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The day will never end. Full of small frustrations that seem personal (to our irrational minds). Conflicts and obstacles that arise or that we cannot seem to resolve alone. Solutions are impossible to find, or so they seem. Nothing seems to be working for us.
But you have patience.
You keep working, keep asking for help from those who can. You’ll remember that life will throw us days that feel especially heavy, emotionally exhausting, though even a small pin drop can make us tear up or ask ‘Why is this happening to me?’ There is seemingly no reason to while also remembering that these days will pass, and often as quickly as 24 hours.
When we remember this truth about the difference a day can make, we give ourselves peace of mind. Not because we have it figured out yet or things are going our way, but because so much can change, so much can come or unfold in unknown, unknown ways, that our conscious mind cannot entertain this stressful state.
Ludwig van Beethoven. One of the most well-known composers of classical music who followed in the huge shoes left by Mozart and Haydn in the late classical era. Beethoven composed more than 700 pieces, including nine of his famous symphonies, universally recognizable even to non-classical ears. It was a depth of emotion in his creations that had not been seen in classical music before, and many music historians argue that it has not yet been equaled. While reading Jan Swafford’s biography Beethoven: Suffering and TriumphA character trait that is constantly displayed is his burning passion for his enthusiasm for creating new work but also his anger and stubbornness when something is disliked by critics. However, what has been revealed time and again is that when he gave feedback when something was not well received, when he vehemently expressed his dislike for their disagreements, when they offered valid arguments, he took their feedback, applied it and, as history shows, created masterpiece after masterpiece. In Beethoven’s case, the masterpiece that forever changed how classical music was composed.
I share this because in the course of a day, there will be days when events, reactions, things that involve outside of our inner desires will not please us. What Beethoven did was something that allowed him to feel how he felt. He didn’t suppress it, but then he looked more closely at the reality of the unwanted reaction. And if the feedback he received was worth it, he applied it and, in his case, changed the course of music history. Take, for example, his Sonata No. 21 in C major, a three-movement piece that, when Beethoven first finished it, was told by a trusted confidant that the second movement was too long. Angered at first, Beethoven pondered what he had heard and accepted the validity of the arguments given after testing them. He took his friend’s advice, and WaldsteinAs is well known, Beethoven’s development as a composer is evidenced by what is now described as his heroic period. Even just one part of the sonata below has a listen.
Literally a day’s difference, first giving us time to sleep on the information we receive, however unsolicited it may be. When we try to figure out a problem or come up with a solution immediately after an unwanted event, our brain doesn’t access all of its available knowledge. This is where the knowledge of our brain and nervous system, the skill of mindfulness, keeps us calm, relaxed and grounded even when things don’t go our way.
On undesirable days, the amygdala takes over the wheel, which is the irrational part of the brain. The part of the brain that signals – survival mode! We’re just wondering how to get something out quickly, or to avoid hearing unwanted reactions like his emotionally angry reaction in Beethoven’s case. And sometimes we jump to disaster. It’s a mismanagement of the area of the nervous system where fight, flight, or freeze seems sensible (it isn’t).
As much as our amygdala is being ratcheted up, our pre-frontal cortex is taking a back seat. And the prefrontal cortex is where we need to be at the wheel instead of the amygdala, because it’s where rational thought, emotion regulation, and reasoning guide our thoughts and actions.
So, yes, again, when our emotions, especially unwanted emotions, are triggered by a day not going the way we want, it’s a sign to our conscious mind that we’re not thinking as clearly or as well as we might otherwise. Historians have noted that Beethoven was a passionate composer and conductor. Granted, not always the easiest to work with, but reliably passionate about music and creating and reimagining what was possible.
Beethoven was not yet 30 when he began to notice problems with his hearing (first documented in 1789), yet even as the problems intensified, he persevered, and arguably, one of the most beloved symphonies, No. 9 (his last symphony) was composed between 1822 and 1822. Could have discouraged him, stopped him from creating, but he persevered.
But we’re only talking about a one-day, 24-hour difference. And that can change in a very short time.
Combine knowledge of how our minds work during times of stress and why we can’t trust our thoughts and fears at such moments with a good night’s sleep. Just remembering what our minds can do while we are fast asleep is like a lullaby for adults, allowing us to find peace as we drift off to sleep. last week Episode #427One of the 10 daily choices that are a wise investment in our well-being is prioritizing a good night’s sleep One reason is that, in the waking state, our conscious mind is unable to find the solutions available to us but stuck in our subconscious, which we do not see in the waking state. When we sleep, our mind begins to work and search and explore the resources of information within us, but in our irrational state, we cannot think clearly to explore where and what we actually need.
Another reason a day makes an amazing difference is that it gives time to others to share their knowledge.
If we are wise in our awareness, and choose to respond rather than react to undesirable days, we can wisely reach out to experts in the field we are trying to better understand. And then we have to wait for their response. During our wait, we continue with our day. possibly application Nutrition is our mindfulness tool To calm our being – take a walk outside, immerse ourselves in a hobby that holds our attention, or journal it. We must go, and we must get on with our day, try not to rush until we get that email or text, or face to face chat.
So let’s take a look at how we can put the odds in our favor that tomorrow will be completely different, read – a much better day than our current undesirable day:
- Understand that today is a day and not a disaster. Instead, acknowledge that the day isn’t going well, that you’re easily triggered emotionally, and that you notice this instead of letting these emotions get in the way. It is a practice of awareness of an ‘on-edge-ness’ to put it in emotional perspective and when we observe this in ourselves, we help prevent further snowballing.
- Understand how the mind changes the brain’s ‘drivers’ when stressed. Learn the difference between the prefrontal cortex versus the amygdala when it’s at the wheel.
- Give your doubts, conflicts, problems etc. to your sleeping brain. Prioritize a good night’s sleep and rest your mind so that the subconscious mind can search for resources that you haven’t been able to tap into in your stressful state.
- Exercise patience and reach out for help from experts in the field you’re looking for knowledge you don’t yet have. Remember other people have their own timelines, communicate your quest and let go. And then live mindfully in the present.
- In the present moment, to bring calm, engage Nutrition activities.
Another reason tomorrow evolves into a better day is because we rest our tired emotional minds. On a new day, we wake up refreshed, with more clarity, and even if we don’t have a solution yet, we know that we’re more likely to find it because we’ve allowed our mind to calm down. We had to do it unconsciously (while we slept), but we basically got out of our own way.
We can wake up and realize what wasn’t helpful in our actions or words the previous day, and so choose differently in our new day. Any new and different action will result in different results. As simple and logical a formula seems on the second day, when yesterday was unfolding, we may have difficulty remembering such a truth.
On more than one occasion, it has happened in my life that within 24 hours, I went from feeling like I ran into a wall and couldn’t find a solution to the request and getting an email of helpful information that ‘untied the knot’, so to speak, and helped make sense of my puzzle. Or with the dawn of a new day, a clear mind found the path that was invisible the day before. I just needed more information that wasn’t accessible at the moment. Reading an expert, I had to reach out, ask, try to search and then I had to wait. As for my unconscious mind, I had to give it time and let it rest deeply while I slept. If I let my lizard mind take the wheel, thinking it was driving me well, I wouldn’t be able to think clearly enough to know who to reach out to or allow myself to sleep and sleep long and deep.
Unwanted or bad days are going to happen, but the more we practice mindfulness, thus, using awareness of ourselves and the mind as well as the skills we’ve learned, the less bad days we’ll have of our own making. Then, any bad days that come will be the result of circumstances beyond our control. And as they do, we apply our skills to better navigate them.
Today, be reassured that if it doesn’t go as you imagined or hoped, or a day in the future happens that is undesirable, know that it can change for the better within 24 hours, and you are more likely to do so when you engage and apply the five practices and tools shared above.
As you begin the week, I wish you a calm reassurance that it is full of opportunities to savor and dance skillfully with the unexpected or the expected.
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