Theme of the Week: Anxiety
Brother,
Today is about increasing your awareness around anxiety and thoughts, with a goal of finding the now. The now is a mindfulness-based concept created by Eckhart Tolle that we spoke about in our recent Mental Monday newsletter.
Many men spend their days outside of presence and inside of their thoughts; planning, replaying, worrying, and preparing for what’s next. We train our bodies in the gym and sharpen our skills at work, but rarely pause to notice what is happening inside our own minds.
Awareness begins when you recognize one simple truth: you are not your thoughts, you are the one observing them. Because you are actually the observer of thoughts and not the thoughts themselves, it is your choice how you react to them.
Here is today's simple practice:
For one minute sit still.
Start to notice the noise inside of your mind and begin to watch your thoughts as if they were clouds moving across the sky.
Do not get angry at them. Do not argue with them. Do not judge them.
Picture yourself standing on the ground and looking up at each cloud (thought) passing by with the wind.
A thought appears from your subconscious.
You notice it.
You let it pass.
Another thought comes.
You notice it.
You let it pass.
This practice is a simple discipline to increase your awareness and sharpen your mindset. You are training your mind the same way you train your body. Steadily building control through repetition and awareness.
When you observe your thoughts instead of reacting to them, something changes. Between thoughts, there is space. No story, no emotion pulling you in, no pressure to act.
That space is what Eckhart calls, the now. The only place on earth with no suffering.
In this moment of observation, you may notice your breathing, the weight of your body, or the sounds around you. You will feel at peace, there will be no problems, because there will be no thoughts about the past or the future.
You may also notice how quickly the mind wants to jump back into reacting to thoughts. That’s normal. The work simply consists of returning to observation again and again and again and again, without judgement or reaction. If you are just starting your journey on remaining present, it will take honest work to enter the now consistently. Do not let this discourage you. Eventually it will become second nature to act as the observer.
This practice does not remove challenges from your life, but it changes how you meet them.
Instead of saying, “I am anxious,”
you begin to see, “There is an anxious thought passing through.”
This shift builds strength because when you are the observer, you are no longer controlled by every thought or emotion. You gain clarity, steadiness, and choice.
Feeling Friday is about developing inner awareness. The kind of awareness that keeps you grounded when life gets loud.
Stay strong, even when you are not. It is okay, you are not alone.
With love always,
Michael Argyrides
Founder - Path to Becoming
