When babies get cranky and fidgety, we understand they are tired or overstimulated. They need a quiet, calm atmosphere and a soothing touch, after which they may quietly fall asleep.
The same is true for our own busy and overactive minds.
Feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or fearful due to uncertainty usually indicates that our mind is overstimulated. Surprisingly, the root cause is often the mind itself, rather than external factors.
Despite the challenges we face, our response to life’s situations are what truly matter.
Recognizing this, we can see our thought patterns have gone awry when we become overly dramatic, self-critical, compare ourselves to others, hold unreasonable expectations, or obsessively imagine worst-case scenarios.
Our body responds to anxiety in a variety of ways, including tension, nervous energy, sleeplessness, and even physical illness.
Our mind thrives on creating a lot of unnecessary activity. It constantly reviews, analyzes, and judges past events, replaying scenarios over and over. As if that weren’t exhausting enough, it also plans ahead and tries to imagine and prepare for every conceivable future scenario.
The mind believes its purpose is “to know” definitively. And, if we make a mistake, forget something, or don’t have the perfect response, it judges us and makes us feel as if we have failed.
This only creates more anxiety and lack of trust in ourselves. It feeds the “runaway mind.”
Whenever you feel any of these telltale symptoms, instead of letting the tension take over, think of it as a time to soothe, refocus, and quiet your mind.
Here’s the deal. You are not your mind. It is only one aspect of you.
While the mind sometimes seems to have the upper hand, it relaxes when it feels someone is in charge.
That someone is you.