I discussed in a recent post how social interaction or close companionship and engaging in a pastime that brings you joy and allows an outlet for frustration can greatly improve mental wellbeing and immune function when stress, anxiety, depression or social phobia set in.
While who and what you interact with – and to what degree – plays a huge role in modulating one’s affect, so does mental quality—your impulses, thoughts, and beliefs. This statement isn’t exactly a revelation, but certainly something many are aware of but not too knowledgable on, and could benefit by learning more about.
So, my aim here is to present internal measures for beating these mental conditions, instead of environmental considerations.
The inspiration for this post came from an interview I heard (like it so often does) with Qigong educator, practitioner and former Alan Watts collaborator, Ken Cohen. In it, he describes the four keys to life that were proclaimed to him by the Qigong master he studied for years under in China.
The Keys to Life
According to Ken, the “four keys to life” are:
I discussed in a recent post how social interaction or close companionship and engaging in a pastime that brings you joy and allows an outlet for frustration can greatly improve mental wellbeing and immune function when stress, anxiety, depression or social phobia set in.
While who and what you interact with – and to what degree – plays a huge role in modulating one’s affect, so does mental quality—your impulses, thoughts, and beliefs. This statement isn’t exactly a revelation, but certainly something many are aware of but not too knowledgable on, and could benefit by learning more about.
So, my aim here is to present internal measures (personal qualities) for beating these mental conditions, instead of external, environmental considerations.
The inspiration for this post came from an interview I heard (like it so often does) with Qigong educator, practitioner and former Alan Watts collaborator, Ken Cohen. In it, he describes the four keys to life that were proclaimed to him by the Qigong master he studied for years under in China.
The Keys to Life
According to Ken, the “four keys to life” are:
- Simplicity (singular focus)
- Adaptability (non-attachment)
- Acceptance (letting go of expectations)
- Child-like sense of wonder—the ability to see the world with fresh eyes; non-conceptualization (mindfulness)
And one of my own is:
- A sense of control of one’s life
Allow me to explain each more in depth to give you an idea of their significance and what you can do to attain these states.
Simplicity
The first, simplicity, is fairly straightforward. I’ve found from personal experience that taking on too many mental complexities – thoughts, fixations, and expectations, or undertaking too much – can absolutely cause stress, anxiety and depression.
For example, the time I’m on the clock is tracked in my job as a blog post editor. The tracking software captures a screenshot of my laptop screen randomly during each of the six ten-minute intervals every hour, thus keeping me on my toes.
Therefore, I’m often stressing when I leave my desk to do something like step outside briefly for a reset in the fresh air and sunshine or use the restroom (number two) because I don’t want consecutive screenshots with the same image to be captured several minutes apart. That would force me to delete the image, and thus lose that accounted for time.
Also, I often just feel like I am racing against the clock.
In addition, though I know I probably shouldn’t, I’ll switch between tabs to do non-work related things as they pop into my head, be it checking the weather for later the day, or switching the music. Doing this also causes stress, since I know I’m taking a gamble that the software will snap a photo while my screen is displaying something non-pertinent to work.
Speaking of music, it’s easy for me to get hung up on what I should listen to next. And often when I make a selection, I realized quickly how ill-suited it is for that moment. A fast pace, too many vocals or experimental instrumentation are all things that can mess with my concentration and heighten my stress level while trying to proofread.
All of these fixations, undertakings and complications clearly create a lack of simplicity—and it could probably go without saying that this conduct is obviously pretty anxiety and stress-inducing.
So, a singular focus while carrying out your tasks or just going about your day is the ideal approach. What’s more simplicity allows you mental clarity, and thus the ability to have your own original, creative thoughts.
Just overthinking things in general can contribute to the stress response, and that generally results from having too many things (that you care about) complicating your mind.
Adaptability (Non-Attachment)
The typical lack of wifi strength in my apartment also complicates things. There are frequent (usually daily) occurrences when web pages I’m trying to view or the functions I need to use in the WordPress editor won’t load.
These frustrations contribute to a lot of stress in themselves, in addition to requiring factoring how much time I should log per post, accounting for the substantial downtime.
Though the optimal thing to do in this situation would be to take initiative and find a new spot to live, I love my circumstance other than the sub-par wifi. Short of moving, the second best route would be to adapt to the demands of environment.
Instead of getting aggravated in each instance when the wifi won’t cooperate, I should accept the situation, and quickly consider other ways to allocate my time. Though I had a plan for how my day would play out, complications arise—and it’s not like there aren’t other things not requiring Internet access that I intended to do on any given day.
Again, just asking myself, what is it I can do right now in the present moment…not what did I want or intend to do, but instead what needs to be done?
Bringing my awareness to the present moment, taking inventory of the tasks in front of me, and selecting and tackling one or several things will free up cognitive capacity regarding my mental to-do list (this gets back to simplicity), and the proactivity instead of just sitting there pouting usually helps me feel accomplished.
Besides, the universe is constantly in flux, and all situations eventually end—the wifi will improve. And when it does, I will be in that much better a position to focus since I knocked out several preoccupations swirling around my head.
On top of how expectations or a clearly-defined schedule just complicates your mind, in my case, depression can result if and when they don’t come to fruition.
So when things don’t precisely play out like you envisioned, in addition to adapting, you must come to terms with how things play out, and let go of your frustrations.
Acceptance
Acceptance and adaptability are pretty closely-related. They both have to do with clinging, be it to a belief, circumstance, or expectation. But, while adaptability has to do with changing your course to meet different environmental considerations, acceptance is about embracing that reorientation.
In addition, while adaptability is seen as reacting to changes in your environment, acceptance comes in both internal and external senses, i.e., self-acceptance and acceptance of a circumstance.
It’s letting go of the beliefs and expectations you have for yourself, your situation and outcomes. Fixations with goals, living up to your ideal self or over material things in your environment all can contribute to stress and anxiety on their own.
But when you don’t attain them, or factors outside of your control change your circumstance – and several aspects of which you were attached to – it’s easy to fall into depression.
A reliance on a learned self-identity and future expectations or taking for granted your situation as permanent narrows the perception of possible realities and outcomes, and thus one’s range of potential suitable reactions.
It contributes to a passive mindset, and can create complacency—and as a byproduct, the likelihood of attaining desired traits, circumstances, and outcomes diminishes, as does the chance of avoiding undesirable ones.
For example, the negative expectation that you’ll fail an exam could increase the chance of it happening (self-fulfilling prophecy).
This tendency towards an over-reliance on previously learned categories can be describes as mindlessness. Which, in other words, is the false assumption that things remain stable.
A Child-like Sense of Wonder (Open-Mindfulness)
On the other hand, ‘the wonder of childhood’ is synonymous with “mindfulness without meditation.” In this context, mindfulness is defined as the act of noticing new things, a process that promotes flexibility in responding to the demands of your environment (adaptability).
In this sense, it differs a bit from the Eastern concept of mindfulness centered around various forms of meditation. It still focuses on being present moment-focused, but instead of internal awareness, it is process of drawing novel distinctions about your surroundings through your total immersion in them.
It is in direct contrast to the version of mindlessness described in the section above, in which someone relies on learned concepts, repetition, and the idea of permanence. All of which may have remained constant and worked in the past, but do not account for the potential of changing contextual demands.
Consider a child. Free from years of compounded learned concepts and beliefs, they are able to view the world with fresh eyes each moment anew. They have a natural innocence that allows them to act spontaneously in accordance with the situation, as they have not yet been inundated by society’s code of conduct and its constraints.
Unburdened by memories or expectations, they can thus be fully connected with ever-unfolding, present environment, and conduct themselves through unfiltered reactions.
When mindful, individuals are aware that everything is in flux, and as a result, can respond spontaneously to environmental changes. Its essence is awareness that one’s external world could change or has changed, and adapting accordingly.
For example, a mindful person giving a lecture would adapt the contents of a presentation to the audience’s needs. If the audience appears confused, the presenter would simplify the content instead of proceeding as planned.
With this form of mindfulness, each instant is an opportunity for a fresh reaction. Possessing this quality empowers the individual by allowing them the perception of control over an ever-changing reality.
Therefore, they can act from a framework of continually-emerging possibilities.
A Sense of Control Over One’s Life
A sense of control can be understood through the lens of the mindfulness (or mindlessness) described in the previous section. The assumption of permanence and reliance on learned concepts can contribute to feelings of powerlessness, i.e., the inability to change your circumstance or personality traits.
The view that reality is stable and unchangeable may drive someone into a sense of hopelessness, which hinders the perception of control. This perceived lack of control often results in learned helplessness, in which an individual gives up trying to change (themselves or their environment) altogether.
In this case, beliefs founded in the past are carried into the present, even though the circumstance may have changed. Theses states of mind tend to cause you to overlook real opportunities for relief or change.
From a mindful perspective, there’s no telling the future, as the present is ever-changing. This makes prediction impossible and unfruitful.
By not relying on the past assumption that a situation is inescapable, you can allow yourself autonomy to act. Therefore, uncertainty can be a resource, reminding one to stay present moment-focused.
One way to improve your sense of control over your life is by removing this false perception of stability. Specifically, try questioning the certainty that something will or will not happen.
For example, come up with three reasons why your assumed outcome may not result. Playing with and accepting uncertainty will strengthen mindfulness and your sense of control, and in turn your affect.
In addition, just being aware that your perspective can actively change is one technique to increase perceived control, and in turn, well-being.
Best of luck, and remember to be mindful 🙂
– CC
Rebel Bush Doctor 