Four things that come in the way of ‘getting back on track’
As I begin to write again, after a 10-month hiatus, I sense a more aware being sitting on the laptop this Sunday evening. Awareness and ‘being present’ have been the two top mindful practices that I’ve inculcated in my life over the last few months. I’m still working on this and progressing well (I would like to believe).
With this state of awareness, I am also observing an innate sense of calm and clarity building inside me. This is helping, in general, to figure out when my mind is just being a playful kid, when it is being a procrastinating monkey and when it’s actually making ‘grown-up’ sense.
For instance, yesterday I decided to be more regular on medium and start writing again. Just saying that out loud was a bit scary and a part of me looked at the other part(s) of me incredulously.
‘Bro, I know you’d like to be regular, but we all know that you’re going to give this up again’ — the incredulous part (of my mind).
And maybe I will, maybe I won’t. But the interesting point to note — coming back to awareness — is how the mind tries to wean you off something important that you might like to focus on (in this case, getting back on track on medium).
‘Why start when you’re going to give this up again’.
But isn’t that the whole point of falling (failing) again & again? We get back up, and try one more time. We become stronger. And strength might not always be standing up against an adversary or in front of tough circumstances. Strength, in many cases, means to stand up against oneself, to help oneself become better. Right?
With that noble thought in mind (not sure which part of my mind this is coming from), here are a few simple things that stand in (my) the way of getting back on track!
1. Laziness
I love boredom, I love laziness and now that I am practising ‘being present’, I can spend a lot of time just gazing at my surroundings doing nothing. Even when I’m not feeling as sentient a being as I’d like to be, my intrinsic characteristic of being lazy can motivate me to open YouTube and watch another review of a Triumph Tiger or Triumph Street Triple. (My 2023 or 2024 version would want to get one of those in their stable).
The easiest way to beat laziness is to slap it in the face (or laugh at it perhaps) and get on with the task. Positive reinforcement also helps — yes, we’ll watch that YouTube video right after we finish these 4 emails.
2. ‘Something else is more important’ syndrome
This has happened many a time with me. Every time I think of sitting down to learn a new language, learn how to play the guitar or write an article on LinkedIn or Medium, my mind tricks me into doing something else — related to work, more often that nought — and tells me that I would be wasting my time on something that would not add as much value as spending the same time on WORK!
The conversation in my head can become pretty intense when it comes to this scenario because there are two options — both are value-generating and both are things I love. (Yes, I love my work, sorry).
So how do I make sense of this?
One of the solutions I found was to time my work — put a simple stopwatch next to me and see how much time I sit and work. This, along with a planned to-do list helps me feel less guilty about ending my work-day and getting on with other tasks that help me become a more rounded human being.
3. Sleep
I love sleeping and I’ve found that after 8pm I am a completely different person than who I am between 6am to 7.59pm. Sleep hits me in ways that I cannot imagine. I could be lively & talkative in one moment and a grumpy old grandad in the next one. I do not want to change this because I find that sleep is a luxury that many of us should not take for granted given the world we live in.
So the best bet for me is to work around this simple fact that I get sleepy. And when I am sleepy I do not like to do anything but curl up, read a book or watch a movie (for exactly 5 minutes).
Hence, timing my activities properly — and getting ‘important’ tasks done before the dreaded 8pm deadline becomes imperative. Another thing I’ve learned is that I can do repetitive tasks even if I’m sleepy. For instance it’s around 7.45pm now. As I finished dinner, about 20mins ago, I realised that I have to take out some clothes from the washing machine and put them out to dry. But I knew I could do that after I finish writing this. So here I am. And I am happy with this simple decision I took to put this out before 8pm!
4. Family and other extraneous commitments
We all love our family, don’t we? (Well, for the most part). And we all love spending time with them. Especially when some of us enjoy ‘good’ human company and are introverts at heart without many friends, family is our go to for any kind of social activities.
Family is important for me as well and I’ve found that I can give up a lot of my personal commitments if there is some familial commitment that requires my attention.
This is good. One should be friendly, compassionate and supportive. And yes, one should spend time cultivating relationships, especially with our family. But, one should also learn to prioritise personal commitments because deep inside us, we become better beings when we do justice to ourselves. Personally, I’ve found that if I end up missing 2–3 gym classes because of family-commitments, I become a grumpier version of myself and I start approaching my family with a certain sense of negativity — Deep inside some part of me thinks that the family is keeping me from my physical well-being. (Which is not true — I am keeping myself from my physical well being and using my family as an excuse).
Hence, we come back to this very simple yet profound concept of ‘balance’. Balance is CRUCIAL. With a capital C-R-U-C-I-A-L. When we find balance, we find peace and when we find peace, we find a ‘happier being’.
And who doesn’t want a happier being (inside and outside).
With that said, it’s 8.01pm and my circadian rhythm is pushing me towards my bed (before that I need to get to those clothes in the washing machine and perhaps an evening walk with La Familia).
Night Night.