Sunday Journal Prompt

“Being too goal-oriented and focused goes hand in hand with being busy, driven and worried.”

– Authors and Meditation Teachers Iam Gawler and Paul Bedson, Meditation: An In-Depth Guide

 

Many of us have been raised in a culture in which busy = successful. Even holiday letters are laden with accomplishments, often providing paragraph-sized resumes for each family member. When we ask our friends how they are, the response we frequently get is, “Busy.” For a long time, I thought this was a good thing—that my being busy proved I was adding value to the world. But I also know that overcommitting and overscheduling costs me, leading to anxiety, a sense of failure and often illness.

In their book Meditation: An In-Depth Guide, Gawler and Bedson assert that our busyness prevents us from being more open, more present—from having space in our minds and our lives. “Mindfulness meditation can lead us from narrow-focused concentration to open awareness and into spaciousness and stillness,” they write. By taking more time to detach from the rat race through daily meditation and frequent breaks, I’ve reduced anxiety and am less worried about whether or not I’ll reach my goals—all while moving toward them at a more manageable pace. Best of all, I now trust the process, trust that I am where I’m supposed to be.

Is the race toward your goals making you anxious? How can you reduce your intensity and be more present?