*Deep inhale* okay. Life has beenā¦ a lot. You know that feeling where your thoughts spin at 100 mph, like a growing tornado that picks everything up and throws āem in every possible direction, causing chaos in its path with no slowing down?
The best tried-and-true advice to cure the ātornado mindā is by writing everything out. Making lists. Materializing thoughts into comprehensible sentences and structures, so that maybe we can make sense of it all.
Letās try that in todayās newsletter.
What Iām readingā¦
The ladder & our higher mind
You ever watch the Pixar movie āInside Outā? Now imagine those characters, but with thoughts instead of emotions. And just two of them.
We have two minds cohabiting up there. Making choices. Prompting impulses. Like two different voices sitting on each of our shoulders, sometimes in agreement, other times bickering.
They are the Primitive Mind and Higher Mind, as described in chapter 1: The Ladder from Tim Urbanās book āWhatās Our Problem? A Self-Help Book for Societies.ā
The Ladder itself describes the rungs in which our Primitive Mind and Higher Mind exchange control. In the highest rung, our Higher Minds are in full control, which obviously is desirable as this is the mind with wisdom and ability to think beyond itself.
We need not identify with either of these minds. Instead, weāre simply awareness ā right in the middle, the observer of our thoughts. How do we ultimately operate in the highest rung of the ladder? Appoint our Higher Minds to reign? You can read the full chapter on Timās blog.
This resonated with me in a snap of self-awareness. Stress as of late ā from juggling demands and expectations, most coming from myself ā has caused my Primitive Mind to rise in power. Iād been less intentional with my actions, operating instead on āsurvival instinctā which rarely ever serves my higher good. Reactive productivity. Emotional impulses. Unproductive, and rather, demoralizing thoughts, laying the tracks for the autopilot train.
The empowering piece is remembering whoās really in control. Itās me. Awareness. Not my Primitive Mind.
Note to self: get input from my Higher Mind before impulsive action. Ask: does this align to my goals and/or values? What need does this fulfill? Where is the urge coming from? What can I replace this action with? What would me from tomorrow, wish I did today? Then, do that instead. And strengthen confidence in the process.
What Iām usingā¦
Declutter, or else
When lifeās too much, declutter. 100% hit rate of feeling better after. Declutter your pics. Declutter your room. Declutter your laptop, and go update Zoom! And heck, declutter your damn email inbox (but keep me in there yeah? ;)).
My go-to for inbox decluttering is unroll.me. This free tool allows you to mass unsubscribe from emails, or put them on a ārollā to be delivered in one chain instead of forty.
I also like to label and colour-code my Gmail. Fun fact: before I organized my inbox, Iād miss so many important emails (mixed in with clutter!) that I ended up owing the CRA $2000 from skipping over their notices. Itās tax season right now, so let that serve as a warningā¦
What Iām ponderingā¦
Chasing less, living more
Iāve been 25 for over a month now, and itās been a bit of a blur. Adulting is all fun and gamesā¦ until it isnāt. Until the time-crunch weighs on our backs. Until our aspirations and dreams for which we set timelines, loom on the horizon, seemingly in reach yet barely moving as we step towards them.
Itās all about perspective though, right? Even when goals appear just as far as they did yesterday, last week, last month, what matters is we took strides forward. If we keep our eyes too fixated on the goalpost, weāll miss the view on the way. And the view is the best part. Itās the part unobstructed by tense deadlines, the āshould haveās and āmust doās that never truly end, the presence in a world so hooked on the future.
Moments of cooking with dad. Reading a good book. Unhinged jokes with friends thatād probably get us cancelled. Bus rides at sunrise. Getting lost in a movie. None of which have KPIs or boxes to check. Not everything is about achieving something.
Never forget the magic of the human experience ā even when you have tax deadlines to meet, inboxes to clear, or PRs to hit. Take a breath. Get some sun. Try a new bakery. Call a friend. This is as much as note to self as itās a note to you. Come alive again, and remember who youāre living for.
Life updateā¦
Spin, snow, something in the works
My past week in three bullets:
An empowering spin class at DibFit cycle with Katy and Zoey, followed by Lebanese food at Nuba Cafe ft. talks about culture and community.
My second snowboarding on Whistler mountain, a weekend trip of unexpected twists: the longest-ever foot cramp from hopping into the hot tub after a brisk run in the snow, the biggest ever hot pot feast in our cozy Creekside cabin, sliding down a black diamond run with Theo on our asses in search of his phone, a well-deserved McFlurries feast on our sunny road trip home.
Lots of phone calls, numbers-crunching, emails, and discussions. Not the most fun, and certainly quite mentally exhausting, but exciting with what itās all leading up to! Iāll disclose what this is when time comes.
āTil next week, and sure bet Iāll be looking more alive by then. *Deep exhale.* Life is a lot, but itās also good. We just need to recalibrate once in a while.
Yours,
Meg