When you tell your eyes to close, they close; when you ask your lungs to breath, they breathe. These are natural reflexes that for most people happen without thought or effort. Unfortunately, when you tell your mind to stop thinking, it takes a lot more practice and training to achieve the same response. Whether it is before bed or at work, there will always be times when you need your mind to switch off so you can focus on the task at hand or simply get some rest. This article outlines two practical techniques that I have applied over the years to try and quiet my mind.

When it comes to relaxing the mind, the cause is often the key to the answer, because some techniques work better under different circumstances. So, if silencing your thoughts is a problem you struggle with, I would encourage you as a first step to understand why, and then the answer may become self evident. For that reason, I have tried to talk about each of these techniques within the context of the underlying issue.  

Technique 1 â?? Regain Control of Your Situation

Often, it is during periods of stress that I cannot silence my mind. I frequently find there are too many moving parts and I work myself into a state believing that something will fall through the cracks. Often my internal dialogue becomes focused on a to-do list or starting to mentally complete future activities rather than actually doing them. The end result is a series of scattered thoughts that when pulled apart are neither meaningful nor useful; and hence represent an absolute waste of time and energy.

If you find yourself mentally skipping around and lacking the attention span to do anything well, then a technique that is blatantly obvious, but disintegrates quickly with stress, is to write it down and come back to it later. I am not a natural list keeper but these are the times in my life when I have to become diligent with this practice in order to survive. My preferred approach is to sit down in a focused effort and drain myself of my list. Every little thing that is racing through my mind from feeding the fish through to launching a new business can make it onto the list. The reason being that I can then start to regain my perspective on what needs to done and when, as well as rest assured that nothing will be forgotten.

I then focus on my top priorities. I normally pick two to three things that are the primary source of stress and attempt to progress these. This can be hard because once you are stressed you lose your ability to concentrate. However, with a bit of discipline you will soon become productive again, and suddenly, the weight of worry starts to shift. The same can apply at nighttime except that you only need to decide what you will do in the morning, develop a plan of attack, and then settle yourself down in preparation for a fresh start. That is why it is important to write it all down, so you will not forget anything overnight. 

Technique 2 â?? Shift your focus to your physical state

Like most people, I have had my fair share of personal issues over the years. These are the times that silence seems impossible because you are consumed by distress and worry. For me, these are the hardest thoughts to switch off because they are too important to be silenced and are not easily fixed.

When I am experiencing these periods of distress, I try and use my physical state to give myself some reprieve. I essentially trick my mind into letting go of my personal issues for a little while. This can take many different forms depending on where your interests lie. In my case, I will exercise, clean the house, bake or do the supermarket shopping in order to distract myself. The common thread is that for me all of these activities are not particularly challenging and are rather methodical in nature, as well as requiring some physical effort. When I am in an emotional state, forcing myself to complete activities that are mechanical and require a degree of concentration provides some mental respite.

Whilst this may sound ridiculous, it is not helpful to merely concentrate on your problem and live in your head. By triggering your physical state, you are giving yourself a moment of peace from your thoughts. This will certainly not address the root cause and I would not recommend it for an extended period of time, as then it becomes avoidance, but this technique can be a great way of achieving some temporary calm.

These are just two techniques that have proven useful to me over the years. There are many more available so if you have other ideas you want to share; I would love to hear from you.

Kareene Koh
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