In order to find simplicity, you must first let go of the ways you complicate things in your mind. This moment is simple. Tomorrow and next year aren’t simple, but when they become this moment they will be simple. Focusing your energy into physical action in this moment by completing what is in front of you to do is how you realize simplicity.
You only have to do the next thing.
A friend of mine called me the other day in the midst of an anxiety attack. She had been working for months to start a new business, and it was days away from opening. Her mind was all over the place, from the list of to-dos, to the “what if” this or that bad thing happens.
As we discussed it, she recognized that in her past, she would never complete big projects. That she would get right up to this point and stop. Part of the incompletion was due to this unpleasant experience of anxiety and panic before she makes it across the finish line.
Having talked her through a similar crises when she opened another business, I reflected that this is just how she handles the jumping off the cliff into the unknown of opening a new business. Some famous performers get so nervous before they go on stage that they throw up. It’s how they handle that preparation energy.
Simply understanding that this inner experience of anxiety is her way of dealing with the preparation energy of opening a new business was enough to allow her to relax towards the anxiety. Knowing that it was part of the experience, and that it was okay to feel that way, allowed her to not fight it. Through simple understanding and awareness, it lost its power over her.
Then we looked at her situation like she was going to be going on a trip and taking a flight. She only had a little time to get everything done.
She needed to brain dump: write down all the to-dos that her mind was chattering on about. Then she needed to prioritize. What was absolutely critical to get done to be able to open, what was important, and what would be nice but could wait. Basically, she needed to perform triage on her thoughts. Once that was complete, she then only had to do the next thing, starting with the most critical items.
This is a practical way to direct your mind and energy into the moment, and to let go of the repeating loop of thoughts. Write them down. Externalize them on paper so you can look at them. Then you can prioritize and categorize them. You can actually do something with all those thoughts.
Once you are back in this moment, rather than experiencing the craziness of a spinning mind, you can move into doing and completing. As you complete those things that are unfinished, your life automatically simplifies.
I just went to my friend’s business on her first day open, and she had a smile on her face and had made it across the finish line.