There is nothing quite like those first few moments of the day.
While the rest of the world (and the rest of the house!) is still tucked away in sleep, I find my quiet corner, settle in with my first cup of coffee, and simply watch. And today, I was treated to a true masterpiece.
Stoicism is ancient—born in the streets of Athens over 2,000 years ago, with philosophers like Zeno, Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius who shared a simple, timeless goal: help people live better lives by focusing on what they can control and accepting what they can’t. Although Stoicism has been around for millennia, its principles still resonate today, possibly more than ever. After all, life in the 21st century is full of distractions, pressures, and a tendency to overcomplicate things. Stoicism, with its age-old wisdom, has influenced society and shaped people’s lives by teaching calm resilience and guiding us to prioritize what truly matters.
So, how can we pursue what we really want without being sidetracked or overwhelmed? Here’s a look at prioritizing our desires with a dose of humor, Stoic wisdom, and some low-stress strategies.
Continue readingSo, a huge shout out goes to Greg McKeown in this post, His book on Essentialism helped me in the past deal with difficult coworkers, especially the ones who love to dump stuff on you at the last minute. I think at some point in life, we all have an experience of one of those, and they can make us or break us.
Continue reading“Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t).”
How many times do we think – Mindfulness – yeah, it’s that zen practice thingy that those new age geeks do… ? You’re thinking that, right?
Wrong
Don’t get upset when it rains after a long drought… be thankful the roses have water and go dance in it!
Thoughts are what make us who we are on the inside. They are what shape us, mould us to be the person the world sees.
Even if we do try to hide behind “things”… it usually doesn’t work in the long run.
So. Do we really want those thoughts to be bad?
What can we really control in our lives?
We can’t control other people’s thoughts or actions, we can’t control how they act towards us… What they do or do not do… If they keep their promises to us.
At any time you can decide to alter the course of your life.
No one can ever take that away from you. You can do what you want to do and be who you want to be. Nature is constantly at work around you. Character and destiny are her handiwork. She gives you love and hate, jealousy and reverence.
You have the power to choose which impulse you follow.
While your character is formed by your circumstances, your desires can shape those circumstances.
The one thing over which you have absolute control are your own thoughts.It is this that puts you in a position to control your own destiny.
Your greatest power is the power to choose.
Perfecting your character takes a lot of effort. It is not a goal that you accomplish and then you can relax because you have “made it.” Developing your character is an ongoing process which never ends. There will always be something or someone who will try to throw a monkey wrench into your peaceful existence. Controlling your thoughts and your emotions takes work, but the more that you practice these skills, the easier they will become.
The art of self-control is like every other endeavor; you will have good days and bad days in your quest to perfect this skill. Nobody is perfect, especially when it comes to controlling thoughts and emotions. There will be days when you fall short of your goal. I can assure you that you will have days in which you allow your anger or impatience to get the best of you, just as you will have days when your back kick does not click for whatever reason, but it is important that you don’t quit.
When you find that you are having a bad day with your physical training, you don’t say this is not working and never go back to the dojo. The same goes for your mental training. When you have a bad day, go home and relax, meditate, and cleanse your heart and mind.
Get things back in balance and know that every day you start with a clean slate. Once you actually get your heart clean, it is much easier to keep it clean. If you find the same things continue to throw you off balance time after time, go to the source and remove the root of your of your problem. Think about this.
Put simply, mindfulness is as simple as becoming aware of your here and now experience, both internally and in the external world around you. It gives you a space in the present moment to be able to more safely deal with the distressing and painful memories of things that might have happened to you in the past. It also allows you to look at and plan for the future, even when you might have fearful thoughts about things that haven’t yet happened, from a secure position of knowing that you are in the present moment. In fact, we are never NOT in the present moment – we just lose track of that fact quite often.
The Art of Stupidity 