The mind also needs to rest and disconnect. A difficult goal to achieve in the midst of daily overstimulation. Therefore, in this article we want to talk about some keys to achieve it.
It's hard to leave your mind blank, right? There is always some pending task, some memory or some idea going around in our head. However, sometimes it is necessary to stop that incessant flow of thoughts and free our mental space. Learning to clear your mind can be expensive at first, but if you invest a little effort and intelligence in it, you will see how your anxiety and dissatisfaction are reduced as you perfect this practice.
Clearing the mind does not simply mean taking care of obligations and daily chores. Free time is useless if our interior continues to be agitated. We therefore need to slow down our mental processing and bring it as close to a state of calm and stillness as possible. The question is: how to achieve it?
How to clear your mind step by step
1. Become aware of the importance of clearing your mind
In general, we are not used to spending time taking care of our emotional part. Therefore, before changing our habits, it is good to clarify the reasons why we want to do it. Thus, you have to know why it is important and beneficial that you learn to clear your mind and do it regularly.
Excess thinking generates stress, something that negatively affects our health on a physical and emotional level. Anxiety problems, mood disorders, difficulties in our relationships ... all this is largely motivated by uncontrolled mental speech. Learning to clear your mind will help you decrease your activation, think clearly, and make better decisions. You will be, then, happier and more efficient in relationships with your environment.
2. Choose the moment
If we want to clear the mind, we have to decide to do it consciously and deliberately. It is not something that arises naturally due to the fast pace of life we lead. Therefore, choose the moments that you are going to dedicate to caring for and calming your mental spaces. You can take advantage of your free time, your vacation days, but really five minutes can be enough to carry out this exercise.
A short break from work, the moments before going to bed or the first minutes at the start of the day are ideal times. Do not try to find the perfect moment, because none will seem like it. Just take advantage of the spaces that are presented in your day to day.
3. Choose an activity
There are numerous alternatives that can help us clear our mind, and before opting for one you have to evaluate your personality. There are those who prefer silence, stillness and solitude to recharge their energies and there are those who feel more comfortable with dynamic activities and stimulating environments.
Thus, in the first case, exercises such as deep breathing or guided meditations can be very suitable. Painting, drawing or taking a relaxing bath are also valid options.
In the second case, it will be preferable to opt for activities such as dancing, listening to music or practicing sports in nature. The body movement is the ideal means to clear the mind in some people.
4. Be consistent
This last step is one of the most important, since a habit is not established instantly. There is no use clearing your mind one day and plunging back into stress the next.
It is important that you be constant and persevering and that each day you dedicate some time to this mental care. You will see how, as time passes, the effort will be less and the results more positive. Finally, your own body will ask you for those healthy and pleasant moments of disconnection.
Clearing your mind is taking care of your health
When we free ourselves from the thoughts that flow incessantly through our minds, we find calm, new perspectives open and we allow fullness to manifest in us. By clearing the mind, we return to the present moment and ourselves and let go of the burdens of the past, the future and the outside.
Practicing this exercise on a regular basis modifies the way we perceive, think, feel and act; a complete transformation occurs. A calm mind translates into health, fulfillment and success, because the way in which we relate to ourselves, with others and with the world, becomes much more functional.
Article Referenced:
- https://www.psychological-consulting.com
- Guarino, L., Gavidia, I., Antor, MARIENMA, & Caballero, H. (2000). Stress, mental health, and immunological changes in college students. Behavioral Psychology, 8 (1), 57-71.
- https://www.behavioralpsycho.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/04.Guarino_8-1oa-1.pdf
- http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?pid=S0185-33252011000100006&script=sci_arttext