The optimum speed of our mind
Have you ever driven a car faster than the optimal speed it was designed for? When we push the car beyond its limit, the car starts to shake. This is a good sign that a person should slow down. You don’t have to slam on the break in order to slow down. Just taking your foot off the accelerator allows the car to automatically begin slowing down.
So too, our minds were designed to function at an optimal speed. Could we innocently push the limits, rev our own engine, speed beyond the comfort zone of our minds?
Sure, but embedded into the design of a human being is the ability for a person to realize, to notice, that we are using our minds in an unhelpful way. When our bodies begin to shake from going too fast (ex. feel uncomfortable, stressed out, anxious, insecure, angry, depressed, frustrated, judgmental), it is a good sign that a person should slow down.
We don’t have to slam on the brake (try to control, manage, get on top of our thinking) in order to slow down. Just taking our foot off the accelerator, so to speak, allows our minds to automatically begin slowing down.
What does taking our foot off the accelerator look like if not controlling and trying to change our thinking?
The moment we notice our feeling state, that feeling is an indicator, a barometer, part of the design, that lets us know our minds are in overdrive. Revving the engine more, thinking more about whatever it is we are thinking about, will innocently push our foot on the accelerator, making our minds speed faster.
However, if we allow our mind to do what it was designed to do, to settle once I notice I am in overdrive, our mind will automatically begin slowing down on its own. Can I trust the Designer and experiment?
