Stillness is the Key

by Ryan Holiday

Seek out solitude and perspective. Learn to sit—to do nothing when called for. Get enough sleep and rein in our workaholism. Commit to causes bigger than ourselves.

Wu wei is the ability to hold the bat back—waiting until the batter sees the perfect pitch.

“No, sorry, I’m not available.” “No, sorry, that sounds great but I’d rather not.” “No, I’m going to wait and see.” “No, I don’t like that idea.” “No, I don’t need that—I’m going to make the most of what I have.” “No, because if I said yes to you, I’d have to say yes to everyone.”

When we know what to say no to, we can say yes to the things that matter.

The playwright Tennessee Williams spoke of luxury as the “wolf at the door.” It wasn’t the possessions that were the problem, he said, but the dependency. He called it the catastrophe of success, the way that we become less and less able to do things ourselves, the more and more we cannot be without a certain level of service.

The best car is not the one that turns the most heads, but the one you have to worry about the least.

It’s human being, not human doing, for a reason. Moderation. Being present. Knowing your limits. This is the key. The body that each of us has was a gift. Don’t work it to death. Don’t burn it out. Protect the gift.

When we take something relaxing and turn it into a compulsion, it’s not leisure, because we’re no longer choosing it.

“All individual things pass away,” he said. “Seek your liberation with diligence.” Then Buddha fell into a deep sleep and never woke again.