You’re a runaway train: 11 ways to slow yourself down

Barreling through life on adrenaline and momentum, you’ve become a runaway train. And even if you had an endless supply of fuel, you’ll eventually run out of tracks. Isn’t it time to slow yourself down?

That’s one heck of a way to live. And millions of us are all too familiar with it…

Can’t or won’t sit still, chronically nervous and clumsy, massive hits of inattention and impulsivity, rapid shifting from task to task, going places for the sake of going, bouncing around like a pinball, little to no sleep, beyond being worn out.

Are you barreling down the tracks right now?

Why can’t I slow down?

So why would any of us bust through life on adrenaline and momentum, transforming ourselves into a runaway train?

Could be a variety of factors involved. To name a handful…

• An emotional, mental, or physical condition, be it diagnosed, undiagnosed, or improperly treated.
• Running from something or someone. It’s much harder to hit a moving target.
• An isolation maneuver. What better way to keep people and pain at bay?
• Having no clue as to one’s life meaning.
• Living on the run neck-up isn’t as risky as confronting the feelings that reside neck-down.
• Having maximum control over who can see our perceived pathetic selves and for how long.

I’ll bet you can come up with more.

A life-altering reality

Okay, our seemingly endless fuel supply allows us to continue rolling on down the tracks. But a life-altering reality is in the offing.

We all have emotional, mental, and physical limits.

I liken them to assorted beaker sizes. Obviously, if we poured the contents of a 250 ml beaker into one that’s 50, we’ll have an overflow on our hands.

News flash: at least one of our beakers will soon overflow. We’re about to run out of tracks.

Two choices

At this point, with any degree of self-awareness, we’ll realize we have two choices. We can barrel on and risk an emotional, mental, or physical crisis. Or we can slow things down, catch our breath, and grab some perspective.

No doubt scary, but don’t you think the latter is the way to go?

11 ways to slow yourself down

With a good decision made, how are we going to hit the brakes? Consider the following…

1. Become aware of every emotional, mental, and physical aspect of what we’re experiencing. A symptom tracking system really helps.
2. There’s no denying anything we discover in #1. Acceptance paves the highway to action and relief.
3. If we’re being treated for an emotional, mental, or physical condition, make sure our provider(s) knows what’s going on. If we aren’t being treated, perhaps it’s time to get serious about our well-being.
4. Frequent troubleshooting is essential. In addition to our own ideas, use these lists. And don’t force “the fix.” Try things on and see what evolves.
5. It may be difficult, but try a “sit still” session. After getting as relaxed as we can, whether it’s a why or a remedy, see what comes to mind in the stillness and quiet. Consistently doing these sessions can be valuable.
6. For intervention purposes or overall stress reduction, we have to learn how to relax. Yoga, meditation, guided imagery, exercise – whatever it takes – it’s crucial that we find ways to get us in a calmer state of mind.
7. The healthy lifestyle bit has become somewhat cliche, but it really matters here. It’s about analyzing where we are and making indicated changes.
8. Our sleep issues need to get handled. There’s way too much toxic fallout for it to be ignored.
9. We need to find and begin living in accordance with our life’s meaning.
10. Admit  – accept – that our fuel isn’t going to last forever, nor will the tracks.
11. Care about ourselves enough to work hard on change.

Do these make sense to you? As always, come up with your own as well.

Isn’t it time to slow yourself down?

Barreling through life on adrenaline and momentum. As useful and necessary as it may seem, this runaway train madness is no way to live.

Besides, you’ll absolutely run out of fuel and tracks.

But you know that.

Isn’t it time to slow yourself down?

Would you like to read more Chipur mood and anxiety info and inspiration articles? Well go right ahead, peruse the titles.