Transcending Tamas
February 2023
Navni Chawla examines the inertia of the mind to understand it better and also explores various solutions and possibilities to counter it
“So many fail because they don’t get started—they don’t go. They don’t overcome
inertia. They don’t begin.”
-W. Clement Stone
Have you ever felt stuck in life? Where, despite having a serious intent to do something, you are unable to begin it? Have you experienced a certain stagnancy, where you want to move ahead but you fail each time? Have you felt that though you start things with great enthusiasm, you are unable to touch the finish line? Do you introspect and wonder about what stops you from taking action or, rather, who stops you in life altogether? Well, if you have been in this dormant situation of not knowing what afflicts you, you can, in all probability, be suffering from ‘inertia of the mind.’
What is ‘inertia of the mind’?
‘Inertia of the mind’ means operating from a state of mind that is inert, tamasik, dormant, ignorant, and lazy. When we lead life from a tamasik mindset, then our life gets enveloped in darkness, or ignorance, and all our actions are delayed. We all have been in a place where we have so much to accomplish but we cannot get out of our beds in the morning. Delayed action and procrastination are the first symptoms of mental inertia, or sloth. Due to this inertia, we also suffer from an inability to make strong decisions in life. Laziness not only manifests in the body but also in the mind. Physical laziness stops us from exercising, going for a walk, or just moving. Mental laziness or inertia keeps us stuck in the non-productive loops where we want to do something but aren’t able to take the right action to make it happen.
Amar Bose, an entrepreneur and academician, says that there is an enormous amount of inertia that prevents people from changing. Unless we consciously change the energy of our old habits and vicious patterns, it is difficult to do things differently. “We need to glaze our actions with a sattvik quality and bring in new energy to break free from old, stagnant cycles,” he says
Dorothea Brande, an American author, says that all that is needed to break the spell of inertia and frustration is to act as if it is impossible to fail. Essentially, what she means is that we should have a bold and optimistic attitude towards all challenges in life so that we only expect a positive outcome out of all that we intend to do. This confidence to overcome blocks in life helps us break the inertia stemming from fear and doubt and also motivates us to take action towards our goals.
But, is just taking action enough? No. An action done with full attentiveness and love bears more fruits than a dry action without mindfulness and love.
What else could keep us stuck in the inertia of the mind?
• Wrong goals: Fitzhugh Dodson, an American psychologist, says that some people, while working towards their goals, find themselves seized by inertia when it’s time to act. Then, in a scenario like that, we must re-examine and re-evaluate our goals in life. If we feel that the goal we set out to accomplish is not so important, then we must replace it with a more suitable goal and continue taking steps with renewed vigour and conviction. The ultimate solution to the inertia of the mind is to take the first step; it may be difficult and painful, but it eases our way forward. It lays a strong foundation for taking the next steps in the direction of our dreams.
Priyanka Rajput always wanted to start her YouTube channel but would get nervous at the idea of going out of her comfort zone of anonymously taking tuition classes for young children. One day, she realised that she would not be able to fulfil her dreams if she didn’t
take the first step. She drummed up courage and shot her first cooking video after several trials and posted it on the internet. Though she still has to become a sensation, she is happy that she was able to break the barrier and has come much closer to her dream.
• Wrong environment: Deepak Chopra, a renowned physician and Indian-American author, says, “The real key is to live in an environment where the mind feels free to choose the right thing instead of being compelled by habit and inertia to choose the wrong thing.”
This means that if we feel trapped and inactive in a particular setting or around some people, then we must change that environment. For example, my brother who is studying computer science in college feels that a lot of furniture in his room, somehow, blocks him from studying better. He likes to have more space and room to move and think more clearly. So, he insisted that my parents remove some furniture from his room. Making such changes sometimes helps. Deepak Chopra also says that inertia is depression’s best friend. And so, it is crucial to push ourselves and open the door to a new brain pattern.
• Weak flesh: Another way to look at the inertia of the mind is to relate it to the inertia of the body. The body and mind are always connected; they work as one unified system. So, a lot of times when we feel mentally stuck in habits and patterns that do not serve us well, we should move our bodies. When we become physically active or exercise, ideas begin to flow. We also feel more enthusiastic to take action.
A friend of mine says that whenever she urges herself to go out for a walk, she is flooded with
ideas on different ways to carry out a particular task. She feels as if a dormant innovator inside her is unleashed as soon as her body moves. Another friend of mine confirms this by telling me about how after half an hour of a dancing session, she is inspired to finish all her pending work. Not only does finishing her work give her immense satisfaction later, but it also lifts a huge nagging burden from her head, leaving her a lot lighter than before. Napoleon Hill, a self-help American author, says, “Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.” And that is quite agreeable. Sometimes, we need to be forceful or strict and hard on ourselves to move beyond our mental inertia.
• Waiting for an external push: Another reason why we slip into inertia and get stuck there is because we live in a perpetual waiting mode as if something from outside will come and save us. We keep waiting for a nudge from outside to change ourselves. Rohit Rastogi, a biologist by profession, suffers from severe obesity. But instead of determining to do something to shed the extra weight, he keeps telling his friends, “The day I decide to lose it, nothing will be able to stop me.” However, days have passed into months and months into years, but he still has not been able to kick-start his weight-loss journey. He is still waiting for something big to trigger him to lose weight.
But sadly, this never happens. As the famous saying goes, “God helps those who help themselves.” We need to come out of la-la land and face the truth that no one is going to come to save us or live our life for us. Also, some people are great at imagining things, making
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giant plans, and thinking of great ideas but all in vain as none of them are executed or put into action. Nothing comes out of such futile wishful thinking. Grace comes to those who have exhausted themselves doing their best to achieve their goals.
How to overcome the inertia of the mind? Dr Bijal Maroo, a homeopathic consultant, counselling and health psychologist, art-based therapy practitioner, and an enthusiastic writer and poet, gave me a very interesting perspective on the inertia of the mind and how to deal with it from her own life experience.
Dr Maroo shares, “During the pandemic, I got the rare opportunity to reflect on the direction my life was taking. On introspection, I came up with a long list of changes that I could make in my life and my temperament. However, the first two years were a struggle to effect these changes. I often noticed myself slipping into my old ways, a victim of the ‘inertia of my mind.’ ‘Inertia,’ in physics, is defined as the property of matter to continue in its existing state of rest or uniform motion, along a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force. It was frustrating on some days, and I grew impatient with myself. On other days, I felt more benevolent and gave myself a little more rope. I reasoned it might take a little more time as I wanted to change my DNA, which was many years old. Later, it dawned on me that it’s not the time factor that really counts. Rather, it is the ‘external force’ [refer to the definition] with which we make changes that determines our success. Here, ‘force’ need not be interpreted as willpower. We all know that we cannot last very long by sheer use of brute willpower. However, by ‘force’ I mean all aids and allies that one can find and press into use. I am sharing here a few things that worked in my favour:
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• Bite off only as much as you can chew As often happens with new year resolutions, we start with cartloads of enthusiasm. One month into the new year, and all the enthusiasm wanes; we slip into our old ways. We fail because we target voluminous changes. As an example, we want to lose all the excess weight of 20–25 kilos, accumulated over half a century, in merely one month. This is not just an unrealistic goal but a sure shot recipe for disaster. James Clear states in his book Atomic Habits that if you make a one per cent change daily, you will be 37.78 per cent better by the end of 365 days.
• System reboot
Doing one thing slightly different every day is what most artists do to harness their creative streak. It can be something as small as choosing a different route for your daily commute. Try a new beverage like coffee or turmeric latte instead of your daily cuppa. Begin your day with a new exercise regimen instead of your usual walk or gym session. Pick up a book instead of reading the news headlines. This opens your mind to new possibilities and makes it malleable enough to change age-old habits and lifestyles.
• Accountability partner
When we speak our intentions and our game plan out loud, we are held responsible and have to deliver on our goals. When we promise only ourselves in the privacy of our mind, we often manage to pull the wool over our eyes. We don’t even get started on the change
making journey. We find a million excuses as to why the plan can’t be followed through. An accountability partner helps to call our bluff. I enlisted my sister’s help to step into the role of my accountability partner, and she plays it with gusto. On a jocular note, maybe
she relishes getting even with her sibling, but it has helped me stay on track with my goals.
• Seinfeld Strategy
Jerry Seinfeld, the famous stand-up comedian, had a huge wall calendar with the entire year showing on one page. Each day, when he wrote a new joke, he marked a large ‘X’ in red on his calendar. His only deal was not to break the chain. As he said, “After a point, you love seeing the continuous red crosses on your calendar and thus stay on course.” With consistency and discipline, he soon had a very large repertoire of jokes in his unique style. The freshness that this one habit brought to his acts, translated into a cool 286 million dollars in just one year and a continuing 85 million dollars every year thereafter.
A habit-tracking app called Habitty is helping me stick with my desired behaviour.
• Temptation Bundling
James Clear of Atomic Habits fame urges us to combine a habit we love with a habit we dislike but need to inculcate. I hated exercising, so I used this hack to encourage me to get my daily exercise. I tied it up with listening to music or audiobooks, as I love both music and reading new books. My exercise session no longer seems like drudgery.
In conclusion, don’t let the inertia of the mind bog you down. Remember, ‘Rome was not built in a day.’ ”
Yes, transforming one’s tamasik, dark, inert energy into pure, majestic, sattvik energy can take time and effort, but it is not impossible. Praying to gods and angels to support you in your inner transformation can help you majorly because, when you genuinely wish to change and ask them to intervene, they send help.
Mr Jaspal Soni, the president of the Chananda Cultural Society, New Delhi, shared some illuminating thoughts on this topic. He says, “There are two compartments in our mind: (1) the upper compartment which contains our higher mind; and (2) the lower compartment which contains our inert mind. The higher mind is also called the positive or absolute mind and contains divine virtues. The inert mind is also called the negative or relative mind and is filled with the vanities of worldly wisdom. In that state, it is no longer resilient and responsive to the delicate chords of the higher mind located above. The following affirmation repeated several times a day can help us get rid of the negative energies from the lower mind and fill it with the positive qualities: ‘I am getting rid of the mental inertia in my lower mind and filling it with the divine qualities of my higher mind. So, help me, God!’
By self-monitoring and keeping a journal, a slow and steady change can be observed within the aspirant by themself and by others
Dear readers, you are not alone in this. You may be suffering from the inertia of the mind, but your willpower can dispel that ignorance, or darkness, in an instant. All you need to do is show up for yourself and choose the right thing as you will then taste the bliss and sweet nectar of the results of your right actions (karma). You may start small, one step at a time. But start! When we make the right choices for ourselves, our soul (atman) thanks us and expands. Use your love; you have immense love in your heart. When you use that love to do anything, that action is purified. Out of that love also flows great inspiration to bring our desires to fruition by taking the necessary action.