Boil It Down - Grasshopper

I once had a radio program director whose main philosophy was simple: boil it down.

He meant less “hamburger helper” . . . more meat.

It was great advice for blathering broadcasters. Turns out, it’s pretty solid advice for life, too.

How often do we complicate living by refusing to distill things down to the essence? We drown ourselves in TMI — too much information — and end up on a head trip.

We park ourselves between our ears and replay voluminous details that derail our ability to see what actually matters. We stay stuck in our heads and quietly join the legion of the walking dead.

We amble about. We pout. We stay lost in thought. And in the process, we blind ourselves to any path forward.

Getting out of your head takes presence of mind — and the first step is simply noticing you’re in there. We live in a six-inch space when there’s so much room to expand.

Once you notice you’re stuck in your head, the most productive move is to get into your body.

That just means taking inventory. Notice the sensations in each part of your body. Not only does it relax your physical self, it boils down your thoughts. That’s because presence of mind leads to peace of mind.

Start noticing your thought machine in action. See how it constantly begs for your attention. It’s like a social media algorithm — one clip leads to another — and before you know it, your ability to actually feel  life gets short-circuited.

So here it is, boiled down:

If you want more life and less mental dismay, step out of your overpacked head . . . and give your life a little more sway.

All the best,