Mojo Monday - Try This Technique To Help With Overthinking and Rumination With Carly Taylor

This week Carly talks through a simple, but effective technique anyone can do to help with overthinking and rumination.

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Hey everyone, it's Carli here and welcome to you. This
week's Mojo Monday. So this week I wanted to give
you a technique that can help you get out of
your head and into life. And it's particularly helpful if
you have a lot of mental intergestion, which you would
relate to if there's a problem in your life at

(00:31):
the moment and you're really ruminating over it, it's taking
over a lot of headspace for you. So it's around
working with our attention. There's no magic pill here. And
if anyone tells you there is any technique to stop
you from thinking, then they're either trying to sell you
something or it's just a complete cham because our thoughts

(00:55):
are there for a reason. Our mind is very problem
solving machine. It's very protective of us, and so when
we tend to overthink stuff or ruminating about stuff, it's
because our mind's doing its job. It's just that it's
not always helpful because what it can do is get

(01:16):
in the way of us living well. And so what
we want to do is use our skill of attention
to take the focus away from the thoughts and onto
the outside world. So it's going from internal to external
because if you think about it, like just imagine you
are having a conversation with a friend and you're really

(01:39):
intent on the conversation. On the You're paying attention to
the words that your friend is saying, the meaning, the
little micro expressions of your friends. So you're very absorbed
in the conversation. So your attention is very narrowly focused there.
And so what happens is there's a whole lot of

(02:00):
stuff going on around you that you're not going to
notice because your attention is so focused on your friend
and on the conversation. You know, that could be like
a fly that goes past or you know, somebody coughs
next to you, and but you're not noticing that stuff.
So the same thing happens when our attention is on

(02:22):
our thoughts. We're so focused on our thoughts and the
problem and the pain that comes with it that we
end up not noticing the world around us. And what
it can do is when we switch that attention from
the internal to the external, it means there's a bit

(02:43):
of a reprieve there. It just is like the thoughts.
What you want to aim for really is not to
get rid of the thoughts. But what can happen over
time is the thoughts become a bit like a radio
playing in the background, where the volumes just turned down
and your attention is so focused elsewhere that you might

(03:05):
not even notice it. So it's a really simple technique,
and it is around looking for the color blue. So
you can look for anything the color blue. So it
can be something big, like the expansive sky. It can
be something small like a feather on a bird, or

(03:28):
it can be a child's bike, or someone's shoes, or
someone's shirt, anything the color blue, different shades of blue.
You can get creative about and get curious about all
things the color blue. And this really simple technique what
it does is it just switches that attention away from

(03:49):
those thoughts and onto the outside world. Now, if you
get sick of the color blue, you don't have to
stick with that color. I had a client who decided
she wanted to look for purple, and that was really
challenging because there are actually not many things around that
are the color purple. So try this technique. As simple
as it sounds, it's really effective for controlling where your

(04:14):
attention is in any moment. And then once you've done that,
then you take that next step towards action. So what
needs to be done in this moment? Do you need
to get a draw tidied up? Do you need to
get those dishes done? Do you need to pay a bill?
Do you need to spend some time with the kids? Okay, always, always,

(04:36):
When you switch that attention, then there's the action part
of it. And you may have to keep going back
to the color blue because those thoughts are going to
keep popping up, especially if you're going through a pretty
intense time at the moment. Then you just notice those thoughts.
Oh yeah, there it is again. There's those thoughts again.

(04:56):
And then switch to the outside world. And another tip
which I actually got from a Zen Buddhist was around
using your hands, using your fingers, because when you are
doing something practical like cooking or gardening, or maybe it's

(05:17):
a hobby like knitting or working with clay or anything creative,
you have to have your attention on what you're doing.
And there is something about that space between the mind
and the hands that helps really helps direct that attention

(05:38):
to the outside world. And I know this because last
night I actually tried a different recipe which I hadn't
done for a long time. And I really noticed my
attention was very focused on what I was doing, So
it doesn't even give you time to think about your

(06:00):
problems or to even engage in any sort of thought
that isn't about what you are doing. So try that
as well. Do something that works with your hands. So
I hope those tips are helpful for you if you
are struggling with overthinking or ruminating thoughts, so you look

(06:23):
for the color blue, or just look for your favorite
color and then take some sort of action, preferably using
your hands. So have a great week everybody, and I
will catch you next week. Seeya