Creating Spacious Minds

Space is a hot commodity, and not just in real estate. Creating space in your mind can be conducive to more energy, creativity, productivity and calm.

- Jessica Lee

One afternoon I was at a cafe with my husband when he went off to do some shopping. Only a few seconds after he had left, I reached for my phone and started scrolling through social media.

This was nothing new. What was new was the realisation that I didn’t actually want to be doing this. My brain felt so full and scrolling was only making it fuller. What I actually wanted was the ability to sit and just watch the world go by.

When faced with moments of nothingness, I didn’t want to automatically spend all my free time and headspace being a passive observer of what everyone else was doing and thinking. I wanted to relearn the art of waiting and turn my attention inwards. I craved more space and energy in my life to explore and create.

Do you feel like your brain is full most of the time? Do you yearn for more space in your mind to think clearly and to feel less stressed? Do you wish you could just sit and be rather than feeling pulled towards distractions?

There is no doubt that technology has brought some amazing positive changes to how we live, connect and engage with the world but is being connected all the time actually good for your health and wellbeing?

The more often you are connected and switched on, the more your brain has to work to process what you are seeing, reading or watching. When you no longer have pauses in your life to rest and observe your world, both internally and externally, your brain becomes overloaded.

As your brain becomes overloaded, your stress goes up, your ability to think clearly and creatively goes down and you may struggle to make good decisions and solve problems. Being constantly “on” means you end up trading calm and control for a frenetic pace of life that is exhausting and can lead to burnout.