Mental Minimalism
The Sunday Feed
Add a spoon of sugar to your cuppa, it becomes sweet. Add another one and it will become very sweet. Add a third one and the tea is wasted. This is called equilibrium.
We as humans are designed to do things in moderation. Excess can be detrimental to the physical as well as the mental state of mind. Yet we go overboard all the time.
As funny as it may sound, we use our mental capacities for solving the most complicated problems in science and technology, yet we err on the basics like deciding what to eat, what to focus on or even when to stop.
There is a program that is quite popular on TV. It is called “Hoarders.” It shows how some people get emotionally attached to everything they buy and transform their house into a complete dungeon, so bad that even the rats would dread to go in.
Till recently, I used to look at them and say what sick people. How can someone have so much filth in their homes. Till a thought struck my mind. I said to myself, “You are no different John. What about all the filth you have accumulated in your mind.”
There is an old saying that it is never too late to start. So what if I have been a heavy headed person accumulating all the grudges, anger, grievance or hatred. There is always a time for realization and the time is now.
I have started to practice rinsing of the mind. Just like our homes, there will be new things coming in everyday but I will make a conscious effort to use the mental bin like the one I keep at home and ensure to empty it everyday.
Here are some ways in which I intend to make my Mental Minimalism strong every day.
1. Limit the intake of information
Reduce the intake of rubbish rather than wait for it to get collected. The best way to do this is restrict the use of SM to 5 times a day for 10 minutes at every interaction with 2-hour gaps in between.
This is not going to be easy but nothing worthwhile ever was easy in the beginning.
2. Follow a new sport.
With our attention span reduced to such an extent, people are finding it extremely hard to focus. They keep surfing the net mindlessly. However, this is not good for your brain as it needs to be trained in a controlled manner like a muscle to remain fit.
I have found a better way to do it. Start learning about a new sport. There will be a lot of multimedia sources of information to keep the engagement levels high. Personally speaking, my knowledge about football is close to none. You guessed it right!
3. Read a Book every week
A writer can take 2–3 years to complete a book. The least we can do is give the author at least 2–3 hours of our time. We do not have to get into an ego battle with the writings if we do not agree with the author.
The information you gather from reading books is very different from the one that you collect from SM as the book is an authentic source of information.
4. Go dancing
The reason I prefer dancing to going to the restaurants is because in the restaurants, you are sitting all the time. All you do there is eat, eat and eat some more. However, in the pub or a club, it is a completely different story.
The blaring music and the uncontrollable energy make your soul elated to such a level that you feel after all there is some life left on the planet. For a few hours, you transition into a completely different state of mind. A state that can keep you going through another boring week!
5. Exercise Regularly
I have been exercising regularly for more than 20 years now. The one thing I have realized is that a 15-minute workout in the morning can do wonders to your blood flow, especially your breathing. You end up taking in more oxygen than people who do not exercise.
The more you inhale, the more you will detox. This does wonders for your body as you cannot purify your mind if your body is not properly clean. A healthy mind is always found in a healthy body.
John Khalkho: CEO — Dolores Education
photo: cottonbro