7 Easy Ways To Still Your Mind And Control Your Thoughts

Introduction

Are your thoughts racing at a million miles an hour? Do you have so many things on your to-do list that you don't know where to start? Are you having trouble with that projector inside your mind that plays things you don't want to see? It might be time for you to get out of your head and clear your mind.

For many people, the best way to stay present and productive is by clearing their minds of unwanted thought processes. This guide will give you some helpful tips on how to still those distracting thoughts.

Declutter your surroundings

If you are surrounded by chaos, you're making it more difficult for your mind to be at ease. The space around you matters, as does the energy it represents. This is why minimalism has been so prevalent in spiritual cultures. How you live is a reflection of how you think.

Look at the space surrounding you.

If it's not useful, throw it out. If it's still useful but you don't use it very much, put it in a box and put the box away. Don't worry about what other people think when they see your clutter-free home. You'll feel better once everything has been arranged where you can move around freely.

Regain control over your environment to help regain control over your thoughts.

Reinforce acceptance

Acceptance is an important step to change. It's not the same as resignation, giving up, or giving in. It's an active choice that requires you to accept what is true now and how it makes you feel—and then move on from there.

Accepting something doesn't mean that you like it or agree with it. Instead, it means acknowledging that it's real and validating your feelings towards it.

Accepting something can sometimes be hard because it may be painful for certain things to be true. Yet, accepting reality will help you to move forward and stop worrying about things that are out of your control.

Start meditating

Meditation is an incredible way to still your thoughts. It has been used for thousands of years to centre one's thoughts and balance the mind. The best thing? It's free to practice and can be done anywhere. It can be performed sitting or even lying down in any position if sitting isn't comfortable.

The key is to focus on your breathing and let your thoughts slip away. Don't judge them, don't worry about the future and don't worry about the past. Simply focus on how it feels to breathe in, breathe out and feel at peace with yourself as you do so.

For more information on why you should begin your journey into meditation today, read my article here.

Practice actively controlling your thoughts

To still your thoughts, it's important that you carve out time daily to practice regulating them. This technique will reinforce good habits. Also, it will help to mitigate disturbing thoughts before they begin to take root.

Sit in a comfortable position that feels natural for you. Once comfortable, let your mind free and allow it to wander.  Heighten your awareness to bring mindfulness into every thinking moment. Your mind will want to throw many different images at you, like a projector inside your head. Some of these thoughts may be uncomfortable for you. The trick is to not focus on the thought or image itself, but on the feeling that it creates within you. Like in a scary film, when you sense a frightening moment is coming, you can look away to shield yourself from seeing it.

It's possible to train your mind to do the same thing. To give it enough space to form an impression, but divert your focus away from it when it becomes uncomfortable. Over time, this will help to strengthen your capacity to filter out harmful thoughts before they can even take root.

Focus on your breathing

You are not alone in your struggle to quiet the mind. The average person has about 60,000 thoughts per day, and many of these unwanted thoughts can cause stress and anxiety.

One simple way to still your mind is by breathing exercises. This is referred to as Pranayama in Yoga, meaning to control the vital life force within you. Breathing exercises help you relax and focus on something other than the negative thoughts in your head. They also have a number of health benefits, including lowering blood pressure and improving sleep quality.

Take long and deep breaths that fill up all parts of your chest cavity. Inhale through your nose first for four seconds, hold it for three seconds or so before exhaling through pursed lips for seven seconds. Repeat this process for five minutes or longer until you feel relaxed enough to go back into whatever activity caused stress earlier on.

Change your environment

Leaving your space and particularly being in nature is an excellent way to break your thought cycle. You don't have to travel far or go on a long hike to find peace in nature. In fact, you can simply go outside and take in your surroundings for a few minutes each day.

Find a spot where you can be alone or with others, and enjoy the beauty of the world around you. Take in all its colours, textures, sights and sounds. Breathe in the air and notice the difference in atmosphere. Return to wherever you were when you feel centred.

Take a break and focus on nothing

Another measure you can take is to focus on nothing and work on extending this time. Do not try to control your thoughts or ignore them. Let your thoughts come and go. Do not judge them and don't try to figure out what they mean or analyze them.

This may sound easy, but it's actually very hard for most people. Especially if you're used to using your mind as much as possible. See how long you can go by focusing on nothing in particular. If you have tried all the steps above first, this practice should get easier over time. When you are able to drown out the noise of your mind and focus on nothing, then you're headed in the right direction.

Conclusion

Stilling your mind is key to finding harmony within yourself. You will analyse and react to situations better, keep a calm head and get build a solid foundation within. There are many causes for a restless mind. But, whatever the case is for you, it is possible to regain your focus and clarity.

It's quite natural to have many thoughts running through your head. We are programmed to process an incredible amount of information at any given time. Some of those impressions can very easily begin to cause havoc to your well-being if allowed to run free. The trick is to acknowledge them, minimise their effect and divert them from your mind.

Mastering this process will lead to a greater inner peace that we all deserve to experience.

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Namaste. 🙏🏽

Ronin is an entrepreneur, creative, writer, blogger and founder & CEO of mello, a pro-active wellbeing platform.