“Wipe out the imagination. Stop the pulling of the strings. Confine thyself to the present.” — Marcus Aurelius
This writing is Certified Human
The Obstacle
Our days are frantic.
Some days we are run more ragged than others.
Some days it seems like we never get a break and never get to stop.
And life just keeps coming. Without knowing it, we can be full of tension. Our mood can become sour, and our temper can become short.
It's hard to focus when everything seems to be moving at a million miles an hour and there are demands around every corner.
It's nearly impossible to have a great relationship when we're sitting right on the edge.
It's hard to take a break when there's no time for a break.
The Gift and Opportunity
It's important to pull over now and then for a change of tires and fresh fuel.
Even race cars in the most important race of their lives need a pit stop in order to keep from running out of fuel, spinning out, or blowing a tire.
We can take a little time to quickly reset, come back to base level, and refocus.
We don't need an hour, a half hour, or even five minutes.
We can just take five breaths.
Close our eyes.
Breathe in deeply.
Exhale fully.
Do that five times to clear our mind, settle down, and refocus.
When we do this, we can perform the task in front of us with more focus and attention. We can also have better communication and connection with those around us.
It only takes five breaths.
The Practice of Self-Mastery
• Stop
• Close our eyes
• Take five breaths
• Recalibrate
CHEAT CODE: STOP → CLOSE → BREATHE → REFOCUS
The Why
Today was a frantic day for me.
Nothing would really go right.
A seemingly simple task that was right at the finish line took hours to complete.
It's like when you see the load bar stuck at 99% for what seems like forever.
Every once in a while, I would stop, close my eyes, and take about five deep breaths.
And that helped me recenter, refocus, and calm my nerves.
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