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September 30 - October 16, 2017
The problem with patience and
When we practice something, we are involved in the deliberate repetition of a process with the intention of reaching a specific goal.
They finished the course with a piece of paper that had an A on it that meant nothing. They had learned almost nothing during the three months (the process), but they felt that they had won because of the grade they had received
The finished Japanese plates are absolutely flawless and beautiful. As the worker prepared a plate, my retailer friend asked him how many plates he finished in a day. The Japanese worker, confused, looked at him and answered, “As many as I can make perfect.” The retailer asked, “But don’t you have a supervisor to report to?” “What is a supervisor?” asked the worker. “Someone to make sure you do your job correctly,” answered the retailer. “Why would I need someone to make sure I do my job correctly?” answered the Japanese worker. “That’s my job.”
Credit card debt soars and ruins many people in this country because it feeds on this mindset of “Get it now and pay for it later.” Credit cards work on the premise of product before process, instead of process first.
The fulfillment from attaining the object is usually gone long before the first bill arrives.
When we focus our energy on the process of attaining something, whether it be an object or a skill, and through patience and discipline we achieve it, we experience a joy that is just not present when something comes too quickly or easily.
was getting a little impatient to buy a car before I really had enough money, my father said something very profound to me. He said, “You are going to find out that buying the car is much less satisfying than working for it.”
That age-old saying “There is no destination in life; life is the destination” has real meaning.
Keep yourself process-oriented.
Stay in the present.
Make the process the goal and use the overall goal as a rudder to steer your efforts.
Be deliberate, have an intention about what you want to accomplish, and remain aware of that intention.
coulda been better. I coulda broke every record in the book.” Her response is so simple and yet so shattering: “And then?” That two word line carries such
We make a major detour on the road to happiness when we adopt an image of perfection in anything.
As we attempt to understand ourselves and our struggles with life’s endeavors, we may find peace in the observation of a flower. Ask yourself: At what point in a flower’s life, from seed to full bloom, does it reach perfection?
Stop yourself during the day as much as you can and ask yourself, “Am I practicing flower-like qualities and staying in the present with my thoughts and energies?”
you force your mind to stay in the present moment and to stay in the process of what you are doing, I promise you, many of your problems will melt away.
When you stay on purpose, focused in the present moment, the goal comes toward you with frictionless ease.
To express a melody on any instrument as it comes from your heart is an experience you have to earn. The universe is not about to give that away for anything but your personal effort.
The real joy lies in creating and sustaining the stamina and patience needed to work for something over a period of time.
When you make a decision to acquire something whose acquisition will require a long-term commitment, pick the goal and then be aware that you are entering the process of achieving the goal.
When you work slowly, things become simpler.
It was an incredible conversation, and one that demonstrated that you are at your best when you are not operating under the influence of emotions and unconscious judgment
making.
At seventy, he might want to either live fifteen more years or be ten again and back in school so he could fix all the mistakes he made and then have an ideal life.
You come into this world with only your true self, and you leave in the same way. Everything that you spiritually acquire expands your true self and becomes part of you forever.
