Learn to Switch Off

This will be an interesting blog post. I've been thinking about this a lot lately and I feel like this is a skill that no one ever talks about, and that is...the ability to, "Turn Off Your Mind" or "Switch Off" when it is appropriate. I will elaborate.

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     You've probably experienced this before, like most people who are busy with their daily lives, they have a hundred thousands things going through their mind at any given point in time. There is a time for everything. There is a time to think and a time not to think. Most people don't use their brains enough, but that's not the point.

     When you've found something that works and you know is good for you to do, that would be a good time to make the decision, turn off your mind and just do it. Let's take going to gym for example. You make the decision to go to the gym everyday and exercise. You know it's good for you and you know you should do it everyday so you make the decision. Once the decision is made, you turn off your mind and just do it. 

     This is something I struggle with as well. Even after I've gone to the gym and I'm glad I did and I feel good in my body for working out, my mind will sometimes still question whether this is a useful habit that I should be doing. Of course that's silly, because I know for a fact that, yes, waking up a little bit earlier and going to the gym everyday is a great habit to adopt. This would be a good time to tell your mind to shut up and just do it.

     "As you age, you need to learn how to switch off your inner monologue and just do. This is a critical ability: Life isn't going how you want? Don't sit there and obsess over it and depress yourself. Just decide what you need to fix, and go do it.

     You'll lift more weight in the gym when you're switched off. You'll run farther when you're switched off. You'll push more, strive harder, and win when you're switched off. The art is not to be switched off all the time. You're not brain-dead. But you must be able to decide, then switch off and do. and you must be able to switch off in those situations where being switched off is what works best, or where being switched on is a liability"(Chase Amante).

     When I wake earlier in the morning, I get dressed as quickly as I can and get out the front door before my mind can come up with reasons not to go to the gym. I found a great workout program that I'm following, so there's no need to think. I simply turn off my mind, and go to the gym and workout. 
     If someone attack you or your loved ones, you can be sure your brain would switch off. It would either be "Fight or Flight." If you're running a marathon, switching off your mind would be very beneficial to you. The skill of switching off is a sister skill to the skill of being decisive. They are both very useful skills to get better at. 
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     This was a bit of a different kind of article, but I hope you found this interesting and enlightening. If you like the articles I'm putting out, let me know!

Cheers, 
​Alex S.