WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:09.000 Anyone else out there having a hard time clearing their minds these days. Mostly 2 00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:13.119 you know by now, hopefully some of you know that I've recently changed jobs. 3 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:17.480 Well it's not actually technically a change, it's different responsibilities. Where I 4 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:21.359 was overseeing just one territory at work for a long time, now I'm overseeing 5 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:26.120 the entire East Coast. So that comes with three additional markets I now represent. 6 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:28.600 It's a tremendous amount of work that's been laid on my plate, and 7 00:00:28.679 --> 00:00:32.679 because of it, I'm having a hard time sleeping. I mean understandably. 8 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:36.520 So in my previous life I used to be a perfectionist and there's still a 9 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:42.399 little bit of that inside meets The fact is I'm somewhat competitive now. I 10 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:46.039 do like to be successful, and I know all this is ego driven, 11 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:49.600 I understand that, but intrinsically it's who I am, right, It's in 12 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:53.719 my fiber because that's how I've been programmed to be. So the fact that 13 00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:57.039 I've got four markets now that I've got to develop, well that should give 14 00:00:57.079 --> 00:01:02.920 me pause. But I'm driven to be six tessful. So when I don't 15 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:06.000 have enough time in a day to work out all the problems, and figure 16 00:01:06.040 --> 00:01:07.879 all the answers out and service all the clients that need to be serviced in 17 00:01:07.920 --> 00:01:12.400 that day. When can my mind process all that stuff? Of course, 18 00:01:12.680 --> 00:01:17.120 when I'm sleeping. This means that I'm not sleeping very well these days, 19 00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:21.439 as you can probably imagine, I'd say probably the past few weeks, because 20 00:01:21.799 --> 00:01:26.000 my mind is constantly active. Well, that's also been affecting my meditation practice. 21 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:30.719 It's very hard for me these days to clear my mind enough to just 22 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:34.519 be. And the times when it happens, it's glorious, but they're snippets. 23 00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:38.879 They stick around for like ten, fifteen, maybe thirty seconds, and 24 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:42.959 then I'm right back to thinking thinking thinking. I do what every mindfulness meditation 25 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:47.799 teacher tells you to do, which is just acknowledge that you're thinking, release 26 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:52.040 it, and go back to not thinking. And I do that, and 27 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:55.760 I'm successful to a certain extent, but not as much as I was before 28 00:01:55.879 --> 00:02:00.400 this whole change of work thing. What I'm finding is the the more I 29 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:04.560 focus on the fact that I'm thinking, recognizing that I'm thinking, acknowledging it, 30 00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:07.680 and then moving it aside and going back to not thinking, well, 31 00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:12.000 the more it seems to stick. So the reason why I'm telling you all 32 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:15.599 this is because I know sometimes it's difficult to meditate or focus on whatever it 33 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:21.840 is you need to focus on because we're all super scattered these days. There's 34 00:02:21.879 --> 00:02:23.560 a lot going on in the world, a lot going on in our lives, 35 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:30.039 so it's understandable. But hey, stick with it now. I can 36 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:34.159 tell you I'm not there yet. I'm still having a hard time clearing my 37 00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:37.520 mind. But I have noticed that the more I stick with it, the 38 00:02:37.560 --> 00:02:42.039 more I acknowledge the thinking and release it and just go back to trying to 39 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:46.759 just be. The more it sticks, the more it opens up, and 40 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:51.840 hopefully sometime in the very near future, I'll finally be able to get back 41 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:57.000 to that all encompassing peace that I had every time I meditated before all these 42 00:02:57.080 --> 00:03:00.759 changes. I have faith that that's what's going to happen, because every time 43 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:05.400 I do it, it sticks around just that little longer, maybe a microsecond 44 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:07.120 longer, but I feel it. I can feel it. It's getting longer 45 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:12.520 and longer the peace that I'm feeling. So if you're experiencing something similar, 46 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:15.800 my advice to you is stick with it. Just do your ten minutes or 47 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:19.360 fifteen minutes or twenty minutes or thirty minutes, whatever it is that you do 48 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:21.280 in the morning, in the middle of the day, at night, whenever 49 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:23.000 you do it. And if you don't meditate, I urge you to do 50 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:25.599 that obviously, to try it, pick up a practice, because I found 51 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:30.120 that meditation changed my life. I know a lot of people say it's difficult, 52 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:32.039 it's boring, it's blah blah blah. But if you need help, 53 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:37.599 there's help out there. There really is. And if you stick with meditation 54 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:43.000 with a practice over time, you're going to find that suddenly you're much happier 55 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:46.080 with it. But anyway, if you're already meditating and you're having a hard 56 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:49.599 time clear in your mind, just be patient with yourself. In fact, 57 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:53.439 have no expectations of what your meditation practice should be. Allow it to be 58 00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:58.120 whatever it is. If your mind is racing, racing the entire time, 59 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:01.400 hey let it race, because at least you're taking time to do nothing but 60 00:04:02.360 --> 00:04:06.919 think and let your mind race. And little by little, if you recognize 61 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:11.479 or realize that you're thinking, go ahead and just acknowledge that you're thinking, 62 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:15.840 release the thoughts, and then go back to not thinking. And the more 63 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:19.000 you do that time and time and time again. The more you'll find that 64 00:04:19.079 --> 00:04:25.240 it's easier and easier and easier to clear your mind. Over time, you'll 65 00:04:25.240 --> 00:04:29.800 find the peace that we've all been striving for. I have faith that that's 66 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:35.319 what's going to happen, and I wish you the absolute peace that we all 67 00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:36.680 want to find.