Instead of Counting Sheep, Count Your Breath

But not me!!

I begrudgingly rolled over for what seemed like the hundredth time desperate to
fall asleep.

But I couldn’t!! It was no use!

I couldn’t stop my mind from thinking! It felt as though my brain was somehow full
and yet empty at the same time.

“Okay, if I fall asleep now I can still get 3 hours of sleep before I need to be up and
ready for my test.”

“Come on JC, don’t think! Just relax, you have to will yourself to sleep….”

Seconds later another thought came abruptly to my mind that sent fear trembling
through my entire body.

“What if I sleep through my alarm and miss my appointment tomorrow! I won’t be
able to take the test AND I’ll have to pay for it again! That’s $300 that I don’t have!
What am I going to do? What if I don’t get into grad school? What will my family
think of me? I’ll be such a failure and then no one will…”

Beeeep Beeeep Beeep!!!!!!

Dang…Time to get up

Sadly, this is a true story of the night before I took the GMAT (Graduate Management
Admissions Test) while applying for business school in 2001.

Now, why am I telling YOU this story?

Because we’ve all been there before.

We’ve all kept ourselves up at night, worrying about things completely outside of our
control. Some might even think of these sleepless nights as a badge of honor—a sign
you’re becoming an adult or what not.

But I have a secret I want to share…

It doesn’t have to be that way! Being an adult is not about enduring sleepless nights.
It’s not about taking on all of the world’s problems and taking life so seriously that you
can no longer find joy in life’s simplest pleasures.

Being an adult is about overcoming your mind and your impulse to immediately
respond to emotions. It’s about transcending your ego and creating the life you want to
live. As they say, you don’t find yourself, you create yourself.

So you might ask, how do we transcend the ego and create a better life?

Try mindfulness!!

Nowadays, if I’m having a hard time falling asleep because my mind is racing, I can
use my mindfulness practice to help separate myself from the thoughts. I don’t fall
asleep because my mind is empty, I fall asleep because I can see my mind clearly.
When my mind tries to pull me into an “important” thought, all I have to do is simply
remind myself that I’m safe, in bed with my wife, in our beautiful home, and I can’t do
anything about tomorrow, tonight.

So the next time you can’t sleep, try being mindful.

First, see your thoughts. Then realize it’s okay to have thoughts. However, they aren’t
useful at 3 in the morning. Finally, direct your attention away from your mind and into
the present moment.

You can do this by simply feeling your breath, listening to the sounds in the room or
by doing a quick body scan.

The more space you create between you and a thought, the more restful you feel.

Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself and bring some mindfulness to your bedroom! If
you are successful, I have a feeling the next time you open your eyes it will be
morning!

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