Shake up a bottle of pond water. If it’s like most pond water, it will be a cloudy mess.
Let it sit for a bit. The water clears as the sediment falls to the bottom.
That’s a little how our minds work. There’s stuff floating around in them and the constant action of our day shakes them up. We want to listen well – to be present – but our minds are clouded by the concerns and details of our day.
Or as one of my clients said recently, “I have a thousand mice running around inside my head.”
It doesn’t have to be this way. We can learn to settle our minds. High performing athletes and artists know how to do this, how to put themselves in a mental state where the game slows down. So do first responders. They train themselves to handle the chaos they encounter without getting overcome by it.
Yes, there are techniques for slowing down your mind. But like any important life change, it starts with intention. Because you won’t get still by accident.
Is it worth it? You have to decide. But I’d bet your colleagues and friends and family would vote yes.
