Going from one thing to another to another is exhausting
I admit it, I’m a spaz. Always have been. If they had the term back when I was a kid I probably could have been labeled ADHD but as it was I was just ‘squirrely.” I had ants in my pants. I couldn’t keep my hands to myself or sit still. My leg jackhammered up and down or I drummed my fingers or made weird noises. When I was alone I talked to myself; all the time. I did this so much that often my mom thought I was with someone as I worked outside. Nope. Just me. But I was telling myself a story.
I made stories up for the work I was doing. I wasn’t cutting sunflowers with a corn knife; I was defending the house from a barrage of intruders who threatened to turn us all into vegetative zombies. I wasn’t just playing catch with myself with the Nerf football off the roof I was going through the entire Big 8 season culminating in a thrilling victory over Oklahoma. I wasn’t cutting musk thistles I was ridding the world of a plague carried by prickly space aliens. Beginning to get the picture? Yeah, I was a little weird as a kid but I was just trying to occupy my brain banging around in my melon.
I suppose you could say I had an unquiet mind and I haven’t exactly changed as an adult either. I tend to be a picker and a creator when I’m disengaged. I pick around at things and create problems where there really aren’t any. My natural propensity to analyze and over analyze then analyze again leaves me dissatisfied with things that aren’t all that bad. It leads me into frustration because of my busy-body mind’s expectation of outcomes that are at best over-blown and at worst unrealistic. I have no clue whether this sounds remotely familiar to you or not but today the norm is NOT toward quiet introspection.
Today we’re reachable, teachable and beseechable 24/7; something a spaz like me definitely doesn’t need. Through one media format or another, the entire world can reach out to me and pull me into whatever their jam is anytime day or night. They can show and enlighten and pique my curiosity (and all in the interest of making me better, faster, stronger like the 6 Million Dollar Man) effortlessly.
And once they’ve drawn me in they can tell me in a myriad of simple steps why I need to be coached or mentored or webinarred into someone making fat stacks in my sleep from multiple income streams; passively. For a person like me it’s not good and it needs to stop.
So, this Thursday I’m resolving to set aside at least 15 minutes (maybe I’ll work up to 30 somedays) where I sit quietly, with my phone off and hopefully my brain off. Will I think? I hope not. I will try not to let my mind wander into what I have to do. I will try not to allow the noise of everything worm its way into this time. I’m encouraged that I can do this since I resolved to shut up sometimes when I pray. I know that those times are peaceful and that’s really all I’m looking for here. You may say I’m leaning toward yoga or meditation or any one of probably a dozen other things that have already been created and I could most likely learn how to do from the interwebs. The point is I don’t want to. This will be my time and I’m looking forward to it just being me
I think carving out some time for yourself on a daily basis is important. I think this probably has to be done alone and on your own terms. I hope you’ll give it a try and if you know someone that maybe needs the suggestion, I hope you’ll share this with them.
I write every week in my blog about life things including quitting something every Thursday. You can see all of that by clicking here. If you like what you read and want to receive an email on Saturdays with links to the week’s posts you can click this or subscribe at the blog. Subscribing is free and I never sell or share emails so you don’t have to worry about getting a bunch of spam.