It’s wild to consider how many thoughts run through my brain on a daily basis, and how few of them I remember. There are times when I catch myself several minutes into a spiral of thoughts and ask myself “What was I just thinking about?” It goes to show how easy it is to get lost in your head for no real reason and miss out on everything that’s happening around you.
Most of the time, I actually quite like getting lost in thought. I enjoy thinking of solutions to problems, things I’m reading about, ideas for ETT Coffee, blogs, and so on. As much fun as it is, I still want to be in control of my thinking. To me it’s similar to training a dog – if you want the dog to do one thing, you can’t let it do the opposite and expect it to learn.
With thoughts, you can’t let your mind wander when you’re in a good mood then expect to be able to be present when you’re in a bad mood. If you don’t train your mind to detach from all thoughts, the negative ones will just flow endlessly. Even in the moments when you’re coming up with great ideas, you should be taking a moment to turn it off, focus on your breath, feeling your body, and experiencing the world around you. If you don’t, it’ll be that much harder to control your mind when negativity enters the picture.
So wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, remember to bring the attention back to the present. Whether the thoughts in your head are enjoyable or not, you have to remember who’s in control. With consistent effort and practice, you’ll find your thoughts are always there, but they don’t hold as much weight.
October 2, 2024
