TRANSCENDING TAMAS

Navni Chawla examines the inertia of the mind to understand it better and also explores various solutions and possibilities to counter it

- W. Clement Stone

" So many fail because they don't get started they don't go. They don't overcome inertia. They don't begin."

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