Wish You Could Get a Break From Thinking?

Do you ever wish you could just take a break from thinking?

To turn down the volume on the constant chatter in your head. The planning. The worrying. The replaying of conversations. The wondering what might happen next.

Sometimes it can feel like there’s an entire committee living in our heads.

There’s the Inner Critic. The worrier. The planner. The Inner Child. The cheerleader. The one who thinks we should be doing more, doing better, or have everything figured out by now.

It can be exhausting.

For many of us, this is simply how we move through our days. We wake up thinking, spend much of the day lost in thought, and sometimes arrive at the end wondering where the day actually went.

Here’s the thing: thoughts aren't the problem.

Thinking is part of being human.

The difficulty comes when we become so caught up in our thoughts that we don't even realize they're running the show.

I sometimes think of it like getting into a car and discovering that our thoughts are in the driver's seat. We're being taken for a ride, and we don't even realize we've handed over the keys.

This is where mindfulness can change everything.

We Can Learn to Observe Our Thoughts

I remember when someone first told me that I could observe my thoughts.

I wondered, What does that even mean?

For so long, I had been pushing thoughts away, believing them, arguing with them or judging myself for having them.

It was never-ending.

Through meditation and mindfulness, I began to discover something very different…

I could notice a thought without becoming the thought.

That's a big distinction.

If I can observe my thoughts, then I am not my thoughts.

Take that in for a moment.

When we notice, Oh, my mind is worrying again or There's that old story, something shifts.

There is suddenly a little bit of space.

And in that space, we have choice.

We don't have to fight the thought or make it go away. We can simply notice it with curiosity.

That's interesting. My mind is thinking that.

Then breathe.

Come back to your body.

Come back to whatever you're doing.

Come back to this moment.

Mindfulness Doesn't Have to Take More Time

One of the things I often hear is:

"I don't have time for mindfulness."

I understand. Life is full.

But mindfulness doesn't have to mean adding another thing to your already overflowing to-do list.

Mindfulness is about how we are experiencing the life we're already living.

You can practice mindfulness while drinking your morning coffee.

While walking.

While waiting at a red light.

While talking to someone you love.

While noticing the feeling of your feet on the ground.

It can be as simple as pausing for one conscious breath.

Pause. Breathe. Proceed.

That pause may only take a few seconds, but it interrupts autopilot.

It brings us back.

And the more often we return, the more familiar presence becomes.

Why This Matters So Much to Me

I've been reflecting lately on why my own mindfulness practice has been so important to me.

And the word that keeps coming to me is:

Freedom.

Mindfulness has given me more freedom in how I meet my life.

I can observe an emotion with more compassion instead of immediately reacting to it.

I can question a thought instead of automatically believing it.

When I get thrown off course—and I certainly do—I can recognize it and come back.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Life is messy. We experience loss, uncertainty, disappointment, stress, and change. Our plans don't always unfold the way we hoped.

Mindfulness doesn't make any of that disappear.

What it does is help us meet our lives with greater presence, compassion, clarity and choice.

For me, it has also been a journey inward.

For many years, I looked outside myself for love, approval and fulfillment. My practice has continually invited me to turn inward—to listen more deeply and reconnect with something within myself that isn't dependent on everything going perfectly on the outside.

That is where I have discovered a deeper sense of peace.

And freedom.

Try This With Me

This week, experiment with simply noticing.

At different times throughout your day, pause.

Take a breath.

Notice what your mind is doing.

You don't have to change anything.

If you're worrying, notice the worrying.

If you're planning, notice the planning.

If the Inner Critic is having a particularly enthusiastic day, notice that too.

You might gently say:

That's interesting. My mind is thinking that.

No judgment.

No pushing it away.

Just awareness.

Then take another breath and bring your attention back to what is right here.

The person in front of you.

The warmth of your coffee.

The trees outside your window.

The feeling of your feet touching the earth.

Your breath moving through your body.

This is your life. And it's happening right now.

Change doesn't always come through the big things.

Sometimes it happens one pause, one breath and one conscious choice at a time.

Want to Explore This More Deeply?

On September 30, I'm beginning a new 6-week SimplyPresent™ Mindfulness Journey.  I invite you to join me for this transformative experience.

Many Blessings,

Diane