I Think We Think Too Much And We Should Stop Thinking As Much As Possible

"We think too much and feel too little", a quote by Charlie Chaplin in possibly the greatest speech ever at the end of The Great Dictator movie.

I'm not a philosopher, nor a Buddhist, nor a guru in the art of meditation, even though I admire them all. I just believe that our thoughts clutter our minds, make us worry when there is no need to worry, and steal away our inner peace and happiness.

This 'epiphany' came to me during a silly encounter back in my young days. I was head over heels about this girl, I asked her to a Winterval dance, she said yes. There I planned on making her my official girlfriend. I played many scenarios in my head on how I will approach the subject, what I will say, how I will say it and what I will do. Needless to say, what actually happened was not in any of my pre-planned scenarios. I made a complete fool out of myself. In the follow up days, I was embarrassed, ashamed, and a little depressed. I kept thinking endlessly about what I could've done differently, said it differently...all the couldve's and shouldve's I could think of for the outcome to be different. Only out of where (as if it isn't so very obvious), I realized that nothing will change what happened. We don't live in the past, we don't live in the future, there is only NOW. Instead of torturing myself over something I cannot change, I learned to accept it. It's as if a weight lifted off my shoulders and since that moment I've always tried to approach life, with its ups and downs, with acceptance.

I was walking to work one day and I was running late. Thoughts after thoughts were going through my head, "Am I gonna get in trouble? Why is this person walking so slow? What will I say when I walk through the door?". Then I attempted to meditate, focus on my breathing and try to clear my mind of all these thoughts. It's not as if I reached nirvana, but I felt so free, relieved, and happy. The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming, and I was noticing and feeling that, rather than worrying unnecessarily about something I could not help nor change.

Acceptance. Live in the moment. Embrace it, don't fight it.

I always try to keep my mind as silent for as long as possible. It is unbelievable the amount of thoughts we have, thoughts that distract us from the HERE and NOW, thoughts that make us worry unnecessarily, thoughts that keep us awake at night, thoughts that depress us etc etc.

This is something so obvious yet so easily overlooked. I don't know if any of you feel the same way, or if any of you meditate, but I would highly suggest you pay attention to how these thoughts steal your time and happiness, and try to silence them.