Looping mind?
That’s how it used to be for me, most often at 4am.
I’d lie in bed twisting and turning over the things I hadn’t done, feeling haunted by the gap between who I was and who I wanted to be. Procrastination, indecision, good intentions followed by inaction.
It wasn’t a lack of desire to grow. It was the painful sense of being stuck in old patterns I couldn’t seem to break.
I analysed, planned, new-years-resolutioned, talked about how now the time had come for change, but trying to take control of the problem just never worked.
When thinking harder isn’t the answer
The turning point came when I met one of my beloved mentors who I now have worked with for many years, who works with the body and the senses, to expand the understanding of our issues.
I connected with how my body has a unique intelligence, and I realised my mind did not have all the answers.
That meant learning to notice what was happening in my body, not just in my thoughts. Becoming aware of the subtle signals - tightness, resistance, fatigue, restlessness - that were trying to tell me something before my mind turned them into stories.
What I’ve seen in myself and my clients is this: Sustainable change doesn’t come from thinking or analysing harder. It comes from listening to our other intelligences more deeply.
"We cannot solve problems at the same thinking we used when we created them". Einstein
A Practical Starting Point
Here’s something to try the next time you feel stuck or caught in a loop of overthinking:
Pause what you’re doing
Interrupt the momentum. It doesn't have to take long - 30 seconds can shift a lot.
Close your eyes, connect to your heart
Take three slow soft breaths in and out of your heart.
Notice your body
Where is there tension, tightness, or heaviness?
What’s happening with your breath - shallow, held, rushed, relaxed?
Are there sensations in your chest, stomach, jaw, or shoulders?
Welcome it
What ever you are feeling - anxious, sad, anger - welcome it without wanting to change it.
Breath slowly and softly into that feeling with love and care.
Ask yourself: what do I need right now?
Often, this kind of presence opens more clarity than mental effort ever could.
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