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Just know that any time you are going to give up something pleasurable, it probably needs to be replaced with something great.
Portion control is essential, but so is frequency.
You are too good to eat this bad.
Just keep showing up.
One of the most valuable skills we can cultivate in daily life is the ability to recognize when we are in a foolish pattern.
“Any person capable of angering you becomes your master.”
the mind: When depression is present, our thinking consistently follows patterns too. We probably think about everything that is wrong instead of what is right. We think about what we don’t have instead of what we have. We dwell on the past more than the future and on things we cannot control instead of those that we can. Why? Well, a more in-depth answer will come in a later chapter, but for now, the reason is simple: it’s a familiar pattern, one we have practiced before and find easy to repeat. We do this with many moods, situations, and states.
question for you to ponder is impactful: Do you think our emotional mood prompts the physical changes in the body, or do the physical body changes affect the mind and mood? The answer: Both! Either one can initiate or intensify the other. This concept is empowering to understand because it places you back into the driver’s seat. We don’t have to be helpless passengers on a crazy ride. Not only can we prevent a bad mood from escalating, but we can also stop it, or better still, reverse it. If the body and the mind have such a powerful influence over our decision making, we should craft a plan
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If we intend to give some respect and attention to the power of our physiology, we need a tactical system for using it well. The one I am recommending is simple. It involves three practical steps: Step 1: Recognize the poor state. Step 2: Break the pattern as soon as possible, by whatever means necessary. Step 3: Practice these changes until they become habits so that we stay out of trouble.
It’s almost impossible to stay angry or depressed when you confuse your system in these ways.
I had unhealthy, unrealistic expectations of my peers, staff members, and my family. I could say the same for politicians and professionals too. I simultaneously had too low expectations for myself.
It’s important to refrain from making big decisions in a poor state. Try to move into a healthier place first. I’m learning, over and over, that when I’m angry, I should take no immediate action. It’s too dangerous and can be the catalyst that starts a cascade of irreversible, potentially life-changing events. When I’m sad, I rarely see things accurately. When I’m tired, I take the lazy approach. When impatient, I choose what is expedient instead of what is wise. Many details get exaggerated in a poor state, and many others get overlooked.
How many of the events of your life have been embellished or warped over time? How many things do you do, believe, hear, and say because
We must loosen our grip on the things we can’t control and tightly grasp onto the few things that we can. We must first be a sage, letting go of the foolish sentiments, before suiting up as a soldier to fight.
We talk about the desire for organizing, eliminating debt, spending more time with family, or becoming more active in the community, but our actions don’t match the rhetoric.
It’s our job to keep fixing ourselves.
Most people never leave their comfort zone unless they are forced out.
Plain and simple, meditation is necessary to become the best version of yourself.
Like anything else of value in life, we must be willing to suck at it before we can be any good at it.
It’s so hard to relax when we are in constant fight-or-flight mode, but sometimes we need to stop running and fighting in order to see anything clearly. Detachment,
It takes courage to be honest about our own negligence, shortcomings, and addictions.
the more you practice, the better you get at the craft.
The media today has one job: to keep us engaged. The easiest ways to do this to invoke fear and provoke anger.
Aggressively defend against things that steal your time, energy, and potential. Take back control by breaking materialistic patterns formed years ago when you were less wise. Form a new identity and align it with your best self.
There is no magic pill. You must be willing to suck at anything before you expect to do anything well.
Do the hard work. Small things create the difference between ordinary and extraordinary.
It’s not always about the hustle. Remember that slowing down makes us do most things better. Eating, sleeping, sex, thinking, and learning all benefit when we get our heads in the game.
Pain is a great motivator. People run to drugs or other temporary fixes to dull the pain. But maybe, just maybe, the pain is there to teach us something. We should be uncomfortable sometimes. That is how we grow.
Very few people work at their full potential. We are inherently lazy. We minimize efforts anywhere we can. The crux of the situation is that there are hundreds of places to sandbag on our performance. We learn early on in life where we can game the system or underperform when no one is watching. It may even be intentional so that we don’t allow expectations of us to get too high. It is normal to be a slacker. It’s human nature. What goes against human nature, and is, therefore, a massive competitive advantage, is the ability to maximize efforts and push ourselves to our extreme potential.
The only thing we can control each day is our effort.
When we get better at our jobs, we find extra time in the margins that were once occupied with waste, inefficiency, and mistakes. There is fulfillment in growth, in using our full potential, and in winning.
“Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
The path to love is more circular than linear, but the progression is something like this: In order to receive love, we must freely give it. We must love ourselves first to raise our potential to love. The way to love people more deeply is to be in a position to see their suffering.