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January 30 - March 6, 2019
There can be no tolerance for worriers in life.
The next category of people we must anticipate are the weak and slothful, those who speak out against the efforts and hardships required to be remarkable.
We must remember that most cynics and judgmental tyrants who seek to oppress us are small, frustrated people who take the heat off their own apathy and failure by labeling us as narcissistic strivers or undeserving fakes.
As we anticipate the weak-willed, let us also anticipate that woven in the tapestry of human goodness are also threads of mean, power-hungry, deceptive individuals.
A society so afflicted by ease and conformity always flinches at the arrival of those boldly seeking Personal Freedom.
A truly oppressive person cannot see beyond his or her own self-interest and so no relationship with them will ever be joyful or reciprocal. They are blinded by their ego and live in a world by themselves and for themselves.
Most of the fear we feel in life is simply anxiety arising from our anticipation of two kinds of pain that change might bring: the pain associated with loss or hardship.
Once we sense that we are anticipating loss, we must question whether or not it is true.
Isn’t it true that with enough time, effort, and dedication we can learn most of what we need to succeed?
“Are you not more than your tiny worries about inconvenience? Isn’t a better life worth some struggle?”
The tools to manage the difficulties of life are within.
We can learn and we can grow and we must begin now for destiny favors the bold.
We can choose the courage to put ourselves in the vicinity of the things we fear over and over again until we grow more comfortable and then confident.
“I won’t let others stoke fear in my heart. I choose to remain true to who I am and where my dreams direct me no matter the hardship I might incur. I remember it always: Fear wins or Freedom wins, and I choose Freedom.”
If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. ANTOINE DE SAINT - EXUPÉRY
THE DOMINANT MOTIVES OF HUMANKIND INVOLVE either freedom or fear; there are no other pathways in our psychology.
Through the pursuit of Personal Freedom, we discover our destiny; through fear, we look at our demise.
And so if we fail to master our motivation at an individual level, we cannot be happy; if we fail to maintain our motives for goodness at a societal level, all would be lost.
Our first step is to understand motivation’s root, motive, which means a reason for action.
The mother of motivation is choice.
A hallmark of those who achieve greatness is the discovery that they can control the level of motivation they feel by better directing their own minds.
Most people have simply not yet chosen to prize self-mastery or to work toward it.
People who are motivated are not lucky. They are conscientious. They choose to use their minds in a more purposeful way in order to energize and lift their lives. And for that they tend to achieve more and gain more respect.
So if we want more motivation in our lives, we must make clearer choices and more deeply commit to them.
Psychologically, motivation is sparked by the energy created by ambition and expectancy. Ambition is the choice to be, have, do, or experience something greater in our lives.
By deeply contemplating higher aims, we energize ourselves to pursue them.
expectancy—a choice to believe that their dreams are possible and that they can achieve them.
expectancy is the great differentiator between mere hope and motivation.
“Do not hope for motivation; choose an ambition to become motivated for. Fix on a dream and believe that it will see daylight and soon a great swell of enthusiasm will enliven you.”
The sustaining choices of motivation are thus attention and effort.
We mustn’t let our dreams die in the daylight because we lose focus while responding to the world’s lame interests or false emergencies.
It is the obvious equation and the ultimate secret: the deeper and longer I give attention to my ambitions and passions, the more motivation I feel.
When motivation dies, then it’s not because our dreams died; it’s because we never began—or didn’t sustain—any real effort.
Greatness belongs to those who have mastered the ability to focus relentlessly on their ambitions and act decisively toward them.
Two choices will amplify our motivation to another level: attitude and environment. Attitude matters. Free and motivated people are positive and enthusiastic about their goals and their lives.
Few things amplify our long-term motivation more than a positive social environment.
For once and for all, we should distance ourselves from those with bad attitudes, for their energy is contagious and corrupting.
For motivation’s sake, we must be vigilant and surround ourselves with genuine and positive people who seek positive aims with positive attitudes.
Choose an ambition and, with full force, expect that it is possible and that you can make it happen. Give constant attention and committed effort to your dreams, and your motivation will perpetuate itself. Demonstrate a positive attitude as you strive for great things and take care to create a supportive
environment around you that amplifies your motivation.
Your true home is in the here and the now. THÍCH NHAT HANH
Life is not meant to be a long series of unfelt and undirected experiences.
With enlightenment comes the realization that the natural foe to life is not a distant death, but a detachment from living.
The present is all there is.
The reason most of us lack vitality is that we are unconsciously or obsessively directing our minds to the past or future at the expense of fully living now.
If we revisit the past for brief and joyous recollections, let us be sure to take note of what exactly made us happy. We will see that happiness came from those moments in which we were vitally aware.
Dwelling on past injuries only leaves us dispirited and torn from the moment.
A better future can be imagined for segments of time, but it is only in this time that a better future can be built.
When we lack the courage or discipline to address what we must, our presence is never wielded and honed, and so life becomes devoid of feeling and happiness.
Avoidance may be the best short-term strategy to avoid pain and conflict, but it is also the best long-term strategy to ensure suffering.
