Finding those small hidden islands of freedom

The freer we are in our heads, the faster we are with our hands.

This is why so many people are so slow to execute. The mental mistakes they make before they even get started sabotage the work from within.

And when the time comes to finally hunker down and ship something out the door, all their generative energy is prematurely exhausted. The bird has already flown.

Let’s explore several personality types.

Some people are perfectionists who are scared of making mistakes.

Some people are micromanagers who dedicate an excessive amount of time and energy to organizing details.

Some people are hypersensitive to feedback and afraid of criticism.

Some people are approval junkies who obsess over what other people are going to think.

Some people are impatient toddlers who have no capacity for delayed gratification.

Some people are simply not finishers who prefer to talk their ideas into the ground.

Which of those personalities do you most identify with?

Point being, each of these archetypes has one commonality. Poor energy management. Misallocation of mental assets. People’s minds aren’t free, so their hands aren’t fast.

Reminds me of a meditation my hypnotherapist used to give me:

With each breath, make the moment between your inhale and your exhale just a little bit longer. Find your small hidden islands of freedom, and keep returning to them, over and over.

After twenty minutes, my breaths would elongate to sixty seconds a piece. Twenty for the inhale, ten for the pause, twenty on the exhale. Like floating through the ocean like a sea turtle.

That’s freedom. The more we can create that kind of space within our minds, relieving it of the tasks of remembering and reminding and ruminating and racing, the faster our hands will work.

Have you allowed lots of unnecessary noise to mount up into a fortress around you?