“The world is slowly going on; let it go slowly. Why are you in a hurry? Sleep well and keep your nerves in good order; eat right food and have sympathy with the world.”
— Swāmi Vivekānanda, “On Fanaticism, Notes from Lectures and Discourses”
We always want to remain “updated” with breaking news. We stare at our phones all the time – even while crossing the street and our schedules are packed with tasks that take us nowhere. We admire people who keep working hard regardless of the results they yield.
In effect, we’re always occupied but never engaged, which has become one of the main reasons for our mental health’s degradation.
Apparently, such behavior was rampant in the 1800s too. “The struggle we create [is] through our own ignorance, through impatience; we are in too great a hurry,” Swamiji wrote.
Why not replace the myriad futile activities in your day with a few meaningful ones? Rather than using your hands and mind to constantly check your phone outside work hours, you could use them to play a musical instrument, paint, work in your garden, or volunteer in your local community.
Stay engaged to keep a good mood, appetite, and sleep cycle. Use your mind and body constructively, and you’ll realize that most things that occupy your mind don’t really matter.
Keep what’s important at the core of your day and put the remaining stuff on the peripherals, not the other way around.