Slowing Down
Here’s a little slowing down trick for you guys and gals that tend to get a bit caught up in life and have a tough time “thinking” about your next move. This happens to me all the time. I get stuck on some repetitive task on the computer or sucked in to a Phillies game and before I know it several hours have passed. Once you train yourself to do this trick, your X-Files-esque loss of time will be a thing of the past :).
More often than not you tend to head in the direction of your destination. You might be briskly walking to a bus stop, clicking on Web windows until you get to the right site, or driving to work. You are focused on where you’re going next but not so much on where you are now. It’s time to hit the remote and put yourself into slow motion.
Start walking, biking, or driving more slowly. Concentrate on slowing your brain down and at least for a second, emptying it of all thought. Change your pace and begin to notice the things going on around you. Begin to notice the things you have going on inside of you. Are there any feelings that you’re holding onto that are…kinda dumb? Are you headed the right direction or do you still need to pick up that one last item? What are some of the positive things going on in your life?
If you don’t quite understand what I’m talking about, just try to imagine as if you are in a movie that has started going in slow motion. The movie of your life has slowed down and at least for a second you can stop worrying about the world. We feel like we’re sharks sometimes and that we have to keep moving forward. One of the things that separate us from those frightening, toothy creatures is that we can stop, recollect, and move forward with a better purpose or attitude.
This trick works great during a verbal fight or domestic dispute. Often, our emotions carry us into a bad place where we’re saying stuff we don’t even truly believe in an attempt to win. Try taking yourself into slow motion. I have stopped myself countless times from saying something stupid by using this trick, and my next line is typically, “you know, baby, you’re right.” Practice saying that one, gentlemen :).
The more often you do this trick, the more effective it will be. If you master slowing down, just a few seconds can change your entire hour, day, or week.
