Are You Hoarding Too Many Thoughts in Your Head?

Let me give you an idea of what is typically going on in my brain all too often. “What day is it today?…what sports do my kids have tonight?…when is that piano recital?…my car needs gas,…and thinking about my car, I need to renew my license,…almost out of the kids lunch items,…I need to call about the broken dishwasher,…oh geez, the taxes are due soon,…I need to tackle that mountain of paperwork at the office,…I need a haircut. Does this sound all too familiar? Are there times when your mind is as full and as cluttered as your basement furnace room? When there is so much clutter, it’s tough finding the things you need. The same holds true when you’ve got too much going on in your head. Good luck retrieving information from your brain or focussing on one thing. Most of us have some sort of “background noise” going on in our brain. It is the combination of a number of thoughts. There may be things on your “to-do”list, or the thought of an upcoming meeting or interview. Maybe there is also the thought of a girl or guy you are smitten with, or worry you may not get all your Christmas shopping done, even though it is only October. Maybe all of these things are going on in your brain at the same time. Add that annoying song that is playing over and over in your head and you’ve got a very cluttered brain. This cluttered brain may be the reason you have trouble focusing on one thing, why you lack concentration, and often get nothing done. I’ve written about meditation in the past with respect to stress relief, but research supports meditation as a good practice for training your brain to focus as well. Those who meditate gain more control of their brain. Meditation helps to reduce and temper the background noise. Studies looking at brain scans of those who meditate and those who do not, show that meditators do in fact have better focus. The area of the brain responsible for spontaneous thoughts and mind-wandering had more stability in those who meditated. A long term study looking at people who meditated regularly for 7 years showed that they had superior cognitive function as compared to a group who did not meditate. Improved focus, task performance and less age-related decline was attributed to regular mediation. Some research goes as far a saying mood disorders like depression may be lessened with learning meditation techniques. Meditation is not as easy as you’d think. Focused thought and clearing the background noise requires regular practice. Mastery can take years of practice. The brain is yours and only yours to control. Finding a way to temper the background noise will help you focus on the tasks you need to get done that are right in front of you.