This topic is right up my alley and I love the little interruptions you mention. Some anecdotes from a MBTI perspective which has both challenged and frustrated me:
1. My acting coach (ISTP) once brutally said to me "You CAN'T think your way to a solution!" I've always resented that advice, it's like dismissing my core element as being something 'I can't trust' or that 'I'm not doing it right'. I guess he meant, 'be more spontaneous' or 'don't overthink it' but then again, I am very analytical, I love to think!
2. I recently read about a billionaire who couldn't find happiness because his 'rational' mind couldn't make any 'sense' of all the advice he was reading. Finally he gave up and wrote out his own mathematical formula for happiness, with the help of his young adult son.
Now, here's the messed up part...just as he is putting the finishing touches on his formula, his son died tragically in hospital from a very routine appendix operation. 5 basic things went horribly wrong.
The father as you can imagine was completely and utterly distraught. Finally he worked through his grief to understand the situation from his son's perspective, applying all the advice his son gave him.
He says now he is the happiest he has even been since the tragedy. He regularly appears on podcasts and talk shows, giving talks about his formula.
IDK if a mathematical formula would suit every personality type and for every situation, such as the one he experienced, but it makes total sense that our own thoughts get in the way of our ability to process pleasure. More to say but that's plenty for now.
As someone borderline obsessed with efficiency, productivity, and rapidly solving problems, I can be my own enemy. If I fill every moment of the day with a goal or activity, I start spinning in circles. I agree that there is wisdom in taking a break and allowing your brain to wander aimlessly. I became committed to learning how to mediate, so I bought an EEG brain scanner (MUSE) device. Needless to say, I’m still not good a mediating. For me, taking my dog for a walk in the park is the best way to take a brain break. In this way, my dog is truly my emotional support animal.
I’ve been getting to a conclusion that, so called, empty mind must be a case in order for me to fall asleep quickly. One thing is to feel sleepy, but there’s been enough times in my life when thoughts wins upon sleepiness, and then there’s just a huge frustration, cuz the thoughts are running around, and the stress along with those that in already less than 5h I should wake up, but I can’t stop to think, and I can’t stop to stress.
Sometimes... I’m not even feeling that sleepy. Like, last night (if one can call 5am a night..), I wasn’t really feeling it, the sleep. But I put everything away, and just tried to get rid off of all the thoughts. It pretty much always works.
With that said... I can understand how letting it go can lead to the answers that we’ve been looking for. Or the sleep... I’ve been looking for. It’s a weird kind of peace in a way.
This topic is right up my alley and I love the little interruptions you mention. Some anecdotes from a MBTI perspective which has both challenged and frustrated me:
1. My acting coach (ISTP) once brutally said to me "You CAN'T think your way to a solution!" I've always resented that advice, it's like dismissing my core element as being something 'I can't trust' or that 'I'm not doing it right'. I guess he meant, 'be more spontaneous' or 'don't overthink it' but then again, I am very analytical, I love to think!
2. I recently read about a billionaire who couldn't find happiness because his 'rational' mind couldn't make any 'sense' of all the advice he was reading. Finally he gave up and wrote out his own mathematical formula for happiness, with the help of his young adult son.
Now, here's the messed up part...just as he is putting the finishing touches on his formula, his son died tragically in hospital from a very routine appendix operation. 5 basic things went horribly wrong.
The father as you can imagine was completely and utterly distraught. Finally he worked through his grief to understand the situation from his son's perspective, applying all the advice his son gave him.
He says now he is the happiest he has even been since the tragedy. He regularly appears on podcasts and talk shows, giving talks about his formula.
IDK if a mathematical formula would suit every personality type and for every situation, such as the one he experienced, but it makes total sense that our own thoughts get in the way of our ability to process pleasure. More to say but that's plenty for now.
As someone borderline obsessed with efficiency, productivity, and rapidly solving problems, I can be my own enemy. If I fill every moment of the day with a goal or activity, I start spinning in circles. I agree that there is wisdom in taking a break and allowing your brain to wander aimlessly. I became committed to learning how to mediate, so I bought an EEG brain scanner (MUSE) device. Needless to say, I’m still not good a mediating. For me, taking my dog for a walk in the park is the best way to take a brain break. In this way, my dog is truly my emotional support animal.
I’ve been getting to a conclusion that, so called, empty mind must be a case in order for me to fall asleep quickly. One thing is to feel sleepy, but there’s been enough times in my life when thoughts wins upon sleepiness, and then there’s just a huge frustration, cuz the thoughts are running around, and the stress along with those that in already less than 5h I should wake up, but I can’t stop to think, and I can’t stop to stress.
Sometimes... I’m not even feeling that sleepy. Like, last night (if one can call 5am a night..), I wasn’t really feeling it, the sleep. But I put everything away, and just tried to get rid off of all the thoughts. It pretty much always works.
With that said... I can understand how letting it go can lead to the answers that we’ve been looking for. Or the sleep... I’ve been looking for. It’s a weird kind of peace in a way.