Sometimes those wonderful, endless nights come when you wake up in the middle of the night and find it hard to fall asleep or relax again because some strange thought is tormenting your mind. It’s when the “what ifs” of your life appears.
Often it’s a simple, everyday thought about the course of the next day or the review of the previous one, like what food to cook tomorrow, what to wear to work in the morning, how to deal with the colleague who goes against me, or whether I will manage to deliver the report the manager asked for on time!!
Other times, the questions that interrupt our peaceful sleep in the middle of the night and lead us to show up at work the next morning like zombies, come from deeper layers of our consciousness, requiring more complex thought, hence more brain cells are occupied during this process…thus sleep in this case is forever interrupted. Such questions might be:
What would have happened if I had accepted that job offer instead of the one I am at now?
Where would I be today if I hadn’t married so early?
How will I manage to fit into that bikini I love this summer, after having gained 5 kilos and without depriving myself of anything?
How much have I possibly traumatized my children after the crisis I had the other day and yelled at them?
What is missing from my life and daily routine to be completely balanced and satisfied at the end of the day? Have I done everything I wanted to do while growing up? If I could go back in time, what advice would my younger self give me? What would she scold me for?
There are so many questions that often torment our minds and since we are too busy during the day to realize it, they patiently await somewhere on the side, until you finally take a break, slow down your pace and then bam!! They suddenly appear in front of you and as long as you don’t answer the first one…another one comes soon and they pile up on top of each other, until there are so many unanswered existential questions, that you end up having difficulty breathing, your heart beating loudly and having panic attacks out of nowhere.
So, how do I manage this so that these questions stop appearing in my mind? From my personal experience, I realized that if you keep ignoring them, they will never stop. On the contrary, they find a way to shout louder and bother you more. No matter how hard you cover your ears, they won’t stop. Maybe your conscience is trying to tell you something, listen to it. In any case, you will come out winning something. Since I decided to listen to them carefully and process them seriously, I have made great revelations about myself and have been led to paths I never imagined I would reach. Isn’t it magical? Our conscience speaks to all of us, but most of the time we don’t quiet down to listen to it and simply ignore it. We are so tired and busy. However, if we learn to listen to our body and thoughts, it can only be beneficial.
So when the time comes that you decide to quiet down and accept the questions that come…open your mind widely. Something revealing will come out of it. Start with the last question mentioned above “Have I done everything I wanted growing up? If I could go back in time, what advice would my younger self give me? What would they scold me for?
Start with the smallest, simplest things, start writing, and without realizing it, you will develop a strategy. Your own strategy! Follow it and even if you achieve only a minimal percentage of your strategy’s goals, it will be liberating. Your daily life will become more interesting and your conscience will calm down…because it will have achieved its purpose, to bring you back in touch with your nature, your inner world, and your deepest desires and ambitions.
So, take a break and pay attention to yourself!! Something wonderful might come out of it!!
Sometimes all we have to do is give ourselves a chance…so slow down a bit and enjoy the ride!
