Peace Over Performance - Calming the Monkey Mind

Mental Health Article - Our minds are wondering more now than ever science is confirming in mental health studies. It is at times like maybe we are trying to negatively process or put together old puzzle pieces of our past that gives us regret or discomfort, harmful for our peace of mind as if we are trying to auto-correct our past. We are also worrying about the future, what we cannot control and it can be very damning - be a major disruption living in the present while impacting our overall attitude, plus having an effect on our long-term mental health well-being.

Dr. Murray Bowen, an early family researcher writes about the family systems theory (Bowen Theory) and what affects a certain individual saying, "Whatever affects one affects each one in the system. That is, anxiety moves easily from person to person in the group."

Not staying in the present and being obsessed with the future or the past is the opposite of a restful mind and cannot just hurt you but also your loved ones, your tribe. This type of hurtful mind wandering, a restless mind jumping around from one particular thought to the next, much like a monkey-swings from one tree branch to the next, a cognitive overload, is now being labeled as “monkey mind”.

What New Research is Confirming

New studies in science have started to label certain symptoms as “monkey mind”. This is where your mind is racing and overworked, difficult to control your thoughts and increasing certain levels of anxiety you will experience. A study called, Calming the Monkey Mind, highlights how certain thoughts related to the next day or pressure related to the near future is affecting our stress and anxiety levels. Many times, this “racing” thought or thoughts are transmitted to our brains during times when we are supposed to rest or connect to others during our down-time.

Monkey mind is compounded by not being “present”, not socializing with others from our group unit. This study said, “we see ourselves separate from our world, rather than being a part of it, leading to inflation of our ego as we put our needs and ourselves first.” This type of mentality of constantly zeroed in on our goals, our needs, our wants, effects our well-being and hurts our relationships, a key component for finding sustainable long-term joy. We are, unfortunately, putting ego over filling and nourishing our soul.

Quantity over Quality State of Mind

Certain principles in our modern environment can be poisonous to us feeling content and what we currently have is enough or good enough. Whether it’s our education, our salary tier, even our friends or family, we seem to think these days that more is always better, quantity over quality, a Costco state of mind or thinking is a good way to label it.

One good authentic friend or one quality job that provides a work/life balance should be greatly appreciated. Our ego and our natural behavior is getting too much oxygen and effecting our thoughts and our desires as we continue to feed our “hungry ghosts”. We need to reprogram or recalibrate our perspective with our focus much more on caring and what our loved ones, our tribe are experiencing and how can we encourage others. Certain principles are highlighted in this particular study, specifically connectedness with others, inclusion and balance, the state of quality.

What is Mindfulness

A certain type of practice that has been labeled helpful to combat monkey mind is “mindfulness”. By being authentically in the present, being aware of the here-and-now thinking and connecting to our tribe, our community, with this type of acceptance we can retrain our thoughts and practice a new helpful routine and push back on those “racing thoughts”.

It has been known and confirmed in science we can only have one thought at a present time. By holding the action of being still, thoughts of acceptance, what we are currently doing at the moment is absolutely good enough and important and finding a deep appreciation of what is right in front of us, even if it’s not shiny or highly entertaining at first sight. It’s a shift in our perspective where we can find some joy in life, being more mindful and looking around and seeing the beauty right in front of us.

A book I am reading right now that highlighted this type of thinking is from author, Bryan M. Litfin and his new book is called, Widsom from the Ancients. In his book of sharing helpful wisdom, it discusses the importance of “being present” saying, “Never should we long for the past, be obsessed with the present, or be unmindful of the future. Instead, we must remember the past and engage wisely with the present.” Words of wisdom, indeed, worthy of sharing.

(Book reference, Wisdom from the Ancients by author Bryan M. Litfin)

Birds and the Songs they Sing

A specific example I have found helpful for me is in the early morning when I am sipping my strong coffee, studying my daily devotional, reaching for a higher learning, ancient wisdom to help me during my challenging days ahead. I sometimes have to pause or stop reading, look around at the current and present sunrise color hues paired with listening to a variety of morning birds and actually actively listening to the songs they sing. This is my example of living in the present and being mindful and appreciative of my environment. I find this example to be much more impactful to my day than anything an influencer can say on various social media channels. Being present and thinking of whatever is in front of me or around me can be beautiful, impactful and inspiring. Mindful thinking can really be helpful when managing or processing your stress factors and putting it to the side for more healthy thoughts related to the present and acceptance.

(Illustration, Coffee + white noise of birds, a good pairing to calm the mind in the early mornings)

A Time and Place for Goal-Setting and Problem-Solving

There are pros and cons to thinking about setting goals or problem-solving. This could bring on negative thoughts from the past or future. Studies confirm that humans spend roughly 50% of each waking day thinking about things not related to our current tasks, jobs or present demands. By trying to concentrate and focusing on the present moment, even if it’s listening to music or sleeping, this calming of the mind and having the authority to not let other thoughts have interference with your activities where you need to enjoy a calm and restful mind.

There is a time and place for goal-setting and problem-solving, but it might be helpful to have a specific designated time, part of your daily routine, to practice these types of thinking, focused on the past or future, related to output or performance.

Mindfulness, living in the present and mind wandering, could lead to monkey mind, are often described as two different divergent mental states according to study called, The Brain on Silent: Mind Wandering, Mindful Awareness, and States of Mental Tranquility. A certain consciousness with a focus on rest that impacts a quiet mind and ultimately, a restful mind is a key strategy and takeaway over any impulse or desire to engage or interact with anything related to sensory objects (cell phone).

(A focus of rest in the evenings + preparing the mind for sleep = a better rest)

Conclusion

The goal with me in most cases, especially starting and ending my day, is having a sense of peace and quiet in the mind and allowing myself to concentrate on what is important in the present. But certain emotions during the day or night can steal your thoughts or your mind.

We are now getting more clarity in mental health thanks in large part to scientific discoveries with how monkey mind is affecting us by achieving a restful mind. By having a better understanding of how mind wandering and thinking excessively about our goals, our needs, our desires can rob us of our joy, we can adjust our thinking and live in the present more and allow us to live with more acceptance and have a greater understanding of the importance of engagement at the appropriate times but not at the cost of a restful mind.

By us being more mindful and having more awareness, we can have more of a positive effect on both our family units, our tribe and influence our environment with a mindfulness-based practice over our environment influencing us.

(Life is literally a Balancing Act)

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