How To Find Peace When The World Keeps Spinning
How cosmic perspective and 3 daily micro-practices restore calm, focus, and creativity for creators balancing corporate work and passion projects.
To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. - Lao Tzu
There’s a moment in early fall when the morning frost glimmers like a thin film of glass across the grass. The stars are still faintly visible overhead, refusing to yield entirely to daylight.
It’s quiet—the kind of quiet that makes you aware of your own breath.
And yet, the moment I step back inside, the noise begins—emails, messages, expectations. I know I’m not alone in that feeling: the rush of a world that never slows down, even when we desperately need it to.
If you’re a creator balancing a 9-to-5, you probably know this feeling too—the tug between wanting to slow down and the pressure to keep producing.
Most mornings, I stand waiting for the bus with my daughters. The world feels both enormous and small—infinite sky above, two tiny hands beside me.
Lately, that contrast has become my lens for this season: the tension between cosmic insignificance and personal action.
We’re just specks in an expanding universe. And yet, somehow, it matters when we pack the lunches, track our calories, and write our newsletters before sunrise (or finish the night before in this case).
This is my fall reset—not a productivity sprint, but a realignment toward presence.
This realization didn’t come easily. It emerged from the specific weight I’d been carrying.
⚡ The Quick Reset (If You’re Reading This On A Chaotic Morning)
Can’t read the full piece? Try this now:
Step outside for 90 seconds (yes, right now)
Take 3 deep breaths before opening your laptop
Ask yourself: “Does my next action move me toward my fixed point?”
Scroll down for the full framework and story behind these practices.
The Weight of the Vastness
When life feels heavy—the inbox, the deadlines, the creative fatigue—I sometimes look up.
There’s something liberating about realizing how little the stars care about my to-do list.
The Strange Paradox
But here’s the strange thing: that realization doesn’t make me give up. It steadies me.
The vastness doesn’t erase my responsibilities—it clarifies them. The universe may not hinge on whether I publish this issue, but my daughters will remember these fall mornings. My readers—fellow 9-to-5 creators—might remember the words that helped them exhale.
That’s the reality of reset work: it’s not linear. Some mornings, you fail before breakfast.
But that failure teaches us something: the reset isn’t about perfection.
It’s about returning.
How We Used To Look Up
Our ancestors once used stars to navigate both physically and spiritually. They read meaning in constellations because it helped them find their place in the world.
Ancient navigators didn’t need to see their destination—they needed to see Polaris. One fixed point.
Everything else could shift.
Now we look downward—into our phones, our spreadsheets, our feeds—hoping for the same thing. Guidance. Connection. Direction. Muttering under our breaths, “this could have been an email,” only to get mad when Outlook pings us once more.
Last Tuesday, I caught myself checking my phone between the car and the front door—a 15-second walk.
When did I stop being able to sit with my own thoughts?
Finding Your Fixed Point
For overwhelmed creators, that fixed point isn’t a productivity hack—it’s knowing what you’re navigating toward.
For me, it’s presence with my daughters and honest words for my readers.
Everything else can wait.
Maybe the real signal isn’t in the data or the notifications. Maybe it’s in the pause—that small, steady space between the stars and the frost—where we’re reminded to slow down.
That’s where the mindful presence begins.
The Everyday Orbit
As an overwhelmed creator still balancing a full-time job, I often feel like I’m spinning in orbit—pulled between ambition and obligation.
That orbit can feel endless. You start to believe peace and productivity are opposites.
But they’re not. The key isn’t to escape the orbit, but to name it and to notice it. To see that being fully present in the moment you’re already in is a quiet act of control amid chaos.
Some mornings, that means leaving the phone inside. Other days, it’s writing one imperfect sentence before anyone wakes up.
This is the reset—not doing everything, but doing one thing with intention.
The “3 Before” Ritual™
Here’s what this looks like in practice—what I call the “3 Before” ritual:
A micro-practice I developed over 6 months of failed morning routines
Three breaths before opening my laptop
Three minutes of writing before checking email
Three moments of eye contact with my daughters before the day scatters us
Not because three is magic, but because it’s countable. Achievable. Real.
What Didn’t Work (My Reset Graveyard)
The trap I kept falling into: thinking a reset meant a complete overhaul—new morning routine, meditation practice, journaling system.
Here’s what collapsed by Tuesday:
6:15 AM wake-up (lasted 3 days)
30-minute meditation (fell asleep)
Elaborate journaling system (too much friction)
But those elaborate plans taught me something: the reset that stuck was the one that required almost nothing but attention.
“The reset isn’t about perfection. It’s about returning.”
Doing the Best You Can (And Letting That Be Enough)
There’s a line that’s been echoing in my head: “We’re not here to do everything. We’re here to do the next right thing.”
That’s the spirit of this fall reset for overwhelmed creators—not an overhaul, not a grand rebrand of your life, but a quiet recommitment to what matters.
Make the coffee. Lace up the shoes. Show up for the people who count on you—and for the parts of yourself that need attention.
Cosmic perspective reminds us how small we are.
But that’s what makes each small act meaningful.
Because if everything is fleeting, then every ordinary gesture—a meal made, a word written, a kind message sent—becomes its own kind of miracle.
The One Question That Changed Everything
When overwhelmed, I ask myself: “Does this move me toward my fixed point?”
That simple question has saved me hours of distraction and days of misplaced effort.
A Season of Small Things
So maybe this fall isn’t about reinventing yourself. Maybe it’s about returning—to the small, grounding rituals that bring calm amid chaos.
Wipe the frost from the windshield. Step outside before dawn. Look up for a minute before checking your phone.
If the stars teach us anything, it’s that quiet persistence matters. The light that left them centuries ago still reaches us.
So too will the light you send—in your work, your care and your consistency.
That’s what it means to live with mindful presence.
This week, I’ve started stepping outside for 90 seconds before I get in the car. Just standing there. Breathing. Noticing the temperature on my skin. It takes almost nothing. And it’s changed how I enter the day.
I’m writing about presence while my phone buzzes with unread messages.
The irony isn’t lost on me—but that’s exactly why this matters.
Before the Stars Fade
The bus headlights appear down the street.
My daughters’ chatter breaks the silence—the same silence that held us minutes ago.
The frost softens under the sun, the stars fade, but the moment we shared in the quiet remains.
And I think: maybe that’s all we can do—keep shining quietly, even as the day begins, carrying the stillness with us into the noise.
Common Questions About Finding Peace as an Overwhelmed Creator
Q: How do I find time for mindfulness with a full-time job and side project?
You don’t find time—you borrow 90 seconds from the space between activities. The “3 Before” ritual happens in transitions you’re already making: before opening your laptop, before checking email, before the day scatters. It’s not added time; it’s reclaimed attention.
Q: What if I fail at my morning ritual?
You will. The practice isn’t perfection—it’s returning.
Every morning is a new chance to notice, to breathe, to begin again.
Q: How long does it take to feel less overwhelmed?
Honestly? Some days it’s immediate—one breath changes the trajectory of your morning. Other days, it takes weeks of small returns before the pattern shifts. But here’s what I’ve learned: the relief isn’t in achieving calm forever. It’s in knowing you can return to it.
Q: What if cosmic perspective makes me feel MORE anxious about my significance?
That’s the paradox I wrestled with too. But the vastness doesn’t diminish what matters—it clarifies it. Your newsletter might not change the universe, but it might change someone’s Tuesday. Your presence with your kids won’t shift the stars, but it will shape who they become. Small and significant aren’t opposites.
Q: Can I adapt this ritual if I’m not a morning person?
Absolutely. The “3 Before” works at any transition point:
Morning people: Try it at 5:30 AM before anyone wakes
Night owls: Adapt it to your evening shutdown ritual
No routine at all: Start with just ONE of the three practices, whenever feels natural
Reset Approaches: What Works for Different Creator Types
If you’re a morning person: Try the full 3 Before ritual at 5:30 AM—the quiet amplifies its effect.
If you’re a night owl: Adapt this to your evening shutdown. Three breaths before closing your laptop. Three minutes of reflection. Three moments of gratitude.
If you have zero routine: Start with just the 90-second outdoor practice. Stand outside. Breathe. Notice. That’s it. Build from there when you’re ready.
If you’re balancing parenting and creating: The eye contact practice matters most. Those three moments of presence compound into memories that last.
-Matt
If you enjoyed this reflection, I’ve gathered some of my favorite tools and products that help me stay grounded through seasons of chaos—check them out on my Benable page.
And if you’re ready to bring more structure and calm into your creative life, explore my guide, Chaos to Clarity—a starter kit for creators and parents seeking order amid the noise.
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This sentence really landed with me: We’re just specks in an expanding universe. And yet, somehow, it matters when we pack the lunches, track our calories, and write our newsletters before sunrise (or finish the night before in this case).