Beware Of liminal Moments
Here’s why you should beware of liminal moments:
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We are creatures of habit. When our routines are disrupted, we lose focus. Distractions like social media, mindless browsing, and bad habits become more likely to throw us off guard.
Moments on the edge can be uncomfortable. There is too much uncertainty and ambiguity. This discomfort can cause us to seek instant gratification or return to familiar but ineffective routines.
In confined space, time appears to stretch and bend. Online, we convince ourselves it will only take "a few minutes" and before we realize it, hours have passed. Missed opportunities and delays can result from this skewed view of time.
LIMINAL MOMENTS
We go through trivial moments when we are switching between tasks. These attentional changes can be harmful. They often create fear and uncertainty within you without you even realizing it, leading you to the illusory refuge of distraction.
Think about the example of when you stop at a traffic light while driving. How will you proceed? Do you start to think while driving, or do you stay focused? How would you respond to this self-talk? To distract yourself, do you reach for your phone or turn on the radio?
What happens when a computer program takes a long time to load after opening it? While you wait, do you open another one?
What do you do between meetings at work?
Thirty-second moments can quickly turn into tragic, thirty-minute turns if you're not careful. It could be a car collision. It can be a good time on social media. Or it could be showing up unprepared and late to a meeting.
If you find yourself in a low mood and want to do something to ease your discomfort, wait ten minutes before acting on your desire. You are forced to do what psychologists call "surfing the urge" during those ten minutes. When you desire to surf, you see your desire without resisting it or acting on it, and you ride it like a wave until it passes. Most of the time, the nagging urge will disappear during this transitional period.
The next time you're in an awkward situation and want to turn around, apply the ten-minute rule and resist the urge.
