud had been lifted off my mind and I could see clearer. I know that sounds odd. Since then I dipped in and out of it, but whenever I practice regularly I feel calmer and feel the ability to problem solve is higher. When those day to day moments of mind chaos arise, I had the power to tell my brain to calm down. At some point, I may write about the science of it because it is really interesting.

When?

Ideally, I fit this into my day as the first thing I do. Often I can wake up a little anxious about the day. Spending that time in the morning, just having that moment to myself. After I feel I can sort through the chaos can really help, set my mind frame for the day. You don’t have to do it for very long either, you can start with 1 min and work your way up. Currently, my aim is to get up to 20 mins. But I’m taking it slow to get there.

So give it a go…

Until next time friends.

Chris Evans Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKK0CIndH-Q