Empty mind = full work
What if less thinking was the way to do more impactful work?
Hi,
When you're about to start an important task, do you notice that the mind is already buzzing?
Judgments, expectations, beliefs, and opinions — they all crowd in, weighing us down before we even begin. We keep lugging a lifetime's worth of mental baggage while trying to scale a mountain.
What if we ditched that baggage? What if we approached our work with a lighter mental load?
When we switch off our judgments, expectations, opinions, and beliefs -- even if just for a few minutes at first -- we give our mind space and time to think objectively. We begin seeing what's really happening in the world around us, instead of just reacting to our own mental drama.
But what does turning off that switch really mean?
- Judgment off: Instead of demanding, "This has got to be perfect," we get to notice what's happening as our work progresses. We can observe and think, "Oh, that's fascinating. I didn't expect that."
- Expectations off: Instead of expecting a certain outcome, we get to appreciate our process, see where it takes us, and keep adapting.
- Beliefs off: Of those beliefs we hold so tightly, we can ask, "How is this belief actually serving me right now?"
- Opinions off: And those strong opinions? We can set them aside for just a few moments. Then we get to approach our task with a fresh perspective.
This is simple, but takes practice to do. Our minds love to constantly judge, label, and form opinions. Silencing them just a little bit (even for a couple of minutes) causes a big upgrade to the quality of our thinking. And with more practice, we can make that chattering mind stay still for longer and longer.
We become not just more productive, but more effective -- and can even find a little bit of inner peace and joy in the process.
What if we made today a day of zero judgments and expectations? What would that look like for you?
With an emptier mind,
/rajesh