Restoring Your Exhausted and Tired Brain Through “Soft Fascinations”

Stress is a part of life and always will be. There’s no way to avoid it. Our minds are constantly processing, sometimes at speeds faster than we’d like. Often our thoughts compete with one another to be front and center in the frontal lobe causing our brain to figure out how to process all our thoughts. With stimuli coming from all directions, at times, it can be extremely distracting, loud, and debilitating but other times it can reinvigorate our brain and provide clarity.

So how do we focus our attention to have the outcome be the latter?

The answer is through “soft fascinations.” Soft fascination is the connection with activities that require attention but don’t entirely occupy the mind, such as folding laundry, spending time in nature, or washing the dishes. These soft fascinations require less bandwidth and allow the mind to wander, explore, and reflect on the unresolved thoughts we had.

While we don’t want to be engaged in soft fasciation the whole day, we want a healthy combination of different types of attention since it can be overwhelming and tiring if our attention never gets a break. Direct or hard attention, one that requires a lot of attention, such as playing a video game or solving a puzzle, may contribute to stress if it’s overworked and never given a break. In contrast, soft-fascination attention requires less effort and less mental energy but allows your mind to reflect and to problem solve.

Have you ever experienced a time throughout the day when you had a moment of clarity while you were showering or taking a stroll outside? That’s a soft fascination.

Moments of soft fascination daily can help recharge our brains to take mental breaks from the day and to help reset our tired brains.

The following are soft fascination activities. Keep in mind not all of these are soft fascinations for everyone. They are a generalization. While you are engaged in these activities, it’s important to not have any other distractions such as watching TV or listening to music. It takes your attention away.

• Folding laundry
• Showering
• Washing dishes
• Taking a walk around the neighborhood
• Looking at the clouds
• Being out in nature
• Doing simple chores
• Driving without music
• Walking your dog

The next time you feel like your brain is on overload, try one of these soft fascination activities and allow space for your mind to wander. I bet you’ll feel more recharged and invigorated.