An acquaintance asked me what do I notice myself thinking about when I’m not purposefully doing anything specific. In his mind, he said, are constant wonderings what he would do with more cash on hand than what he had at the moment.
In my mind, the most common thinking categories are (as a percentage of total idle time, subjectively):
a) rehearsing of future conversations (20%); b) worrying about the future (20%); c) moments of shame about the past (10%); d) music (50%).
Yes, my brain is playing music more than 50% of my waking time. And the other 50% is a set of different shapes of worry and fear.