After writing over 150 articles I took a break from my weekly commitment to you. The well was getting a little dry. It seemed I’d written about everything.
Oddly, ideas are harder to come by once a month than when I was writing once a week.
When I was writing weekly the antenna was always up, noticing what my clients were experiencing, or what was happening in my own life. From there I could always come up with something relevant. Now, as that first Friday of the month approaches I feel pressure. I find myself thinking hard. “What am I going to write about?”
Then as I recently told myself to relax about it, the idea for this post came to me. The problem is in the thinking hard.
Where are you thinking hard? Are you stuck trying to solve a difficult problem that won’t solve? Are you thinking hard about how you’re going to lose 20 pounds? You know you are if you feel pressure to find an answer.
Here’s an idea. How about shifting to your NO thinking mind. Yes, you read that right. There is no pressure when you’re in your no thinking mind. It’s a state of relaxation from which comes insight, joy, curiosity and creativity.
Here’s an example. My best paintings come from that place of no thinking. It’s more about sensing and responding. When I get to that headspace the process is much more enjoyable. I let the paint do the work, not my mind. It involves trust. I produce my best work in the least amount of time.
How do you get to that no thinking mind? In short, it’s about relaxing.
Tune in to the moment.
Tune in to your body, your senses.
Listen to relaxing, instrumental music.
Use your eyes to notice details you don’t usually see.
Observe your breathing.
Visualize your happy place, or actually go there.
Do yoga or meditate.
Do intense cardio.
The more wound up you are the more time you might need to come down. But a shift can also occur very quickly.
Have you ever experienced a flash of inspiration at a time when you least expected it? Maybe you were in the shower, the tub, or hiking on a trail. That’s because you were relaxed – no thinking. Then out popped a revelation.
This is not to say that you should stop thinking and do all your work reclined on the sofa. Thinking has a place. But nothing good comes out of heightened stress and trying/thinking too hard. From a relaxed mind and body many things are possible, including weight loss. Stress has a way of influencing weight – and ideas.
Let me do the thinking. I’d be happy to support you, and you can feel free to shoot me any ideas for future articles. That would be supporting me.