Hundreds of years ago, Buddha called the mind a ‘monkey mind’- always jumping around from one thought to another. Restless. Anxious. Fast forward to today when we are literally bombarded with information, and all the stressful thoughts never seem to leave us. If that sounds like you, and all the meditation in the world doesn’t seem to be working out in your favour, here’s a bit of help. Read on to discover 6 super effective ways to quieten your mind and make it calmer.
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Observe
The first and most important step to take to stop your mind from obsessively thinking and overanalyzing things is to observe your thoughts in a non-judgemental way. When you bring your attention to your thoughts without doing anything else, you are actually calming your mind, and you’ll also be able to have stronger control over the thoughts that you think, and the ones that you let affect you.
Consciously Create Counter Thoughts
When your mind is buzzing with negative thoughts, and you can’t seem to do anything about it, a good way to tackle it is to consciously create counter positive thoughts. Deliberately look for the positive in any situation and try to have a goal-oriented thinking approach. This can be one of the simplest ways to quieten the mind.
Focus on Deep Breathing
The next time you find yourself surrounded by stressful and negative thoughts, bring your focus and attention back to the one constant thing- your breath. Take slow and deep breaths, and focus on them. It really helps if you do this with your eyes closed and while you’re sitting in a relaxed position.
Get Some Exercise
Oh yes! Here’s another reason to step out and get some exercise. Studies have shown how exercising can boost the release of endorphins (the feel-good hormones) in your body. That’s not all, when you exercise, you’re actually keeping yourself (and your mind) busy, and less prone to being attacked by anxious thoughts.
Affirmation Power
If you haven’t experienced the power of affirmations yet, now’s the time to do it! You’ll be surprised at how fruitful just simply repeating peaceful and positive words to yourself daily can impact your psyche, and rid those constant negative and stressful thoughts buzzing around in the back of your mind.
Live in the Present
Last, but definitely not the least, being mindful can prove to be really helpful when it comes to silencing that constant mental chatter and quieten the mind. Most of us live either in the past (recalling all those crappy, awkward moments) or in the future (worrying about literally everything). When these thoughts ruminate, they affect your ability to function at your best, which could, in turn into chronic health conditions and even depression.
Make it a point to consciously bring your thoughts back to the present moment, no matter what. You’ll notice how when you start doing this, you feel more at peace, and your mind is more calm and relaxed even without you putting in a lot of effort for it.
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