What am I doing?

“What in the hell am I doing?” Do you ever ask yourself this? 

You’re not alone. 

A lot of us don’t actually know what we’re doing when we’re in the middle of doing something. 

We’re busy throughout our day, going from one thing to the next, thinking about what we “should” be doing, but not considering what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. 

It’s called unconscious action. 

It’s often fear-driven and repetitive, and can lead to feelings of stress and overwhelm. 

Even browsing social media can be an unconscious, fear-driven action that leads to stress and overwhelm. 

On the flip side is conscious action. 

Conscious action is intentional. You know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. 

It’s intentional and often inspired, and can lead to feelings of eagerness, accomplishment, and ease.  

The challenge that many of us run into is that we have distractions, like email, text messages, news, and social media alerts that trigger reward centers in our brain and send us into unconscious action before we know it. 

We’re truly like Pavlov’s dog, but it’s a text message ding that gets us running after a “treat.”  

Then, we have habitual thoughts like, “I should get this done,” that trigger fear centers in our brain. When you say “should” your brain and body take that literally. That’s why deadlines can truly feel like life or death. 

Unconscious action also gets in the way of creative ideas that drive inspired action. It’s like creativity can’t catch you when you’re chasing after to-do’s and “shoulds.” 

Even with all of the distractions, we can still shift into conscious, intentional and inspired action. 

 

Here’s the easy way to begin: 

1. PAUSE. Pause for just a moment before taking action to become more conscious of the present moment and gain clarity around why you’re choosing this action. 

This allows us to be the leaders of our action, rather than Pavlov’s dog. 

A great time to PAUSE is first thing in the morning before unconscious action gains momentum. 

 

2. GET QUIET. Silence your phone, turn off the television, and get quiet for a moment so that you can listen within. 

By getting quiet, you can more easily access your internal guidance, and then gain clarity about your intentions and receive inspired ideas.

 

3. ASK YOURSELF QUESTIONS. It makes perfect sense that if we wanted to learn more about something that we’d ask questions, right? The funny thing is that we often forget to ask ourselves questions.     

After you’ve paused and gotten quiet, think of what’s ahead for your day and ask yourself: 

“What is my intention for the day?”

“How do I want to BE in the doing of these things?”

“How can I feel connected to my BEING while doing?”

WRITE DOWN YOUR ANSWERS. Then, use your intention like an anchor for the day. 

Repeat your intention to yourself before you deliver a presentation, write an email, or make a phone call. Regularly practicing your intention can help with focus and give you a feeling of presence and ease in your actions. 

This practice may only take a couple of minutes, but pausing, getting quiet and asking yourself questions can have a BIG payoff. You’ll feel more present, productive, and intentional in your action. Plus, you’ll also feel a sense of ease in whatever you’re doing.