I stop my mind from jumping from branch to branch

Ways to calm our minds are a treasure trove that we are all looking for, because our minds are always jumping from one topic to another and doing it in a very chatty way. Do you think of anything when we say "the wandering mind"? For example, does this dialog sound familiar to you?

It's the beginning of the month, you were supposed to pay the rent, did you forget? Speaking of rent, there are chores related to the house, we shouldn't forget them either. For example, the master will be called... What are you going to wear to the meeting tomorrow, how are you going to make the presentation? Should you leave your pending work today and take care of the presentation? By the way, what was your coworker's behavior yesterday, you should talk about that and sort it out. There will be a trip to the grocery store in the evening, you should not forget what to buy... There is a breakfast on Saturday, you should take something to it...

Is the practice of thinking about all of these things, or even more, at the same time a behavior you see in yourself? Many of us complain of feeling mentally rather than physically exhausted at the end of the day. This feeling of fatigue and exhaustion, which we think is due to the busyness of work, is in fact often caused by trying to catch up and keep up with all the thoughts running through our heads at the same time. This can lead to distraction and communication disorders, and if left unchecked, it can become serious over time and lead to uncontrolled anger, fear and paranoia.

There are a few simple ways to calm our mind, which jumps from branch to branch like a monkey. What are they?

Take deep belly breaths. We all breathe, but not all of us breathe correctly. Experts recommend taking deep breaths that inflate the diaphragm, or abdomen, instead of the rib cage, and focusing only on your breathing. Abdominal breathing is thought to be effective in focusing and clearing the head.

Look around like watching a movie. To separate yourself from what is going on around you, it can be helpful to look around like you are watching a movie. Notice what people are wearing, how the cat walks down the street, what sounds are coming from the corner store. This will allow you to let your mind rest for a while.

It can be useful to look around like you are watching a movie to separate yourself from what is going on around you.

Write down the thoughts that haunt you. Sometimes our minds are overloaded with things that we just have to remember. If you are trying to concentrate on an important task and you keep thinking of things you need to remember while grocery shopping, write them down and let them go. Now the only thing you need to remember is where you wrote it down!

Think of the worst case scenario. No, we didn't misspell the suggestion. It's much better to think about the worst-case scenario for a job or any other issue that's nagging at you than to worry about it fruitlessly. Because most of the time, when we ask ourselves, "What's the worst that can happen?" the answers we get are not so dire that we need to think that hard. For example, would a mistake cost you your job, or would you get away with a warning? If the realistic answer is a warning, you can relax knowing that it doesn't have to haunt you for hours.

Have your action plans ready. There are few habits as unproductive and harmful as idle worrying. If you don't have an action plan in place for the worst-case scenarios you're thinking about, you're just keeping your head busy and not making any headway. Sit down and think calmly about what could happen and what you can do about it, even write it down. You won't believe how much more relaxed you will feel.

Talk to someone. Because our minds work faster than our mouths, the speed at which we think is many times faster than the speed at which we speak. Therefore, talking to a friend allows us to collect our thoughts and feelings. We can make sense of things while trying to explain them to the other person, and this helps us find inner peace.

Change the environment. Sometimes physically staying in the same place can make you feel monotonous and bored. Getting out and walking around, going for a coffee if you're in the office, or even just getting out for some fresh air can be a good way to reboot your mind.

Even if you don't physically move away from your environment, you can spiritually move away. Turn on some calm, wordless music (not focusing on the lyrics), put on your headphones and close your eyes. Since you are not occupying yourself at that moment, you may suddenly have a lot of thoughts, so take them calmly and continue to "stop". You will notice that your thoughts will be prioritized, some will even disappear and you will feel calmer when you open your eyes.