For just 10 minutes, each day, maybe when you’re just waking up, just sit there. Not actively thinking about all the things you’re supposed to get done, or the things you should have done yesterday but didn’t get around to because you got sucked into a YouTube vortex of funny cat videos. Just sit quietly, focusing on your breathing pattern, and let your mind just do what it will. Inevitably, your brain might start sending you some signals you don’t like, and for that, you’ll be uncomfortable and might want to desperately reach for your phone to find a distraction from the horrible darkness of your psyche. What you should keep in mind is that your opinion about what your thoughts cough up from the deep recesses of your mind are in your control. They’re just thoughts. They don’t have to define you. You don’t have to act on them, or dissect them. You just have to ‘listen’, without judgment. You’ll have the rest of your waking day to try and keep yourself occupied, but for those 10 minutes, you can attempt what may be the greatest “life hack” of your life: NOT BEING SO JUDGMENTAL OF YOURSELF.
If 10 minutes is too much, then start with 5, or 3, or hell, even 1 minute of your time. Like any worthwhile skill, you see where you’re at and you build it up over time.
It’s easy to hate the stupid shit that our minds come up with. The self-hate monologues; the playlist of stupid things we’ve said and done; The opportunities we’ve missed; or the things we fear that loom on the horizon. These things don’t define us if we don’t allow them to. As much as our reputation is just other people’s opinions of us, our self-image is our judgment of ourselves. If you’re trying to do the work, shouldn’t you see yourself as better than you are? You’re trying, and that’s more than most, in my estimation. Be proud of that. You’re choosing to try. Don’t let fear of failure scare you away. Only fear never trying. You fail more in avoidance than action. At least when you try, you can learn.