​5 Signs Your Mind Is Too Busy for Your Own Happiness

We all know we have busy minds, but the author of helps you identify the specific and unexpected ways your thoughts distract you from the moment—and from your own sense of well-being.
By Cara Bradley
@OPRAH.com 

Have you ever tried to stop your mind from thinking? It's not so easy, huh? The truth is that thinking is what your mind is meant to do! Your mind produces thoughts, just as your ears hear sounds and your eyes see your surroundings. Also, thinking isn't a bad thing; it's just that we’re preoccupied and often obsessed with it. Our thoughts rule our lives. We believe that what we think is actually the way things are, that our thoughts perfectly reflect our reality. As a result, we become attached to our stories and end up engrossed in and even imprisoned by what we're thinking.

Your busy mind is made up of a mix of thoughts, emotions, doubts and fears (along with various other thought patterns). By the way, it is the same for everyone. In our society of more and better, our minds operate with constant mental noise: planning, judging, analyzing, commenting, remembering, forecasting and so on. You don't realize how much your busyness controls your day until you collapse on your bed at night. 

In order to understand how your thoughts and emotions may be ruling your world, it is essential to get to know your busy mind. Let's look at it more closely.

1. Sloppy Brain

I call my busy mind my "sloppy brain" when I'm distracted and feel clumsy and out of sorts. Let's face it, sloppy brain happens to all of us. Recently I went to work with my slippers on. No joke! Luckily, as a yoga teacher, I spend most of my workday barefoot, but that still didn't protect me from the loving abuse I took from colleagues and students. I see examples of sloppy brain on the highway, in the grocery store—everywhere. Too many of us are sloppy in how we show up in our day-to-day lives. This isn't a judgment, just a fact. 

The distracted, sloppy busy-mind is in a weakened state. It speeds through life and doesn't slow down to take even a few seconds to tell you to, say, mindfully place your phone and keys in the same place, set your teacup away from your laptop, or notice the stop sign in front of you. 

2. Crazy Busy

"Crazy busy" has become a common phrase and an accepted way to live. We're so addicted to getting things done that we're oblivious to what's really happening around us. Just look around any public area, and you'll see most people looking at their phones while waiting in line, walking or even talking with others.

When you're in "crazy busy" mode, you're not really focused on what you're doing or whom you're with. Your mind is too busy processing stuff to do, daily activities and places to be. Being "crazy busy" can make you feel as though your world is spinning out of control and there's no end in sight. It's not just you. It's most of us. How often have you greeted friends and boasted about being "crazy busy"? The bottom line is that you cannot feel awake and fully alive when your mind is "crazy busy."

3. Autopilot

Many of your daily activities are repetitive, like brushing your teeth, checking emails, taking a shower. The thoughts streaming through your mind tend to be repetitive as well. Many of today's thoughts were yesterday's thoughts—they keep replaying in your head. For example, you might think, "I have to go to the post office," over and over for two days straight until you actually go to the post office. The script for autopilot is often a thought loop that keeps running in your head: "I need to lose weight," "I need to make more money," "I should clean my closet," and so on. When you're on autopilot, you think the same thoughts over and over without being aware of it. Living on autopilot is exhausting and will leave you feeling drained at the end of the day.

I observe autopilot in action all the time. Students rush through the doors, throw down their yoga mats and lie down for a moment before class to "quiet their minds." I'll see them glance around for their cell phones (which are not allowed in the yoga room) or look for someone to talk to (no talking before class either), unaware of these mental habits and tendencies, especially the need to be constantly entertained.

4. Information Overload

Everywhere we look, we are surrounded by information to process and choices to make. Experts tell us to do this, buy that and eat this. Bombarded by advertisements, news, emails and senseless posts on social media, our mental hard drives become overloaded, inefficient and sluggish. Every day, your busy mind tries to absorb and remember the onslaught of information coming across your mental screen. In our overstimulated society, living in the busy mind can lead to exhaustion and fatigue, chronic stress and even depression. 

5. Overthinking

Last, overthinking is a major cause of chronic stress in our highly demanding culture. On any given day, you experience thousands of repetitive thoughts, many of which are tainted with judgment and anxiety. Too much planning, worrying and replaying these loops is exhausting. Incessant thinking creates tension and robs us of peace. Although thinking is useful, overthinking is draining. Although stress is necessary to flourish at times, chronic mental stress causes chronic physical stress, which is harmful to your health.

Gut Check: Your Busy Mind

Do you live with a busy mind? Are you distracted much of the time? Welcome to the club! Let's get to know what this busy mind of yours is so busy doing. 
Take a moment to answer these two questions either on the lines below or in your journal. Your answers will help you get to know your busy mind and how living from it affects your daily activities, relationships and overall sense of well-being. 

List three times during your day when you're most likely to be distracted, hurried or anxious (for example, when you're driving, reading, answering emails, or eating): 
1. _______________________________________
2. _______________________________________
3. _______________________________________

Off the top of your head, list three traits that describe your busy mind (for example, feeling overwhelmed, scattered, anxious, rushed or drained):
1. _______________________________________
2. _______________________________________
3. _______________________________________

Your answers to these questions will offer you new opportunities throughout the day to become familiar with your busy mind. For example, if you tend to space out while driving, use driving as time to practice noticing your direct experience of driving. Turn off the news or music and notice everything around you. Notice the sky, the light on the trees, the noise around you and how your body feels behind the wheel. Then notice when you forget to notice, when you drift back into your stream of thinking. This is how you train your mind to show up. You notice, notice, notice. 

Becoming familiar with your busy mind and how it works is your first step toward understanding how to shift beyond it. You do this by getting to know how your mind operates with mindfulness. Mindfulness is your capacity to show up in this moment and be fully engaged from the level of mind, body and heart. It's your ability to notice your firsthand, direct experience of what's happening—no matter if what's happening is good or not so good. To be mindful is to simply notice when you show up and when you don't, when you're on the verge and when you're not. 

You become mindful when you notice that you're distracted. The moment you notice that you're not paying attention, you wake up—instantly! Noticing is enough, every time. 



















Article from :  
OPRAH.com This excerpt was taken from :
Copyright © 2016 by Cara Bradley. Printed with permission from New World Library. Cara is a yoga, meditation and fitness teacher. 
​

chopra.com/articles/5-ways-to-cultivate-more-joy-in-your-life
​5 Ways to Cultivate More Joy in Your Life
By Rachelle Williams

​Joy is divine. While feelings such as happiness usually come from external sources and are temporary, joy comes from within and is always abiding. It is an innate part of who you are and how you express yourself. Just watch how babies delight in the simplest things—their emotions are raw and true. It is difficult to feign joy.
What kindles the joy within is unique to you. It could be related to finding a purpose, a calling, or fulfilling a mission. It could be the feeling of being surrounded by family or good friends. Whatever it is that rejuvenates your spirit, do more of that! The reward of living a more fulfilled life is worth the effort that it sometimes takes.
The path to joy is ultimately a return to wholeness—a rediscovery of who you are and what makes you happy. It involves getting to know, and move beyond, your fears and insecurities, paving the way toward more lightheartedness and laughter. Over time, life starts to unfold with ease and challenges are met with good energy and creative solutions.

A Pathway to Joy
If you find yourself doubting this could ever be you, know that you can put practices in place to help. The human brain has a tendency to focus on the negative as you take in information; this is known as negativity bias. There may be times where you need to intentionally focus on ways to produce more positive experiences in order to diffuse a bit of that negativity.
The practice of cultivating joy is just that, a practice. A little each day goes a long way and with time you will become adept at discovering what makes you tick and trusting your feelings.
The following five principles are helpful ways to start learning how to move beyond your beliefs laced with limitations and fears and begin to start glimpsing the possibilities of experiencing more joy.

1. Find Ways to Be of Service
It feels great to help someone out in need or support a cause that has meaning for you. When performing an act of altruism, you get out of your head and into your heart. Acts of service remind you that life that is bigger than yourself and that there is more going on than what you see and experience on a daily basis.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in personal dramas and worries, especially during turbulent times. When you can stop and ask yourself, “How can I help,” or, “How can I be of service,” you create a new internal dialogue that leads to alternative and expanded ways of thinking and responding. What will you bring to the table? You have something to offer, a gift brought into this world to share with others. It could be your ability to listen, give a great hug, advocate for those in need, build something, or be there for someone.
In being able to share this gift, you build a greater sense of connection and belonging, something you can relate to as a basic need. Joy is often a side effect of what can happen when you are in the service of something greater than yourself.

2. Practice Gratitude
​Humans are thinking machines. But, consider that almost all your thoughts are the same thoughts you had yesterday! If you realize you need to make changes, you need to place some pattern interrupts in place. This is where practicing gratitude can be of great value.
When you have the same thoughts, you are likely to make the same decisions and take the same actions; thus, the cycle continues each day. You’ve probably heard statements such as “what you think you create” or “where thoughts go energy flows.” The idea is that your thoughts are powerful, and when consciously directed in a more positive direction, a new thought pattern is created. Practicing gratitude does this by shifting perspective and improving mood, creating space for more joy to start shining through.
Try writing or thinking about one to three things you are grateful for every day and make it something different each day. This encourages you to start actively looking for things, people, and situations you are grateful for, which, in turn, starts to create desirous new thought patterns.

3. Live Your Truth
Joy comes from a place of honoring and living your truth or, in other words, being your most authentic self. It takes courage to be the person you are, especially when there may be pressure to live a life that you think others want you to have. It may require getting through some tough challenges. Stand your ground, be true to who you are, and come out the other end feeling less burdened and able to enjoy life with less struggle.
This requires learning to trust your instincts and having faith that you are headed down the right path—even if it seems you are not. The best journeys are not ones where the path is straight and easy, but rather full of twists and turns and unexpected surprises. If you find yourself getting stuck, learn to meditate to help tap into that stillness within where your truth (and joy) resides. Meditation offers numerous benefitsand meets you exactly where you’re at; there is no judgment. Your devotion to being who you were meant to be and sharing that with the world provides a fertile ground upon which joy thrives.

4. Who Is in Your Front Row?
You are constantly influenced by family, friends, community, social media, etc. Most especially, you are influenced by those closest to you—your front row. Think about the people with whom you spend the most time. Some people suck out your energy and happiness, while others light you up. Start to be mindful of who:

• Inspires you
• Provides motivation to achieve your goals
• Empowers you to make the changes you need to succeed
• Cheers you on

This doesn’t mean you need to cut out people from your life that don’t meet your requirements. Just start to be mindful of who is in your front row and how they affect you. What you pay attention to grows. When you plant the seed of cultivating more joy and nurture it, you will find that what you are seeking will find you and people who provide you what you need will start to show up.
And don’t forget to find people who make you laugh. If joy had a sound, it would probably be laughter!

5. Stop Comparing Yourself and Practice Self-Compassion
Find freedom in letting go of comparison and judgment upon yourself and others. You tend to be your own worst enemy. Keep in mind that whatever it is you are seeking, you already have within you. When you become jealous or envious of someone, it’s likely because you see something in them that is in you. Does this sound familiar? If so, start to turn that energy into purposeful action.
Stop thinking in terms of “should” (i.e., I should exercise, I should be more successful, I should meditate, I should lose weight) and take some time to discover what brings you true joy. A practice in self-compassion helps to soften and allow space for different perspectives and gives you the room to pursue your dreams and achieve your goals. One method for developing more self-compassion is through the practice of loving-kindness meditation. Joy comes with acceptance and being in the driver’s seat of your life.

Lasting change doesn’t happen overnight. Consider that in each moment you have choices and you can start by choosing to cultivate more joy in your life. Imagine living a life free of limitations and experiencing all that life has in store for you with a renewed sense of freedom and, of course, joy. Be patient and flexible with yourself, but most importantly—be brave!

Learn a natural, effortless style of meditation that helps invite renewal and freshness into every day with Basics of Meditation, a self-paced online course guided by Deepak Chopra. Learn More.

About the Author
Rachelle Williams
Vedic Educator
As a Chopra Center Vedic Educator, Rachelle is certified in Primordial Sound Meditation , Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga , and Perfect Health: Ayurvedic Lifestyle . She started working at the Chopra Center in 2007 and has loved it ever since. Rachelle teaches at Chopra Center events in addition to leading private classes. She is grateful to share her knowledge and passion for these teachings by inspiring others to become...Read more