A thought has been rooted in my head for the past two days. The idea does not dominate my headspace, but I cannot deny it. “I need to shave.”

I must stop ruminating about things that do not matter.

I have to shave. But when will I make the time to excise this facial hair?

I cannot do it now because I want to go to the gym and eat.

I could shave when I return from Sunday dinner with my family, but I’ll want to relax on the couch with my girlfriend.

I must also peer review my business partner’s work. …

Full stop.

Thoughts about unimportant matters, like shaving, are weeds in my head. And I accept responsibility for their [over]stay because I cultivate them with my mental and emotional energy.

But I will not let the garden inside my head be overrun and choked out by the weeds of rumination. The solution is simple and doesn’t require me to chug Round Up or enlist a different killer concoction.

I confront the crabgrass of thoughts in my cranium by questioning their merit. By doing so, I often realize I am anxious about absurdity, not a topic worth much attention.

The weeds of rumination do not dissipate immediately, though they begin to wilt. And my mental garden flourishes again because my focus, the gardener of my mind, has triumphantly returned.