Whoever you are, my educated guess is at times you’ve been kidnapped by your own thinking. You may not have thought about it in those terms, but for a moment, just reflect on the phrase, “kidnapped by your own thinking.” When your thinking gets all revved up, and starts running away with you, and from you, what else would you call it?
The likelihood of any of us actually being kidnapped by another person is remote. On the other hand, the likelihood of any of us being kidnapped by our own thinking is very high. It’s likely to happen regularly at any time.
In case you’re not quite sure if this applies to you, here are the physical symptoms and a description of what it feels like.
When we get kidnapped by our own thinking, it starts to feel like life is moving too fast, and we can’t possibly keep up. That kind of thinking makes us feel overwhelmed very quickly. A sense of overwhelm is like the birth of an avalanche. It gets out of control very quickly, and unless we’re watching for it, can be easy to miss. When you start noticing this out-of-control, uncomfortable feeling in your body, you have the power to simply disengage with that particular line of thinking.
Actively trying to stop a disturbing line of thinking won’t work, because what you’re doing is concentrating more intently on the thinking that disturbed you in the first place. What can possibly happen, other than to dig yourself into an even deeper hole with a worse feeling?
By trying to control your thinking, all you do is to strengthen that undesirable thinking and lock it in place.
If you’re driving your car and you notice you’re going too fast, there’s no need to slam on the brakes. All you have to do is take your foot off the gas for a moment. The same is true with your thinking. The key is to notice your thinking is going off track, and in an unproductive direction. The moment you notice that, you’ve made yourself kidnap-proof. That’s when you have the option to simply disengage from the thinking that’s gotten you flustered.
No one is at their best when they’re overwhelmed because in that condition, no one can think clearly. It’s a bit like attempting to be at your best when you’re angry. That’s impossible, because anger neutralizes your intelligence. Feeling overwhelmed does exactly the same thing.
The most destructive part of becoming overwhelmed by your own thinking is this: you cut yourself off from your own instinctive wisdom. The sheer din of overwhelmed thinking will drown out the quiet, sure voice of your own wisdom every time.
We’re constantly encouraged to go faster and faster in our lives. How can that do anything other than speed us up to the point we’re ripe for being kidnapped by our own thinking?
Interested in breaking the cycle of being kidnapped by your own thinking? It’s simpler than you might think. Start to notice the physical feeling that accompanies feeling overwhelmed. Then, simply disengage, and you’ve made yourself kidnap-proof.
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