Ever feel overwhelmed? Sometimes we have too much on our plates and cannot decide what to do. I have just returned from the beach and feel very relaxed. Nonetheless, I look at my desk and my todo list and know that I should be doing something productive. Instead of doing anything, I hid in bed and pondered what to do. It is vicious because the more you think about it the more you can raise your anxiety level and still accomplish nothing. A half an hour later you may still be under those covers having accomplished nothing and still unable to decide what to do.
I don’t want to lose my peace, the relaxed state of being I achieved over this past week. So how do you break this ambivalence? Easy! Achieve and succeed! Pick something small and achievable and do it! You must succeed so make sure the task can be done in a brief time. For me, I am going to clean out the car. For others, that may be too much. Perhaps for someone else, the task might be "make a cup of coffee." But set a goal that can be done in a brief time, focus only on it, and get it done quickly. Welcome back!
Welcome back! I know exactly what you mean. When I came back from the beach I took up Zen (zazen) practice. So far I haven’t beaten anyone up for looking at me funny. But then, I like to laugh.
Ah! You might enjoy reading/listening to A Buddhist Podcast (which is also on iTunes for free) and following Jason Jarrett on Twitter @jasonjarrett. I highly enjoyed listening to The Buddha, Geoff and Me but if you listen to it, listen in order from Chapter 1 to 16! I accidentally listened to one of the later chapters to figure out if I wanted to go back to the earlier chapters and it took a little from the story for me. Howard Jones does the music and the reading and artwork are exceptional.