Yesterday, I had an interesting conversation with some friends about overwork and feeling overwhelmed. My own attitude has shifted a lot in the past few months.
Have you ever noticed that when someone seems to be working too much or involved in too many projects, the obvious advice from many is to “stop doing all of this,” “work less,” or “why do you do this to yourself?”
But the role of one’s thoughts or thinking is hardly ever considered in this context.
For most people, the idea of ‘doing less’ isn’t helpful because what does that even mean when you already have too much on your plate? More importantly, your thoughts and beliefs don’t allow you to just stop. It’s like telling someone ‘don’t panic’. It’s simply not a viable solution.
The Sky of Your Thoughts
When you’re truly overwhelmed, it’s not just about external tasks. It’s about being consumed by the constant stream of thoughts about work, demands, and expectations. The ‘you’ and the ‘thoughts’ can merge into one overwhelming, indistinguishable torrent. When your entire sense of self is caught in the hurricane of ‘more’, trying to ‘do less’ feels impossible. Because you’re caught within the very thing you’re trying to stop.
Instead, imagine your thoughts as a sky filled with clouds, not a raging river that threatens to sweep you away. They are constantly moving, shifting and changing. They can seem overwhelming. A storm of ‘deadlines’, ‘profit’ and ‘loss’ swirling around you, making you feel caught up in the urgency and chaos they create.
You Are the Sky .. and the observer of the sky and everything in it
But here’s the profound shift: You can choose to observe.
You can take a step back and realise that while these thought clouds are undeniably present, they are not you. They are phenomena within your awareness, but not the awareness itself. You are the vast, stable and boundless space in which they move.
From this perspective, you can observe them passing by. You can observe them shifting and dissipating to make way for new thoughts without needing to cling to any of them or be defined by their intensity. This understanding creates a powerful sense of inner spaciousness and agency, allowing you to navigate even the busiest days with greater ease and clarity. You aren’t fighting the clouds; you are simply the sky.
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