Does your mind race, bend, warp, cry, heal, struggle, dream, stare, criticise, accumulate, create, repeat, repeat, repeat? It is hard to keep control of the mind. Many have described the mind as being like a drunken money stung by a scorpion. Its so hard to tame the overwhelmed mind and as modern society pushes into new realms, increasing quicker every single day, the easier it is to become swept away in the chaos.

My mind is constantly in motion. I like to slow it with alcohol with a belief that would help it rest and it does but not in he healthiest way. I still like the idea of letting go of all control in a drunken state but perhaps there are better ways to do this. Ideas, thoughts and visions are constantly circling my mind, I am a creative type and no that I am not alone. We all have thoughts that overwhelm us whether its a creative thought or other – they can consume us so intensely that we become less effective.

Here is how you can begin to control these thoughts and tame the mind so that it doesn’t reduce your ability to do as you desire. If you find yourself constantly battling thoughts, you will find yourself roaming around in circles without making much progression. If you can tame you mind, control it allowing you to better focus the mind – direct the attention, you will find you will not only achieve more but you’ll also be more fulfilled, free and happy in the process.

To calm the mind, you must give it the space to become calm. There are many mindfulness activities that help with this including meditation. Simply by removing yourself from the environment you exist, for example going for a hike in the woods, will you allow your mind a chance to breathe. It’s a great chance to dispel those thoughts that only clutter the mind and in doing so making way for new and more conducive thoughts.

Have you ever seen someone like your boss or family member lose their shit under pressure? I have seen it and been there myself. We become that overwhelmed that our emotions take control. These emotions stem from our inability to process our thoughts and in effect worsen our ability to think clearly. When you are unable to think clearly you’re unable to act clearly. Like a person under pressure so is a mind under pressure – less effective in handling the situation. A calm mind is a more effective mind.

“The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.” ― Jon Kabat-Zinn

With a calm, stable and controlled mind one is in a better position to do other practical behaviors to assist with the mind that is in constant motion. You are better able to plan, remove distractions, reflect and become more aware. Awareness is the key to greater decisions and greater decisions will take you in the direction you so desire to go. As long as you already know and have a vision of where it is your truly desire to go.

A mind that is stable and has greater clarity can than progress to greater levels of focus. You can proceed in any order you wish however no matter how well you do the following, if your mind is cluttered and unstable your ability to focus will remain weak. I consider myself highly organized and capable of getting a heck of a lot done compared to the average however in saying that if my mind is overwhelmed I am no where near as effective as I could be.

The very successful have mindfulness practices. They have realized this is the best way to calm their overwhelmed mind and focus. They also understand the importance of having vision and purpose, planning and setting goals, and taking action. In efforts to stay focused on what’s important these are essential steps.

Without vision you lack purpose, you will lack direction. You will act without knowing any real reason for acting. Your doing may be pointless or wasteful. Imagine jumping on a plane without any idea of where you are travelling. Sure there will be value in such an adventure but if there is somewhere that you particularly desire to go it is less likely that you’ll get there. This is why having an ideal future vision is so important.

Visions helps you navigate your way through all the chaos. Vision allows you to remain focused on the task, activities and behaviors that will be conducive to you bringing that vision to reality. When you know where you desire to go you will make better decision around that, you will be more purposeful in your actions.

“Do nothing of no use.” Miyomoto Musashi

This quote came from a friend of mine and has stuck with me ever sense. In each moment you have thoughts and unless you are within a practice of silence and stillness you are in some way taking action. Actually, no matter what state you are in if what you think, say or do has no relevance to your vision, no purpose to improvement, progression or added value then of what use is it. I constantly reflect on this quote whenever I feel overwhelm or lacking focus to help realign and better direct myself.

With vision you have purpose however without goals all visions and dreams will remain as that. You need to become a master at planning and goal setting. Most of us neglect to spend time planning. The more I improve in this respect the greater my belief is that the more time spent planning the more likely it is I will achieve what I set out to achieve.

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” Tony Robbins

The greater the plan the better the goals and the easier the action. This is not to say action is easy, that really depends on how ambitious and unique the goal may be. However, it is easier to act on what you can see before you than what you cannot. Like any new job, without any training or guidance, when the task is new and unknown success comes by trial and error. The old case of sink and swim.

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You can have some grand learnings from such experiences however its not the most effective way to proceed. The best way to do things without great purpose is to not know exactly what needs to be done. In this sense you will waste time and effort on tasks that are not necessary. It is certainly not the most focused way to achieve the desired outcome.

Action creates movement. In movement you can find flow. It is also in action that you learn, raise your beliefs and develop more focused ways to proceed.

In efforts to remain focused what I have learnt and found in my own day to day experience is to trust my self and not take things too seriously. Trusting yourself is relying more on your institution than logic. It’s easy to say I need to do this, that and the other because your logic mind tells you that’s what needs to be done but that’s not always the case. Often our gut or intuition gives us greater direction on which we should be taking action.

For much of the overwhelm we face each day there is an endless account of things we could attend to and for those creative minds, things that we could create. Don’t partake in that which is unnecessary. This is when intuition can be used to guide you. Forget about all the chaos, forget about all the requests, demands and expectations, allow your intuition inform you of the best direction. The more you trust yourself the less anxious you will become.

Finally, don’t take things too seriously. When I am relaxed I enjoy life more. When I am in peace I seem to be better able to be focused. I used to be so serious about everything, I still struggle at times, yet as I let go I realize that most of the chaos that clutters my mind doesn’t matter all that much. In fact, I would suggest majority of it doesn’t. This allows me to then focus on what is really important to me.

“In today’s rush, we all think too much — seek too much — want too much — and forget about the joy of just being.” ~Eckhart Tolle 

If you wish to become more focused day to day these are lessons that have helped me. They are not unfamiliar or ground breaking, for many of these practices have been around for eons. They are timeless. Information is all around us which is much to blame for our overwhelmed minds overwhelm and lack of focus however the more we can actually translate that information into actionable improvements into our own lives the greater we will become. If you want more focus don’t just read this and move on, read, implement, practice and watch your focus and ability to achieve more of what you desire in life, grow.

If you are interested in setting yourself a challenge or desire to accomplish some goals, please feel free to download my Challenge2Transformation Goal Setting Worksheet here.