Bandwidth
What is bandwidth? In internet terms, it's the amount of capacity for information carrying that our computer or internet service has. How much information can our system handle per minute.
This term can also be applied to our personal capacity in any moment.
There are three general approaches I've seen to increasing our bandwidth in order to get more done in a day or simply be more content and not feel overwhelmed with everything.
The first approach looks to increase our overall capacity. This is like buying more bandwidth from an internet provider or upgrading to fiber. It can take the form of physical practices like meditating, exercising, drinking more coffee, going for a walk, motivating yourself with stern talking to's or energy drinks.
This approach can rev us up and in the short term make it look like we have more bandwidth until you burn yourself out.
The second approach understands that what we have going on in our heads takes up a lot of our natural bandwidth and looks to dump it out or clear it in an effort to then free up some of that mental and physical bandwidth. This approach might look like awareness and mindset practices. Replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Affirmations. Perhaps meditation.
The third approach is understanding how we are designed to function and relaxing into that. We are designed to return back to full bandwidth after using it up. We use up our bandwidth by focusing on tasks we are doing, by thinking about things that are not currently happening, by all the mental chatter that goes on, when we are physically tired, and when we are distracted by things. This might sound like "Oh no! I have so much going on all the time! I'll never get that bandwidth back!" What we don't realize is the only problem lies in our misunderstanding of how we use thought and thinking.
What we have going for us is that we are always operating on a full clear perfect divine bandwidth and the only reason we don't always feel like it is our thinking muddying it up. When people have an understanding of how thinking works, they realize that nothing needs to be done. Thinking is a flow and if left to its own devices will keep on flowing allowing the clear fresh bandwidth to be available for clear fresh ideas.
If personal bandwidth was like bars on your cell phone for how much connectivity we have, how many bars are you right now as you read this? One bar? Two? or all the way up to five? The bar scale goes to five in my imaginary bandwidth measuring scale. We kinda know in any moment how clear we are. One and two feel tense and scattered, maybe angry. Three feels pretty neutral, four and five feel energized and good. Throughout your day check in every now and then and see How many bars? The simple act of noticing where you are triggers our inborn mechanism to clear our bandwidth. All that's needed is to notice and let your design bring you back to clarity.
With love,
Sara Joy