Imagine a scenario where you are on a bus with a friend. It’s a daily commute and recently they’ve been quite distracted. They’re fairly online and sometimes have headphones on. You try initiating conversations, sharing how you’re feeling and checking in. But lately they don’t seem very interested in what you have to say or how you feel.

You know you have value in their life because they’ve constantly relied on you to get them through the day. But that still doesn’t stop them ignoring you from time to time. Yet you choose to always be there for them. Frankly, without you, your friend wouldn’t make it. They just don’t realize how much they need you.

One such day, you find that something is very wrong with them. Something related to their health that has them on edge. But instead of dealing with it, they’re choosing to distract themselves and ignoring it. You have the foresight to know what’s coming and you try to warn them. But something strange is going on. Every time you try to warn them, this strange tone fills their ears. Like they’re deaf to you. You warn them over and over again. Poke them, prod and even try to shake them up a little. But they seem completely oblivious.

Deep down you begin to realize, they won’t stop until it’s very late and the damage has been done.

And suddenly you collapse. Now they look at you, and they are visibly and rightfully scared. If only they had looked up, stopped and listened.

——

Now if this exchange sounds dramatic to you, you must be new to my work. I’m just embracing what comes up and this scenario is one between a person and their body. Now take a minute and reread it.

I grant you. This is not the most common scenario but it also isn’t unheard of. Have you recently pushed past a warning your body gave you to either work, or continue pushing yourself in some other way?

If you haven’t, kudos. If you have, well you’re not alone.

The scenario stands on its own and I’m not writing this post to give advice about work-life balance and where to draw the line between pushing your body for a priority versus listening to it. That’s for each of you to decide and if I ever look into it deeper, I will share some insights should I feel the need to.

But the whole listening to your body concept. I can certainly tell you how I go about it (when I actually do it). I can tell you I’m trying to do it more and more.

Yesterday I meditated after a long time. And I’d actually forgotten all the old feelings it brought with it. See I remember doing it by myself for the longest time before I met my wife or had dogs. But even then distractions would creep in, and I would find ways to turn my attention momentarily, acknowledge that my thought had drifted and then slowly find my way back. That, I have learned is the whole point of meditation. With a puppy bouncing around me yesterday, I had to do the process multiple times as she tried to settle down around me over the 20 minutes of meditation. Which is the length of my meditation playlist. For you gamers, I meditate to select songs from the The Last of Us pt2 soundtrack.

For 20 minutes, my eyes were closed, I focused on my breathing, and I paid attention to the sensations through my body and the external surroundings but always came back to the breathing.

Now in contrast I think of if I had spent that time online or scrolling. That same amount of time would have flown by so fast and with so little insignificance, I could not categorize it as anything other than time wasted.

Today, instead of scrolling on the weekend morning which as I told myself in the past is a harmless weekend morning ritual. I listened to some music. Which I know doesn’t sound like some big behavior-breaking technique. But I genuinely just sat down and put on some music and listened to it. And I don’t mean as a side activity while I was doing dishes or cleaning. Just listening. And I can honestly say it made a difference.

Can’t recall how long I sat there but I’m glad I did. And that will just be another way I spent a little less time online.

See I’ve noticed about human behavior that when we see someone slowing down consciously, it goes against some inner law that we are following. A law that says getting more things done in a short period of time is a good thing. Like the feeling you get when you carry all the grocery bags in one trip. Like instead of watching a 2-hour video on trees, you would rather watch 50 reels on 50 different things. Because that jumping from one thing to the other has somehow become the norm instead of slowing down and doing one thing for a significant period So that it may have some meaningful impact on our life.

My dad always told me – Carry one thing with two hands. Not two things with one hand.

And I see it more and more. I am conscious of the limited time I have and I don’t feel that urge to fill it up with as much content and experiences as possible. Rather I try to focus on the quality of those experiences. Stopping to ask why am I doing this and if I even want to do this?

Do you do things just because everyone around you is doing them? Do you ever stop and listen internally if you even want to be a part of that crowd? It’s not easy. I will give you that. Social acceptance is the weak medicine we all think sustains us. I can honestly tell you without even knowing you, you are very unique and it might just be holding you back.

If there is something you would like to take from this, find something you like doing and for a short moment of time, do only that. Think about it as you do it. The effect it has on you. Why you love it. And how you feel given that you have allowed yourself the time to do it.

I hope it changes your day and your perspective, like it does for me.