How to handle a racing mind?
How’s your mind right now? At peace? A little numb?
Or is it more of a racing chaos of half-finished sentences?
I have often felt that my mind was running in fast-forward mode. Always processing the past (meetings), and preparing for the future (meetings).
This was at times convenient: if my mind was focused, I could make progress quickly.
But when my thoughts were all over the place, it was just distracting and a true energy drain.
Sounds familiar?
With enough practice, you can bring more focus to your thoughts. Some simple exercises that work for me are:
1. Regularly check in with yourself:
what is your state of mind right at this moment?
In case of a racing mind:
2. Calm down.
Take a few deep breaths. Use your senses to explore your environment: what do you see, hear, smell, taste and feel, right now? Try to name 1-5 items for each sense.
3. Prioritize your thoughts.
Make it explicit: What do you actually want/need to think about right now? What can you cover later (and when)?
4. For your priority topic: start writing things down.
This forces you to finish one thought before moving on to the next one.
I’m curious about your tips and tricks for dealing with a racing mind!
Blog: Thought trails
