I'm Just Saying...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. Guidance: do what you can, don't worry about the rest, think just enough to tell two apart

By all means be tuned in to gain info and sense trends. Do think about it. But not too much. Think enough about things to 1) Identify what can be done, 2) Plan how to do it, 3) Do it, 4) Figure out what you can't control, 5) Assign that stuff to "not worry, it will do whatever it is going to do.

Yes, you have to change tack when thoughts overwhelm. But the mind and ego will only let you do that if you have sufficiently processed the material. If you've done that, then you can accept that thoughts and anxieties will come up. Acceptance is key.

Fighting the thoughts or trying to deny the thoughts or trying to crowd them out doesn't work. That generates churn and wears down a worry path in the brain.

When thoughts come up, don't fight them. Check to see if all the points have been duly considered. If they have not, then consider the thing and decide if you can do something about. If you can, do. If not, accept. Open a window in your mind and let a metaphorical breeze waft out the worries. Visualizing it and envisioning it tactilely (feeling a pretend breeze) helps.

Once you've considered and done what you can and accepted what you can't change, then you can much more easily change tack and take an exit to something distracting, be it entertainment or work or home maintenance or hobby or creativity.

Easy to say, harder to put into practice. But practice makes perfect.