Read time: 4 minutes • A quiet moment for you

Hi Reader,

Welcome to my weekly newsletter, designed to help you Rise on Purpose.

Last week, I wrote about backing yourself. If you missed it, you can read that, and all previous articles, here.

And because a few good words can change the direction of your whole day, I wrote a FREE PDF guide: 7 Things to Tell Yourself Every Day. If you'd like to receive it, hit reply and I'll send it straight to your inbox.

Close Your Eyes

As kids, my sister and I loved playing hide and seek.

One of us would bring our palms to our face, close our eyes and slowly count down from ten until, “One... ready or not, here I come!”

In those ten seconds, the other would race to find somewhere to hide. Behind the sofa was an easy option. If we were fast enough, we'd make it upstairs and squeeze into the back of our parents' wardrobe.

There's something wonderful about how easily we can transport ourselves as children. One moment you're standing in your hallway and, ten seconds later, you're completely absorbed in another world.

It made me wonder when we lose that ability.

As adults, we rarely give ourselves even ten seconds to switch off from what's happening around us. There's always something to look at, listen to, reply to or think about. And in the small gaps between those things, most of us instinctively reach for our phones and fill those too.

We've almost forgotten that we have a remarkably simple way to turn down the volume on the outside world.

We can close our eyes.

I'm not suggesting you run and hide in the cupboard under the stairs (although some days, that does sound quite appealing). But there is something to be gained from simply shutting your eyes for a few moments.

It's like a velvet curtain falling on the outside world, giving you a moment to access that more elusive inner one.

As the end of the year gets closer and my calendar seems to be filling up ever faster, I've found myself returning to this childhood tool.

This week’s tool: Count to Ten

It couldn't be simpler. Close your eyes and slowly count from one to ten.

That's it.

And yet, if you're anything like me, you might be surprised by how difficult (and long) ten seconds can feel.

Your mind will probably keep going: thinking about the email you need to send, the thing you forgot to add to your shopping list or wonder whether you've reached ten yet.

That's totally fine.

The aim isn't to empty your mind or suddenly become completely calm. It's simply to remove some of the input for ten seconds.

No screen. No faces. No notifications. Nothing to read or respond to.

Just close your eyes and count.

And when you get to ten, open them again.

Why this works

We spend so much of our days looking outwards. At screens, other people, our surroundings and the endless stream of things asking for our attention.

Closing our eyes interrupts that, even if only briefly. For ten seconds you give your mind a tiny bit less to process.

I've been surprised by how different the world can feel when I open my eyes again. Nothing around me has changed, of course, but I have created the smallest bit of space between myself and everything competing for my attention.

As children, ten seconds was enough time to disappear into a wardrobe and enter an entirely different world.

Perhaps, as adults, ten seconds can still transport us somewhere else, returning to ourselves for a moment.

So this week, when everything feels a little too loud or your mind is racing, close your eyes and count to ten.

Keep rising,
Lauren

P.S. ​When did you last spend ten seconds doing absolutely nothing?