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Remember, there’s no greatness in the future. Or clarity. Or insight. Or happiness. Or peace. There is only this moment.
The less energy we waste regretting the past or worrying about the future, the more energy we will have for what’s in front of us.
not to worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will take care of itself.
You have plenty on your plate right now. Focus on that, no matter how small or insignificant it is.
Do the very best you can right now. Don’t think about what detractors may say. Don’t dwell or needlessly comp...
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A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention. —HERBERT SIMON
We tell ourselves that it’s part of our job, that we have to be “on top of things,” and so we give up precious time to news, reports, meetings, and other forms of feedback. Even if we’re not glued to a television, we’re still surrounded by gossip and drama and other distractions.
If you wish to improve,” Epictetus once said, “be content to appear clueless or stupid in extraneous matters.”
The important stuff will still be important by the time you get to it. The unimportant will have made its insignificance obvious
There is ego in trying to stay up on everything, whether it’s an acclaimed television show, the newest industry rumor, the smartest hot take, or the hottest crisis in
There is ego in trying to appear the most informed person in the room, the one with all the gossip, who knows every single thing that’s happening in everyone’s life.
Not only does this cost us our peace of mind, but there’s a serious opportunity cost too. If we were stiller, more confident, had the longer view, what truly meaningful ...
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His solution was strict adherence to the chain of command when it came to information.
the “Eisenhower Box,” a matrix that orders our priorities by their ratio of urgency and importance.
limit the amount of people who have access to the boss.
Marcus Aurelius says,
“Ask yourself at every moment, ‘Is this necessary?’”
Thich Nhat Hanh: Before we can make deep changes in our lives, we have to look into our diet, our way of consuming. We have to live in such a way that we stop consuming the things that poison us and intoxicate us. Then we will have the strength to allow the best in us to arise, and we will no longer be victims of anger, of frustration.
It means blocking incoming texts with the Do Not Disturb function and funneling emails to subfolders.
It is in this stillness that we can be present and finally see truth. It is in this stillness that we can hear the voice inside us.
We are afraid of the silence. We are afraid of looking stupid. We are afraid of missing out. We are afraid of being the bad guy who says, “Nope, not interested.”
We’d rather make ourselves miserable than make ourselves a priority, than be our best selves.
To become empty is to become one with the divine—this is the Way. —AWA KENZO
What’s wrong with you? Why can’t you get this right? Did you lose your touch?
It’s impossible to hit and think at the same time.”
Instead of fighting the slump, he was going to try not to think about it at all.
Shawn Green knew he had to get rid of the toxic thinking that had knocked him off his game in the first place—the
Chop wood, carry water. Chop wood, carry water. Chop wood, carry water.
Don’t overanalyze. Do the work.
Just like the overactive voice in a slump, the voice in a streak is an equally deleterious racing mental loop. Both get in the way. Both make a hard thing harder.
No pressure. Just presence. Just happy to be there.
The goal of Zen, his master taught him, was to “achieve a void . . . noiseless, colorless, heatless void”—to get to that state of emptiness, whether it was on the mound or in the batter’s box or at practice.
“Tao is in the emptiness. Emptiness is the fast of the mind.”
cutting free of impressions that cling to the mind, free of the future and the past,”
If we’re anxious or nervous when we make the catch or throw, what will become of the game, and how can one maintain one’s composure; how can one see what is coming next?”
The “wild and whirling words” of our subconscious get going and suddenly there’s no room for our training (or anything else). We’re overloaded, overwhelmed, and distracted . . . by our own mind!
By relying on what’s not there, we actually have something worth using.
Whatever you face, whatever you’re doing will require, first and foremost, that you don’t defeat yourself. That you don’t make it harder by overthinking, by needless doubts, or by second-guessing.
That space between your ears—that’s yours. You don’t just have to control what gets in, you also have to control what goes on in there. You have to protect it from yourself, from your own thoughts. Not with sheer force, but rather with a kind of gentle, persistent sweeping. Be the librarian who says “Shhh!” to the rowdy kids, or tells the jerk on his phone to please take it outside.
Because the mind is an important and sacred place. Keep i...
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With my sighted eye I see what’s before me, and with my unsighted eye I see what’s hidden. —ALICE WALKER
Slow down. Be considerate. Be aware.
What’s essential is invisible to the eye.
Appearances are misleading. First impressions are too. We are disturbed and deceived by what’s on the surface, by what others see. Then we make bad decisions, miss opportunities, or feel scared or upset. Particularly when we don’t slow down and take the time to really look.
we needed to hold up our thoughts and examine them, to make sure we weren’t being led astray by appearances or missing what couldn’t be seen by the naked eye.
The world is like muddy water. To see through it, we have to let things settle.
We can’t be disturbed by initial appearances, and if we are patient and still, the truth will be revealed to us.
He reassured his viewers that they could figure just about anything out if they took the time to work through it—with him, together.
“Just be quiet and think. It’ll make all the difference in the world.”
On the one hand, the Buddhists say we must empty our minds to be fully present. We’ll never get anything done if we are paralyzed by overthinking. On the other hand, we must look and think and study deeply if we are ever to truly know (and if we are to avoid falling into the destructive patterns that harm so many people).
