So here we are, entering a new decade. Looking back on the last ten years will be a cocktail mix of emotions for everyone, filled with both pain and pleasure. What will the next decade bring? Or, more importantly, what do we want it to bring? There are probably as many answers to this question as there are people on the planet, but I'm sure that many of us will have certain elements in common - chief among them; a yearning for a more peace and tranquility.
I am sure of this because so many people I see - both socially and professionally - seem to be in a rush all the time (myself included). Next time you're in a queue or a waiting room, stop and look around for a moment and just observe how many others are either typing or talking into their phones. And the stats of the decade speak for themselves: The number of people regularly online has gone from just under 250 million people at the start of the decade, to just under two billion by the end of it. On mobile phones, over a billion text messages are now sent daily and a recent survey revealed that over 47% of teenagers have learnt to text with their eyes closed!.
This inner drive to keep busy has many positive consequences in terms of the productivity and achievement for us as individuals as well as nations and a species as a whole, but there are down sides too. The price we pay is an almost perpetual feeling of inner agitation. The drive comes from a desire, and the desire - in one form or another - comes from an underlying dissatisfaction with the way things are now. As a result we're often neglecting the part of us that just wants to be in the moment and accept things as they are, and so we long to touch it; the stillness, the void.
For this reason I recommend one resolution above all others - stillness. There is no better personal development program out there. While meditation is a worthwhile practise it can take a while to get into and often be difficult to make a start - as I know from my own experience. That is why, I am recommending something that is accessible to everyone; windows of stillness. Between meetings, appointments, journeys, when you first sit in the car or whenever you have a slot in the day - be it 30 seconds or 5 minutes, just sit still. Make sure there's no TV or radio in front of you and no one to disturb you, and just spend a moment with yourself; take some deep breaths and start to feel the sensations inside your body.
What will happen next is that you'll start thinking. That's ok. Allow it, but as soon as you become aware you are doing it, make a mental note and bring your attention back to your body. Parts of you will feel heavy, parts light, parts of you will feel knotted, parts loose, parts happy, parts sad. It's all in there so stay with it. You will learn more about yourself in those few seconds or minutes than any words or language can teach you. It will be, without a doubt, your ultimate personal development program.
If you start to pepper your life with exercises like this a couple of times a day, over time you will begin experiencing yourself at a deeper level - one beyond thought, and one that has been neglected for too long. As you engage in it more and more you'll realise what it was you've been missing and yearning for all this time.
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