How This One Habit Leads You to Make Bad Choices

Our minds are easily swept up in the craze of getting things done. We are too busy to notice that we are not using our time wisely or that we prioritise the things that actually matter the least.

There are jobs to go to, houses to clean, bills to pay, kids to care for and entertain, relationships to nurture and places to go. The list is endless but time, it seems, is not. There is never enough time and so we try to do as much as we can as fast as we can.

But when we rush, we don’t think clearly. Instead, we begin to run on auto-pilot and follow our unconscious patterns. This leaves no room for new or conscious thought. Our mind is hijacked by shoulds and rules.

Time goes by fast and we forget to use our time for the things we want to do or what matter most to us.

When Chores Replace People

So many of us feel that we don’t have time for ourselves or others because we just have so much to do.

We tell ourselves that we make time for others once we’re done with our chores but the list just keeps getting longer.

Rushing around from one place and thought to the next, we begin to feel irritable, frustrated, resentful and depleted.

But we don’t feel like that because life is hard or simply sucks. No, we feel like that because we choose to fill our lives with depleting activities. Depleting activities that a stressed out mind tells us are critical, important and urgent.

Instructions from a mind that does not operate well when it’s stressed out.

And yet we oblige and follow its commands.

Instructions from a Hijacked Mind

We think that we’re powerless over our chores. They feel like something that just needs to get done. But what if we’re wrong?

What if that’s all we see because while being caught up in rushing around and stressing we cannot access the part of our brain that helps us to think rationally and logically?

What if we’re wasting all our time doing things we don’t want to do because we’re taking instructions from something that’s been hijacked by stress and anxiety?

Making Different Choices

The one thing that helps us regain our perspective and prioritise what matters to us is the one thing that feels absolutely impossible: slowing down.

When we slow down, we give our brain a break and allow it to come back online.

This means that we can make different choices. We can choose people and connection over chores. We can delay all unnecessary tasks and take time for ourselves and those we love.

Instead of mindlessly choosing unfulfilling and depleting tasks, we get to consciously choose nourishing tasks that not only replenish us but also energise us enough to create amazing lives.

We all get hijacked by our unconscious patterns from time to time and make automated choices whether they are good for us or not but when we begin to slow down, we empower ourselves and make it possible for us to make different choices. Life-enhancing choices. Sounds good? It is.

So allow yourself to slow down so you too can benefit from making better and healthier choices for yourself. And then watch your life become truly amazing.

Photography by Anna Dziubinska