ONE THING AT A TIME, PLEASE

I have long been fascinated with the number of frustrated people in the world. Too many of us, too often, want to be someplace else. No matter what we are doing, we want to be doing something different. I’ve often heard that the secret of our age is that “most people feel inadequate most of the time.”
I want to begin by assuring you, whoever you are, that you are entirely adequate! Yes, you are!
I think of the famous poster of a mischievous toddler with his head on his hands, and the banner underneath says, “I must be OK ‘cause God don’t make no junk!” Trust me, God “don’t make no junk” and you are at the very least, “OK.”
But where does this sense of distraction and stress come from?
For many years I’ve suspected that the rise in ADD wasn’t because more people were born with it or we were better at diagnosing it. Something else seems to be going on. And then I came across a brand new mental health diagnosis, “Acquired Attention Deficit Disorder.” I think that’s it!
Think about that. I’m told most commercial images now last less than two seconds before jumping to another visual. No wonder a long, unbroken shot of 30 endless seconds is hard to watch!
In forty years, our world has sped up that much, and it is a metaphor for our lives. We multi-task. We have music or news on all day long, every place we go—in the car, while eating or exercising, even going to sleep at night. We are surrounded by sights and sounds all day long, on top of the traditional tasks of working, cooking meals, paying bills, running errands and juggling family issues.
Fortunately, our brains have actually learned to function in a world of constant stimulation. I think our brains do this amazingly well.
But I’m not sure “we” can. Between the mental effort, the physical strain and the constant distraction, I’m not sure our bodies and our souls are designed for the demands we place on ourselves.
And so we feel “inadequate.” We are exhausted, frustrated, in a hurry, feeling like we need to be someplace else, doing something else or something more.
I don’t have a quick or simple cure. But I have some suggestions:
1. Do less. Refuse to believe the illusion that every task, invitation or entertainment “must” be done. Practice laziness. Develop the self-discipline to say no and do less.
2. Get more sleep. Studies show most of us are sleep-deprived and that catches up with us. Take naps. Hammocks are good.
3. Savor silence. Turn off the television, the stereo, the radio, the phone and the iPod. Learn to love the sound of silence. It will lower your blood pressure and increase your patience.
4. Love what you do. Treat your work with respect. Give it the passion it deserves. Become an expert and let your work express your excellence. Do one thing, and do it well.
5. Be kind to yourself. Eat well. Delight in beauty. Laugh. Give and get lots of hugs. Play. Spend time with people you love. Avoid stress. Have fun.