Access Points to Confidence #6 - Quieten the Mind
Quietening the mind is an access point to calmness, clarity and connection.
Calmness is the opposite to anxiousness.
Clarity is the opposite to foggy.
Connection is the opposite to disconnection.
When you feel the absence of anxiousness, fogginess and separateness and the presence of calmness, clarity and connection you will feel more confident.
This means the ability to find quiet amidst the noise of a busy world is an important pursuit on the pathway toward a more confident self.
Prioritise Pursuit of the Quiet
Finding quietness is not always easy. It requires thought and dedication because for much of the time we’re immersed in a constantly switched on world.
Airpods fill our ears with sound, TV screens fill our living rooms with news and never ending to-do lists fill our days with doing-ness.
Social media captures our attention for 2 hours a day, the internet for 5 hours and on average, we check our phone every 5.5 minutes.
It’s little wonder our attention span is now less than a goldfish!
Our minds are in constant content overload.
This endless stimulation interferes with good sleep, gets in the way of human connection and keeps your brain wired. It directs your attention outwards and where your attention goes, your power grows.
When your mind is focused externally, your power is outsourced to the environment and the stimuli around you. You’re like a sailboat without a rudder, susceptible to the wind to take you in any direction it happens to be blowing.
Quietening your mind is like repairing the boat. You reclaim the part that connects you to your inner world - the source of your certainty and sovereignty.
You get to steer life in the direction you want to go.
Like all access points to confidence, quietening your mind requires awareness and practise.
According to Paul Wilson, author of Finding The Quiet, the fastest and most predictable way to access the quiet is through meditation. He suggests 13 minutes a day of sitting quietly. Centre yourself, widen your vision and listen either closely to the sounds within you, or more broadly to the sounds around you. Develop this as a habit and with time, you will develop a deep sense of peace, connection and clarity.
If meditation is not your thing, try periods of digital detoxing. Go for a walk without your phone, keep the TV off for an evening, lie under a tree with nothing to do…or just slow down enough to notice your breath.
Aaahhhhh…..