Can’t get in Action? Slay the Racing Thoughts First
Julian added: “The sages taught me that on an average day the average person run about sixty thousand thoughts through his mind. What really amazed me, though, was that ninety five percent of those thoughts were the same as the ones you thought the day before!”
“Worry drains the mind of much of its power and, sooner or later, it injures the soul. To live life to the fullest, you must stand guard at the gate of your garden and let only the very best information enter. You truly cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought — not even one.”
―Robin Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
I quake the vital fluid and get up to ditch my torpefied body and debilitated mind. I make a war with the myriad of thoughts and make peace for the day, every single day.
There are days when every chunk of my body commands me to move, to make progress, to fulfill and to be functional. But the demons in my neurons are powerful and intimidating. They don’t allow me to side-slip from under the covers and keep hold of me until I mourn and become helpless.
One after the other, they race. The stories of failures, they remember the most. The self-condemnation for not yielding yesterday; or may be the line-up of checklists, all unchecked in a long time.
No one on the orb we live on has a sole agenda for the lifetime. We all juggle with the multitude of never ending responsibilities, goals, problems, engagements, assignments, as small as cleaning the table, and as huge as getting elected. They don’t come as a gift but we consciously build them; for ourselves. And we build them because we are aware we are capable of controlling the undertakings.
One leaves home because he knows he can survive. One gets married because he knows he can take the ups and downs of a relationship and build a family. One takes a job because he knows he can do what’s expected. One runs because he believes his muscles have the potential.
All we strive for is to never stop the action and keep getting better. And for this to effectuate, slay the racing thoughts! Because the thoughts of worry and contrition are the exemplary ingredients to the recipe of self-destruction. Do not disgrace yourself; because you are doing a lot. Our minds can be our biggest enemies if flipped against us.
Subjugate your mornings
Mornings are the most efficient and productive part of the day. True. But they are also home to the most painful agonies. When there is a lot going on in the head, it is quite easy to abandon everything else. Abandon the bed instead. My rule is,
Do anything but lie down in bed, thinking. Because once you are out, there is blood rushing through your nerves and your thoughts constrict to “what’s next?” from “what’s tomorrow, and this month, and this year and maybe 20 years from now”. And before you realize, you are already in action; brewing coffee, reading news, talking, listening, doing things that matter for now and today.
Wield the power of analysis
Stop overthinking. It is good to contemplate but only till it gets you in action; because beyond that, there is penitence and numbness. For a fact that we all know, we are not computers and our brains are not hard drives. Although the memory is infinite, the files are not static. They change and get replaced with a speed comparable to per nanosecond.
It looks quite a work, but do you really believe it is harder than repenting over under-performance for hours? Separate the tangled strings of problems and checklists. Because checklists are tasks under your control; waiting to be checked. Keeping both of ’em stuck together would clinch none. Problems require evaluation. Write the possible solutions and execute. For things you can’t help today, wait for the right time to arrive.
Every time worry acquires the mind, these writings will render extreme forces to pull you out from the turmoil of excessive brain hammering. And you will always know what’s there to be done and what’s there to feel proud of. Remember, an action without a plan, often strays and get lost.
Accomplish what satiates most, first
I had the imbecile habit to procrastinate righteously, to save time and save more time and wait for the best time of the day, to begin with the inevitable. Writing is important to me, more than anything I would do on a regular day. If I forsake it, I die in compunction. But sometimes, I get reckless. I put it off for things as trivial as repairing a leaking tap and cleaning the shoes. And then, do I find the best time? Never. The chances to get started fade and eventually plunge with the setting Sun.
Now that you have a plan on paper, the next step would be to organize it in the descending order of significance. This step is more crucial for a day’s plan. The indispensable on the top is what is to be completed first. No matter how herculean it is; no matter how much time it will consume and no matter how much sweat and blood flows; commence and conclude; before anything else. This is the elixir for winning. This triumph would be so piquant, everything else on the platter would be a frolic.
Don’t save the time, spend it. Stop brooding. Don’t let the long list petrify. More exigent the list is, more royal the accomplishments are.
“When I am busy, I do everything. And when I am not busy, I do nothing. Literally.”
