The joys of slowing down

On reading the title of this article, you would be forgiven for thinking that its aim was to promote some kind of counter productive, hippy philosophy. Especially if you have fallen victim to one of my many freethinking-fuelled rants of late. On this occasion however, I have chosen to side-line the dramatics.

I am what you might call an over-thinker. Often this plays to my advantage, sometimes it plays very much to my detriment. This results in me observing, analysing and criticising myself regularly and in turn, altering how I live, in an attempt to improve.

I recently got that lingering feeling you get when something doesn’t feel quite right, but you don’t know why. I chose to ignore it, writing it off as a natural dip in form that would soon pass. But as it continued to linger, I realised it was time to ignite some of that trusty self analysis.

During some extended late night over-thinking sessions, assisted by my ever reliable pen and paper, I began to look at how my days were being spent. I was shocked when I realised that I was barely able to recall any of the details that filled them. The main body of what I did and where I went was clear to me, but nothing in between. Reacting to this, my body was ending every day feeling tense, stressed out and unfulfilled. Only for me to wake up and once again enter the cycle.

It seemed that the frantic busyness of everyday living had applied an iron fist on my mind. I was hurriedly skimming through entire days, with little regard for the variety of details that illustrated them. I was swallowing food without relishing its taste; hastily bringing conversations to a close without lending a genuine ear; and rushing from A to B to C to D without looking at the sights that surrounded me.

I was oblivious to how I was continuously ignoring the current moment. My thoughts were instead occupied by the worry and anticipation of what lay ahead of me. Thinking about the things I had to do, the bills I had to pay and the places I had to be was dominating my thought flow. Even stuff that was completely out of my control was finding its place amongst the worry.

All this over anticipating was clearly getting me nowhere. It served only to muddle up my thoughts, leaving me confused and my head clouded. In the midst of such a chaotic mind, there exists little room for natural sensations to blossom.

What exactly had prompted me to start soaring through days in such a haze remains to be seen. I speculated of course, but knew full well it could have been anything. The mind has tendencies to act subtly in strange ways.

Based on previous blips, I knew that discovering why I don’t feel right is usually the toughest part. As soon as I am aware, such problems seem to almost fix themselves. Thankfully.

Since that little voyage of self discovery, I have started concentrating on making myself more present. Shifting my focus away from things further down the line, has allowed me to apply myself to what really matters; the current moment.

Aided by simple snippets of advice obtained from a half hearted exploration of mindfulness, I have discovered the value of focusing on and counting my breaths. Having learnt how useful a tool this is for relaxing the mind in hectic times, I plan on placing it firmly within my daily rituals.

By becoming more aware of what I encounter in each day, I feel evidently more at ease. I’m tasting food before swallowing it, listening properly to what people have to say to me(or trying to!) and taking the time to look around me as I stroll from A to B. Replacing needless worry with such simple details can be hugely gratifying.

It’s no simple task to make a mental transition like this. Like any attempt to alter our habitual tendencies, it takes a certain degree of determination and concentration. There will without doubt always be an abundance of issues presenting themselves to us, vying for our worried attention. They are unavoidable. What matters then is how we process these issues and what preference we give them amongst our prioritised thoughts. Convincing ourselves that this needless worry about the future is getting us nowhere and preventing us from enjoying the moment is a good place to start.

As our attention becomes increasingly sought after by social media and advertising, teaching ourselves the act of being present has never been so important. Everyone differs in how they approach life, but there’s no doubt that each of us have room to improve on how present we are.

Try it for a day. Switch off, breath and bask in the joys of slowing down.