Stop Thinking So Much And Start Living

The following question may seem strange to you, but do you spend your time in your thoughts or in the present? It seems like we are losing what is most important between all the thoughts we are stuck with in the past or future: the here and now. Most of us live as if guided by the autopilot, between yesterday and tomorrow, between what we have done and what is yet to come.

Spending too much time thinking, brooding in worry and expectation is not good for us because it makes us dependent on our thoughts. Because of this, when we then grapple with the reality of our existence, we feel lonely. The problem with this is that there is no secret recipe for solving this problem quickly. We couldn’t describe the secret of finally beginning to live better than with these five simple words: Stop thinking so much.

To understand this profound message, we should think of our minds as one of our comfort zones. It consists of many thoughts that we accumulate and that prevent us from being aware of the present. It is this mental noise that distracts us from every moment and compels us to live in the past or the future.

How you can stop thinking so much thanks to mindfulness

One of the most recommended ways to escape our mental prison is mindfulness. This practice does not consist of sitting down, just being quiet and thinking about nothing. Perhaps you’ve tried something similar before and then thought that it wouldn’t do any good.

Anyone who has not mastered the mindfulness practice will have thoughts piling up, they appear confusing and scream from the deepest part of their mind: “You’re crazy, you can’t just stop thinking!” 

This is exactly what happens at the beginning of one of these exercises. It is a fact that we are not used to naturally letting our thoughts flow through our minds without judging or suppressing them. It’s about simply letting us have them as they come and go and focus on the here and now.

Even if this is difficult for us to do, we realize what the phrase “stop thinking so much” actually means as soon as we let our thoughts flow. When we stop evaluating our thoughts and just observe them as if they were a movie we are watching, we no longer let them influence our reality and we see more clearly. We begin to see the real reality.

“Living consciously means saying goodbye to judgments for a while, putting aside our short-term goals for the future and taking the present moment as it is and not as we would like it to be.”

Mark Williams

Life takes place in the present

When was the last time you took a break to get some fresh air? Are you grateful for having warm water every morning when you wake up? Maybe your answer is no because your mind is too busy thinking that you will be late for work, that you will have to pick up the kids later, and you are wondering what else to buy.

Another example is when we feel fear for no reason. Is there something we need to flee or hide from that is real? No! In our minds, however, a movie is playing that we actually believe is the truth.

Once you pay attention to it, your mind is full of thoughts about the past and future, but the present is lost between all of these thoughts. You create the stress you suffer from with your thoughts. Many of the problems you have are created by your mental activity. You worry too much about the future. None of this is real. Only when it happens and becomes the present do you have to confront it.

So you should stop thinking so much, better today than tomorrow. Take a moment to yourself to free yourself from this vortex of thought that is not allowing you to enjoy the present and that makes you feel uncomfortable.

“There are only two days a year when you can’t do anything. One of them is called ‘yesterday’ and the other is called ‘tomorrow’. That is why today is there to love, grow, create and above all to live. “

Dalai Lama

Rather than brooding over so much, it is better to dare to live and wait for things to just happen without anticipating them. Stop thinking about the past, make it your present because it is not part of the present moment. Live every day as if you were breathing fresh air for the first time, as if you were drinking water for the very first time or having a delicious meal.

Be aware of most of the moments in your life. Be aware of your existence every moment, even when you are working. Do you now notice how your fingers lightly touch the keyboard? Do you notice how your legs support you and allow you to get from A to B? Connect with your life, connect with yourself, and best of all, stop thinking so much once and for all.