Rushed and Exhausted? Find Your Internal Speed Limit for a Balanced, Joyful Life

Do you ever wake up tired, thinking of all the things you have to do in the day? Chances are you have exceeded your internal speed limit. You heard that right. 

We have a speed limit that we need to maintain to maintain balance and calm in our lives. But most don’t realize that they consistently exceed it by going from one task to another without stopping. 

In the book Open Heart Open Mind, renowned meditation master Tsoknyi Rinpoche talks about how to tell if we are exceeding our speed limit and how to maintain it to become more balanced. 

What Is an Internal Speed Limit?

Rinpoche shares that all the information we receive daily from the news and social media makes us overstimulated and unbalanced.

We end up feeling like we are missing out on something if we don’t have a handle on it all. So, we end up multitasking and hurrying.  

All this hurrying deprives us of our emotional and physical energy, making us less productive and emotionally volatile. So, finding a balance between our thoughts, feelings, and experiences is essential to find our internal speed limit. 

An internal speed limit allows us to go about our daily tasks without receiving a mental or physical speeding ticket. 

How to Find Our Speed Limit?

We don’t need to gauge how many tasks we can complete daily to find our speed limit. Instead, we need to pay attention to how we approach our tasks. 

Rinpoche asks if we are rushing through the moments in each day or approaching them with kindness. Do we let another car pass at an interjection? Do we acknowledge when someone else allows us through? 

He says that small acts of kindness influence how we deal with ourselves and others. It also makes us balanced and more understanding toward others. 

Are We Exceeding Our Speed Limit?

We know we are exceeding our speed limit when we are exhausted, restless, and have trouble sleeping. We also avoid social interactions and make excuses for not meeting friends and family. 

Does this sound like you? I have exceeded my speed limit at many points in my life, especially in some stressful jobs. I went to bed thinking about work and woke up thinking about work. Unfortunately, I never realized that I exceeded my speed limit until I left those jobs. 

I worked for a few bosses who were constantly speedy and, as a result, rushed everyone around them and made them restless. 

Every email and every request was urgent and needed immediate attention. I showed my managers I was dedicated and reliable by responding to emails first thing in the morning and late at night.

I was young and didn’t have the wisdom to see the unhealthy habits they created for themselves and were cultivating in those around them. But thankfully, my mindfulness practices have helped me recognize when I am speeding and take steps to slow down.

Breaking the Habit of Speeding

Rinpoche says that the habit of exceeding the speed limit can become a self-destructive loop if it goes on for too long. We often don’t realize it unless someone points it out to us. But once they do, we can choose whether to continue the patterns or change. 

We can understand if we exceed our speed limit by focusing on our thoughts and emotions. Practicing Mindfulness helps us find our internal rhythms and reconnect with the openness and clarity we already possess. 

The book includes many practices, such as body scans, awareness, and breathing meditation, to help us incorporate them into our daily lives. 

How Slowing Down Can Create a Big Impact

When I notice speed limit signs on the road, I think of my internal speed limit. Am I rushing to get to where I’m going? I take a few long breaths to slow down physically and mentally.

At the grocery store, I remind myself to slow down, make eye contact with the cashier, and smile. When I slow down, I can see its immediate impact on those around me.

Practicing meditation and yoga and taking long walks help me maintain my speed limit so I am not exhausted by the end of the day.

Next time you feel rushed, exhausted, or depleted, ask yourself: Am I exceeding my inner speed limit? You don’t have to drop everything you have going on, but you can pay attention to how you approach these tasks. 

Have you ever felt like you were speeding? Let’s work together to lower our internal speed limit and find more balance.

We know we’ve begun to find a healthy balance when we feel our own restlessness, speediness, or tension begin to lower; when we  begin to take a more relaxed attitude toward whatever project we’re undertaking. – Tsoknyi Rinpoche