Have you found your "happy place" yet?

Everything you think uses energy — about 0.02 calories per thought.

But the bigger drain isn’t physical; it’s the mental clutter that can build up.

I played lacrosse most of my youth, and perhaps because I was surrounded by coaches and trainers all the time, my default solution was to outwork my problems.

So, it was no surprise that when it came to my personal or professional life, I only had one tool to apply to the work: outwork the work.

It was as if the only tool I had was a hammer.

And don’t get me wrong, a hammer can be helpful.

But if you only have a hammer, you’ll see every challenge as a nail.

And you’ll keep hammering …

and hammering …

… even when the problem needs a different approach.

But even when situations seemed to be more nuanced, “outworking” them only generated … more work.

Which left me with … more work to do.

Then, in a big-brain moment, I’d enter the vicious cycle of trying to outwork the extra work I just created.

What finally helped was investing time in meditation.

No tribal chants.

No sweat lodges.

No mindfulness app subscriptions.

Just 20 minutes either each morning or evening to prepare for the day or power down my brain.

I’m telling ya, that reset kept me calmer when inevitable problems came up during the day.

Or, it helped me process the day and get a better night’s sleep.

Because I used to overthink and ruminate on issues far longer than needed.

But meditation brought my mind to a neutral baseline so I could reset mentally before jumping into action.

Or, it would steady my thinking in the midst of doing.

Slowing down my thoughts made problem-solving a lot smoother.

I don’t have a program to pitch, nor do I have a coach, course, or app to recommend.

But I do suggest starting small.

Here’s what you’ll need:

A quiet space with no one around
A phone timer
Earplugs or headphones (optional)

Here’s how to do it:

Set a timer for 20 minutes (that’s the goal, so build up to it if you need to)
Do “box breathing” (inhale 4 seconds, hold 4 sec, exhale 4 sec, rest 4 sec)
Wear earplugs/headphones (helps reduce distractions)
Do it every day.

You wouldn’t skip brushing your teeth for two days, right?

So don’t skip cleaning your mind.

— And, if you want to improve your mind another way, head over to readar.ai to find the right book for you to read next.

Keep seeking,

Michael

readar.ai