6,000 Thoughts… and you didn’t even choose most of them!

As average human beings, you and I have around 6,000 thoughts — every single day. But here's the crucial bit: you did not choose most of these thoughts. They came to you.?

Either because an external event (e.g. something you read, heard or saw) triggered them or simply because they "bubbled up" inside your mind (due to some magical, unconscious background processes).?

Let me stress this once more and put it differently: you have not consciously chosen to think most of your thoughts. If you had, you would have chosen only happy / positive / effective thoughts, of course. But as we all know, there's a lot of worrying, rumination or at least "obsessive planning" happening between our ears.

For me, this is the crucial realization: as a matter of biology, I just cannot be in complete control of which thoughts exactly come into my mind. But I want to at least have a say in what I do with them! Do I want to follow up on all of my worries, all of the time? Do I want to believe that all of my thoughts are completely true?

The answer to these questions has to be "no". And this is where mental training — in the form of meditation — comes into play. If you want to have more control over what's happening in your mind, training it through meditation becomes a crucial activity.

The “Official” State of Our Shared Mental Health

When we talk about meditation and mental training, we should also talk about mental health. There are countless studies that paint quite a gloomy picture:

• 9 out of 10 working adults feel stressed in their work lives.
• 1 in 4 adults have experienced a mental health disorder in the last 12 months.

To make sense of this data, it’s important to understand two things.

First, “mental health disorders” are not only the big, life-threatening things like schizophrenia and severe depression; many other problems like sleep disorders, substance abuse, anxiety and eating disorders also belong in this category.

Second, however, any of the above — including simple “work stress” — will severely impair our wellbeing. It’s bad enough if you find yourself worrying more than necessary, feeling restless a lot of the time, and having trouble concentrating.?

All of these things have to be taken seriously. One the one hand, because they can develop into more serious problems. On the other hand, because you don’t have to be missing a leg to go to the doctor: taking care of your mental health — and be it only to protect your ability to be productive at work — should be a priority at all times.

Case in Point: Myself

It often helps to talk about concrete examples. And “luckily”, I am living proof of what can happen if you ignore your mental health for too long.

In 2014, after having ignored a lot of warning signs for years, I experienced severe burnout. I mismanaged my own mental health to the point where I had to put my life (and work) on hold to take a 5-week break in a rehab center.

It turned out that I picked the right place, because (apart from the usual treatment program) meditation training was offered.

And in fact it proved to be very effective, very quickly: meditation helped me gain a much healthier perspective on all the things that happened in my life — without any of these things having to change! There was still a challenging job as an entrepreneur and a couple of (unrelated) chronic health problems on the table.

But I felt much more comfortable in my own skin (and head). And most importantly, it helped me recover to the point where I could return to my life and work as an entrepreneur.

This might be an interesting fun fact for readers who are a bit skeptical about meditation and other seemingly “esoteric” stuff: I can confidently describe myself as very down to earth and not esoteric in the slightest. I love to work and want to be productive and successful as an entrepreneur.

The thing is: none of this is in conflict with meditation and mindfulness training!

Why and How Meditation Can Help

Especially in the last 20 years, there have been thousands of scientific studies that confirm a countless benefits of regular meditation training:

• stress reduction
• improved sleep
• better concentration and attention
• positive effects on depression and burnout
• …and the list goes on and on

This is the “official”, scientifically proven list of benefits. It’s great that we now have so many robust studies that prove these amazing results. And for most people, these topics should be reason enough to integrate meditation into their lives.

But for me, personally, the bigger picture is just as important. Because when you start meditating, you’ll come to realize just how much we’re all ruled by our own thoughts.

(You can either believe believe me or simply close your eyes for a couple of minutes and watch what happens in your head. It’s a circus, I can guarantee that…)

The more you meditate, the better you’ll understand yourself, and especially your own mind.

You’ll come to understand the role your mind plays in your life: it’s like someone standing behind you, commenting on everything you do, whispering ideas and judgements in your ear… literally every moment of your waking life.

Think how annoying and unpleasant such a person would be. But it gets even better — because we aren’t even aware of that person standing behind us! We are heavily influenced without even knowing it.

The act of meditation is like turning around and, for the first time in your life, looking that someone in the eye. You are now aware of this influence and can decide for yourself if you want to follow these thoughts or put them aside.

How to Start

I hope I was able to whet your appetite: to start taking good care of your mind; to take control of your mental health; to put yourself in the driver’s seat.

Here are some ideas to help you get started:

1. Look for an MBSR course near you: The absolute best option is to learn meditation and mindfulness in a live course. But it can be quite tricky to find the right teacher. Luckily, there’s the “MBSR” program (“Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction”): this is a very down-to-earth, non-esoteric program that has been developed in a scientific environment and has been around for over 40 years. Just Google “MBSR course <your city>” and you’ll most likely find courses near you.
2. A great app: I have to emphasize once more that a live course with a real teacher is by far the best option. If this is impossible for you, the second best option is a high-quality app. There are many out there, but my recommendations are “10 Percent Happier ” and “Headspace ” because of their high quality content (which not every meditation app offers).
3. Follow me — and get in touch if I can help: Follow me (on LinkedIn or Twitter ) to receive future essays. And if you have any doubts or further questions, feel free to get in touch with me. I’m happy to help if I can (and, at the time of this writing, I have nothing to sell). Contact me via LinkedIn, Twitter, or my own website .

I’d like to leave you with a quote from Sam Harris, a neuroscientist and fantastic meditation teacher:

What we're doing here [with meditation] is sharpening the only tool you really have: your mind. This is what you take with you in any situation in life. This is what determines how you respond to emotional stress and physical pain and every other difficulty you encounter. This is the basis for every decision you make and every interaction you have with other people.

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Footnotes:

1. 9 out of 10 working adults feel stressed in their work lives. From a study by a German healthcare provider: https://www.mta-dialog.de/artikel/87-prozent-der-menschen-in-deutschland-sind-gestresst
2. 1 in 4 adults has suffered from a mental disorder in the last 12 months. From a study by the WHO (World Health Organization) in 2017.