The internet is by far the most important tool that humanity has ever come up with. It has given us access to unlimited information. We’re now absolutely bombarded by information — from phone calls to 24-hour news cycles and social media posts. With the information overload and our busy lives, is it any wonder that our mind constantly plays a soundtrack of anxious and intrusive thoughts?
Have you ever heard of the term “monkey mind”? It means our minds are in constant motion of thoughts. Typical mind chatter sounds like the following:
- Judging the present.
- Creating what-if scenarios of the future.
- Recalling hurtful things that have happened in the past.
All that negativity affects our mood, making us unhappy, restless, and angry. It hinders our ability to concentrate and also affects our behavior. It’s also very stressful to have a barrel of monkeys screeching in our heads all day long. Now that we’ve established the effects of our monkey mind, let us look at some ways to get the monkey mind to calm down.
- Talk to your monkey mind:
Stop for a moment and listen to what your monkey mind is saying. Why is it upset? What’s all the raucous about?. It could be one of the following:
i) Reminding you about the things that need to be done.
ii) Anxious about the future
iii) Voicing resentment over something that happened in the past.
2) Meditate and focus on your breathing:
Meditation helps you to control your thoughts, allowing your mind to stay still. Focusing on your natural breathing allows you to instantly focus on the present.
3) Engage your mind:
One way to silence your monkey mind is by engaging your mind so that all of your attention is placed on your current task.
4) Maintain a journal:
This allows you to place a time limit for your monkey to screech and shout. Once your time is up, let your monkey mind know that it’s had its say for the day.
5) Practice acceptance:
Acceptance frees you from worry and teaches you to cope up with what’s happening beyond your control.
The methods listed above are some of the fundamental techniques to rewire your brain and help you lead a happy life. But, for all of this to work, you must be humble enough to bring your mind back to a neutral state rather than getting frustrated about it. So, get the monkeys to be on your side to be successful.
