Recently, I have talked about our mental system. Perhaps I finally understand how to balance the mind. Choosing happiness doesn’t bring mental stability. Today, I will explain why.
How to stabilize our minds
Sometimes, we want to stabilize our minds. Many stressful things disturb us. Examples are social interactions, rewardless activities, surroundings that don’t recognize us, and a lack of freedom.
Such exhaustion makes us want to increase pleasure and reduce sadness. Many people prefer happiness to unhappiness. It is common sense. We want to be happy.
However, as I have comprehended our mental system, I have understood that it doesn’t suit us, especially for people with empathy and logical sense.
We have to focus on the total amount of stimuli rather than choosing happiness. That stabilizes our minds. Today, I will explain why.
Joy and sadness are stresses
To balance our minds, we have to pay attention to the total amount of stimuli rather than choosing happiness.
The reason is simple. Joy and sadness are stressful for the body. From the body’s perspective, they are stimuli to be solved, as I explained in the previous article (this article).
Joy and happiness are conscious judgments that activate the body. For example, if we find a cheesecake before us and know we can eat it, we will be excited. It is a stimulus, even though it is joyful.
On the other hand, sadness and discouragement caused by unhappiness are the same conscious decisions, but they calm the body. If we find the cheesecake is already rotten, we are discouraged—release the tension in the body and relax the unnecessary energy.
Ultimately, the body needs to resolve the stress. Keeping high energy for a long time harms the body, although moderate short-term stimuli benefit it.
Approaches to reducing stimuli
If we are exhausted from daily life and want relaxation and a peaceful life, it means we are too stimulated.
It tells us that pursuing joy and happiness has the opposite effect because it vitalizes our fatigued body.
That is why we have to focus on the total amount of stimuli rather than choosing happiness. What we need is calm. What we want to gain through happiness is less stimulation.
To reduce the stimuli amount, there are two approaches, as follows:
- Emotional approach: We intentionally decide to relieve the body’s tension. Examples are the feelings of depression, discouragement, and relaxation. They are functions to ease the body’s strain. This approach is effective in the short to medium term.
- Logical approach: We engage in logical activities. They cool empathy down, which causes emotional fatigue. This approach is effective in the middle to long term.
They tell us that trying to be positive can be the worst way to reduce stimuli. That is why I recommend the logical approach.
Amplify vs. compress
Let’s focus on the logical approach.
Empathy and logical sense change the stress level oppositely.
Empathy amplifies the stimuli. It strengthens emotions, including happiness, excitement, fear, and worries. That is why empathy often makes us fear the unknown and repeat similar joy.
On the other hand, logical sense compresses the stress level. It makes all emotions weaker. That is why it makes our changes easier. An example is trying new things. Despite their stresses, we can experience them with curiosity and joy.
The degree of stress amplification can be expressed as follows:
- (Empathic side; the most stimulus) Pursuing social success: We actively try to fill our empathy and activate the body the most. Although it gives us the most enthusiastic state, we cannot maintain our concentration for long.
- Seeking anxiety: We unconsciously try to fill our empathy. This often happens when we relax. Although the body can maintain the tension, we cannot rest deeply.
- Self-persuading logically: We consciously (or unconsciously) try to calm anxiousness through logical thinking when we relax but feel anxious. This works for relieving the anxiety level but is helpless for easing the stress of pursuing social success.
- (Logical side; the most calming) Engaging in logical work: We actively do logical work, such as chess and programming. Although it gives us the most peaceful mental state, we cannot maintain our concentration for long.
Analyzing your activities
Try listing your tasks for the day and categorizing them based on the above classification.
If you are too exhausted, you will realize that your work is biased toward the empathic side. It indicates you have to spend more time on the logical side.
In my case, I noticed that blogging has been my intentional logical work. In other words, it was a way to have peace of mind, although the concentration doesn’t last long.
Then, I reduced the activity of pursuing social success.
Finally, I began self-persuasion intentionally. That calmed my anxiety and flashback habit when I tried to rest.
Those processes allowed me to balance my mind. All activities had meaning. Perhaps that is why the more social stress I had, the more I wanted to concentrate on my creative activities. They cooled me down.
Enjoying both
That tells us we don’t need to distinguish happiness and unhappiness. We can enjoy both.
If we want to change, we can be creative. Rational decisions will solve our problems.
On the other hand, if we want to maintain the situation, we can be empathic. Feeling emotions makes our lives colorful, even if it is a hardship. Even lamenting can be a part of happiness as long as the stimulus doesn’t exceed our capacity.
If we are empathic and logical, we can use them efficiently. However, if we misunderstand them, we will struggle. A typical example is to use empathy to change the future.
That is why pursuing social success doesn’t matter if we want to live peacefully. Choosing a logical side does.
Conclusion
That is why we have to focus on the total amount of stimuli rather than choosing happiness.
Pursuing happiness doesn’t suit us, especially for people with empathy and logical sense.
This mental work tells us how to stabilize our minds.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you in the next one.
