Achieving Ataraxis (Peace of Mind)

The first type of thinking or internal dialog to avoid is mindless planning.  Directed or mindful planning is a powerful capability.  It is most effective when it taps experience and stays focused.  It seems to be a uniquely human capacity and all of our technical progress throughout history owes a debt to directed planning.

In contrast, mindless planning is a waste of time and energy, also taking you out of the present.

Sometimes it is hard to know the difference between mindful and mindless planning.  In general, mindful planning is pragmatic or practical while mindless planning is fanciful.  The good news is that as long as the mindless planning is isolated and does not give rise to other types of thinking, the cost of it is usually limited to wasted time and energy.

It is worth noting that many people are good at avoiding mindless planning in one or more life activities but not in others.  For example, many are mindful planners when at work, particularly if undertaking a specific task, but not when socializing, parenting, vacationing, or relaxing.

Avoiding mindlessness planning and, indeed, mindlessness in any form is a prescription that covers all of the thinking you do, a 24/7 proposition.

To build a foundation for this section, it is important to define what exactly is meant by the term “thinking”.

Thinking is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary¹ as “thought, cognition, meditation, mental action or activity, etc.” Please note, the term thought is interchangeable with the term thinking.

For the purposes of this section, the term thinking refers to both visual and verbal mental activity. Visual mental activity is sometimes referred to as visualization and verbal mental activity is synonymous with “internal dialog”. Both forms of mental activity can be associated with the past, present, or future. The vast majority of people seem to think using an internal dialog rather than using visualization so there is a bias toward using the phrase internal dialog. If you thinking is predominantly visual, substitute visualization for internal dialog. Thinking is specifically distinguished from both memories and feelings.

Awareness of your thinking or internal dialog is a prerequisite for changing it. As noted in the discussion about “awareness”, it is important to be aware of both spontaneous thoughts and thoughts triggered by sensory information. You can direct your thoughts but it is near impossible to direct your feelings or memories without first directing your thoughts.

It bears repeating that when you learned to speak and direct your thinking, you simultaneously created the potential for undirected or mindless thinking. It could not be otherwise. The overarching goals of the prescribed “thinking to avoid” are (1) to be AWARE when your thoughts change from being directed to undirected, (2) to STOP the undirected thoughts, and (3) to RESUME directed thinking OR to OBSERVE the present (your own sensations, others around you, or your surroundings).

This prescription applies to all mindless thoughts. It allows for directed thinking that may arise spontaneously. These thoughts can be a source of creative ideas and solutions. Because of the potential for creativity, there is an allowance for spontaneous thinking, particularly mindful spontaneous thinking.

If you achieve the three goals listed above, you will (1) have more TIME for directed thinking, observation, and being “present”, (2) have more ENERGY for directed thinking, directed activities, observation, and being present, and (3) avoid the specific ills associated with different types of undirected thinking as described below.

¹Shorter Oxford English Dictionary – Sixth Edition