Broken Record - Grasshopper

Back in the day when people played records, if there was a crack in the album, the song would skip and play the same passage over and over again. Thus, the expression, “You’re like a broken record.” That meant you were saying the same thing over and over again.

Like with records, there are two sides to this expression.

 

1.     Stale, repetitive, un-useful, boring information.

2.     Information that needs repeating to sink in.

 

Sometimes I feel like I’m a broken record, saying the same things over and over again, but I do attempt a slightly different spin each time looking for a new point of entry.

 

Wise sayings that have been around for eons are labeled by some to be broken records. They pejoratively characterize them as being toothless sermons, until they bite them in the ass. Here’s some of the ones we’ve ignored:

 

“Look before you leap.”

“Measure twice, cut once.”

“You are not the thoughts in your head.”

 

The last one is my broken record, my skipping CD, my intermittent, streaming audio.

 

The minute that you finally get that message will be the turning point in your life. When you discover that you’re not the thoughts in your head, you free yourself from the insane asylum.

 

Your thoughts attempt to convince you that they are you 24/7. That broken record is one you want to skip out on.

 

As I’m fond of saying, your mind has a mind of its own. It’s separate and apart from you. It’s a tape recording that plays the same songs over and over again. Defining yourself as the voice in your head is like defining an airplane by the vapor trail it leaves in the sky.

 

The key to getting past the repeating skip is to notice that you’re skipping. Notice the thoughts in your head as an outside observer because that’s who you really are – the observer of your thoughts. When you observe the thoughts in your head, they start to metabolize and melt away.

 

Observing your thoughts is known as presence of mind. Have the presence of mind to know that you’re an outside observer, not the part of you that’s filled with antagonizing fervor.

 

If you’re tired of the same playlist, it’s time to observe your skips, and before too long, you’ll be singing a different tune.

 

All the best,