What do I do when I am stressed or overcome with anxiety about the future? What about a terrible decision I feel like I’ve made or some failure?
I’ve found regular mindfulness sessions to be extremely helpful in easing my ‘always-overthinking’ brain.
Related: how can we be more digitally mindful?
Self-guided Mindfulness
I’ve tried guided meditations like the ones on YouTube and Headspace and such but find they don’t work super well for me. I really like being intentional with what I want out of the meditation session and I find it helps me focus and stay present. Here is the process I find works best for me:
- Start with focusing on breathing and bodily sensations. Are you comfortable? Is your head clear? Is your breath and heartbeat regular and relaxed?
- Ask an additional level of ‘why’s if anything feels out of the ordinary. Reflect on life situation + most current feelings.
Then, if I am feeling stressed/anxious about anything in particular:
- Perspective and timescales. How will current events play out a month from now? A year? A decade?
- What doors can this open? We can choose to believe everything happens for a reason when looking back on it. Everything will play out regardless of what failures happens your way. The best I can do is make the most of my hand and make that the best possible future.
Or if things are going well:
- What is going well right now?
- Who am I grateful for?
- What was beautiful today?
Designing for busy-by-default
Source: Fools and their time metaphors by Aaron Z. Lewis
“The subjective quality of time—how it feels from the inside—is missing entirely. If the idea of a “subjective calendar” sounds too far-out, consider the alternative maps made by creative cartographers. They add new meaning by distorting conventional representations of geography. Why can’t our calendars follow suit?”
See also: desire paths