What is the grind?
A note today on something we all go through, whether we like it or not. Do you find some days it’s just hard work to do absolutely anything? There are things you have to do. You’d rather put them off but they just need to get done. So you start trying to convince yourself you can do it. I call this process, ‘the grind’ and it always seems like hard work!
Today I needed to take someone in my family to the doctors. I most definitely love this person and obviously would always want to help anyone get back to being healthy. I’ve had a busy and physically exhausting week so I was looking forward to the week-end to spend recovering. Today is Saturday. I was woken early to builders hammering and a message on my phone asking if I could drive to the doctors. Hopefully you can see the picture I painted in my own mind. I wasn’t going to get to sleep in, relax in the morning and taking someone I care about to the doctor felt annoying.?
Why was today so different from last Saturday when I bounced out of bed and felt like I could knock my todo list out of the park?
I put it down to two reasons, both interconnected.?
The first is my body really did need a break. I’ve learnt you need to listen to your body and give it a break when it needs it.?
The second is my mind, it also needed a break. On Friday it got busy planning out my weekend, what I could do or more accurately, not do. When I woke on Saturday it got busier creating stories about how I should force my way through the grind.?
As you know, these two things are connected and we feel our thoughts. We then think further about those feelings and around we go, around and around.?
It doesn’t quite seem obvious but to get through the grind we need to give ourselves a break.
I’m still going to drive to the doctors, that doesn’t require much physical exertion so that’s good. But I’m also going to rest my mind. A quiet mind is not an unproductive mind, it’s a wise mind. As I give myself a break, my body and mind will do what they do best and recover themselves.?
When I first started doing this I thought I was cheating. Surely I had to grind through the hard stuff to get out the other side? Letting our mind-body do what comes naturally seems alien to our society. It seems like if we’re not putting blood and sweat into it, we’re not in control, and surely we should be directing our own play?
I spent almost 3 hours at the doctors and it was actually a pleasant experience. I was stuck doing nothing and in a surprisingly peaceful environment. I decided to write this article and it just seemed to flow.?
Next time you feel you’re climbing a mountain for the simplest of tasks, check-in on your mind-body and see if they need a rest. Not only will they thank you for it but they’ll also start sharing the wise thoughts that get you back on that pleasant and beautiful path.?
Enjoy,
Tim.