We want to exercise, eat well, meditate, learn something cool, travel, go out with friends, spend time in solitude, go for hikes, read a million books, take care of finances and errands, keep up with podcasts and news and interesting online content and our loved ones on social networks and fascinating people on social media, while finding space for contemplation and quiet.
Author: Leo Babauta
Leo Babauta is a simplicity blogger & author. He created Zen Habits, a Top 25 blog with a million readers. He’s also a best-selling author, a husband, father of six children, and a vegan. In 2010 moved from Guam to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he leads a simple life.
How to Be Calm
When things are falling apart, when things don’t go your way, in addition to reminding yourself that things are No Big Deal … there are some practices you might try out.
Creating Structure to Go Deep
A friend of mine was telling me about two of the most successful times of his often very scattered life … and they both came when he was very focused on one learning project. Having a single focus really allowed him to grow — not only to deeply learn the topic he was studying, but to grow as a person. He’s been experiencing that kind fo focus recently, picking one project and really giving it his full focus. But his question was this: how should I combine having one clear main project for this year, while also doing lots of other things I want to do? Basically, he wants to create focus and depth in one project, but still maintain his health, business, relationship, and mindfulness practice. It’s a good question.
The Craving for Wholeness That Drives Our Actions
There’s a sense of incompleteness in our lives. We have felt it since adolescence, at least, if not since early childhood — it’s a feeling that something is wrong with us, that something is missing, or that we’re missing out on something in the world. It’s a feeling of disconnection or loneliness from others, a sense that we don’t fit in. A feeling of moving through the world in isolation, unfulfilled, without a sense of intimacy with others, without a sense of purpose in what we’re doing.
The March Challenge: One Small Change, One Big Impact
We’ve just started the third month of the year, and with the realization that this year is slipping past us so quickly … I’m issuing a challenge to all of you. My March Challenge is to pick one small change that will have a big impact on your life. One small change you can do every day. Then do it every single day, at the same time every day.
How to Develop a Mind That Clings to Nothing
If someone irritates you, it’s because you are attached to a particular way you want them to behave, and when you don’t get that way, you are unhappy. If your mind didn’t cling to what you wanted, you would be fine with how they were acting. In fact, you might have compassion for them, as you could see they are suffering.
A Practice For When You Find Yourself Annoyed by Other People
It’s a common thing to be frequently annoyed by other people — added to our regular interactions with family, friends and coworkers are the online habits of people on various social media, and they can all irritate the hell out of us. What can we do when other people are being annoying, frustrating, inconsiderate, irritating, even aggravating?
One Simple Shift to Turn Life Into an Adventure
When I was young, I would run barefoot through the jungles of Guam, being chased by bad guys, imagining I was on an Indiana Jones-style adventure. The world was filled with possibility, excitement, discovery, exploration, and a delicious sense of danger and the unknown lurking in the darkness. It was fun, play, and curiosity. Adulthood and the responsibilities of family and work all did their best to beat out this sense of adventure, and create a sense of routine and discipline in me. But I’ve always still become lit up by a sense of adventure.
Powerful Courageousness: Practices to Expand Yourself & Your Gift
Imagine a woman who has a powerful gift to give to the world, a song to sing that will lift others up … but she only lets herself give that gift when the sun is shining and she’s happy and the moon is in perfect alignment with Jupiter. The world would be robbed of her song. Her narrow range of when she’s willing to offer her gift would be a devastating loss to those she serves.
Relaxing Into the Feeling of Being Alive
Yes, I know, sitting still for a moment isn’t something we want to do right now. We got things to do, man! But just try it, for a minute. Sit still and feel what it feels like to be alive, for you, right this moment. There’s never been another moment like this particular one, and never will be again.