Moving Faster Than Lightning

Moving Faster Than Lightning

Many years ago, I saw a psychiatrist about being depressed. He didn’t recommend it.

Chuckle.

But we did have a conversation about the brain fog that depression causes, the apathy and the general slowing down of movement.

It's the overthinking, second guessing, self doubt and self hatred all mixed in together.

It's paralyzing!

The Experiment

I had an idea that I wanted to test.

If I cleared my mind of all thought, self doubt, etc. and just picked up a rolled up pair of fresh, clean socks up off of the floor, how fast could I do it?

So I attempted it...

I was faster than lightning!

Later I went back to the psychiatrist and he agreed with my hypothesis.

He then told me one of the stories that are attributed to The Buddha and how when we sever the kink to the past we can be free to do what we want to do.

The past is an anchor that keeps us stuck.

Practical Applications

Today is a public holiday, being Anzac Day and I was going to use the opportunity to clean my little one bedroom unit.

It's amazing how much clutter can accumulate if you let it (Old bills, official paperwork, etc.).

I realised that I could be using my time a lot more effectively if I had a singular, laser-like focus on each task and wasn't distracted by a myriad of things I want to achieve in a single day.

A lot of Zen, Buddhism and mindfulness practices reinforce this idea.

Conversely, things like ADD and ADHD can intefere with this process. Especially in the social media age where there are millions of dopamine sources at our fingertips.

And the constant beeping of notifications that, for the most part, are irrelevant to our current experience or needs.

Shutting off those distractions however creates a dopamine withdrawl so it's often about finding a balance.

Low level dopamine sources such as podcasts or music can make unenviable tasks more palatable.

Dancing while doing the dishes, perhaps?

It also helps to prioritise the tasks you want to achieve amd divide them into small achievable chunks.

For me, I need to do some laundry / ironing for work tomorrow.

That’s a major priority.

I also saw a job I'd like to apply for, which can probably wait until tomorrow night as it requires editing my resume to match the application. I’ll be tired but I genuinely want the job.

Other cleaning I can do as I go, but sorting through old books and paper will take longer.
(I need to find a few days off so I can call a plumber, and I also have an inspection coming up.)

Once the plumbing is sorted I will started asking around the local pubs to see their managers and put my resume in with them. I have some experience behind the bar and I just want my basic gaming certificate to oay for itself.
It has a two year expiry date from when I last work in the industry, so I need to find some work soon.

Most of the pokie rooms seem to be dying off at the moment, and I don’t think it’s a growth industry now that there are online gambling platforms.

Well see what happens after work tomorrow.
For now, I need to sleep as I have an early day.

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Shaidon

All content, including photos and text, are produced by myself except where indicated otherwise and sources are always supplied. I do not use A.I. so your upvotes support a genuine human being producing original material.