Declutter Your Mind: How to Stop Worrying, Relieve Anxiety, and Eliminate Negative Thinking

by S.J. Scott

Our powerful brains are constantly processing all sorts of experiences and analyzing them in the form of thoughts. Thoughts form what we perceive to be reality.

Your constant inner dialog distracts you from what is happening around you, right here and now. It causes you to miss valuable experiences and sabotages the joy of the present moment.

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”

Place a mental filter between your thoughts and words, recognizing the power your words have on one of the most important people in your life.

You can practice a loving kindness meditation anywhere, but start with a short 10-minute meditation in a quiet place without distraction. Here is a simple process for practicing this habit: Sit in a comfortable position, either on the floor with your legs crossed and your hands sitting loosely in your lap, or sitting up straight in a chair with your legs uncrossed, feet on the floor, and hands resting in your lap. Close your eyes and take two or three deep cleansing breathes, and then begin counting each breath, going from 1 to 10. Once you are relaxed, bring to mind a person to whom you wish to send loving kindness, and consider their positive qualities—the light of goodness you see in them. After you focus on their positive qualities for a few minutes, mentally say the following statements directed to your loved one: “May you be happy,” “May you be well,” “May you be loved.”

End the Comparisons to Others “Let us not look at the talents we wish we had or pine away for the gifts that are not ours, but instead do the best we can with what we have.” – B.J. Richardson

We also procrastinate because we dread difficult tasks. We don’t want to tax our brains or expend the energy necessary to get started. As you’ve likely experienced, the getting started part is the most difficult. Once you start, momentum carries you forward, but if you keep procrastinating, you’ll never catch that wave of momentum.

The more we procrastinate on something important, the worse we feel about ourselves. The worse we feel, the less motivation we have to get moving on our work. The less motivation we have, the more we procrastinate with mindless distractions. It’s a vicious cycle that traps you in self-recriminations and anxiety.

“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it’s the axis on which the earth revolves–slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future; live the actual moment. Only this moment is life.”

“Your mind is the basis of everything you experience and of every contribution you make to the lives of others. Given this fact, it makes sense to train it.” – Sam Harris