By Leo BabautaI have a problem, and I think most people do as well: I want to do everything. OK, not actually every single thing, but I want to do more than I possibly can:
Obviously, this is all impossible. But I bet I’m not alone in constantly wanting all of this and more. There’s a term for this in Buddhism that sounds judgmental but it’s not: “greed.” The term “greed” in this context just describes the very human tendency to want more of what we want. It’s why we’re overloaded with too many things to do, overly busy and overwhelmed. It’s why we’re constantly distracted, why we overeat and shop too much and get addicted to things. It’s why we have too much stuff, and are in debt. Greed is so common that we don’t even notice it. It’s the foundation of our consumerist society. It’s the ocean that we’re swimming, so much a part of the fabric of our lives that we can’t see that it’s there. So what can we do about this tendency called greed? Is there an antidote? There absolutely is. The traditional antidote to greed in Buddhism is generosity. And while we will talk about the practice of generosity, the antidote I’d like to propose you try is focus. Focus is a form of simplicity. It’s letting go of everything that you might possibly want, to give complete focus on one important thing. Imagine that you want to get 20 things done today. You are eager to rush through them all and get through your to-do list! But instead of indulging in your greed tendency, you decide to simplify. You decide to focus. Let’s talk about the practice of complete focus. It can be applied to all of the The Practice of Complete FocusThis practice can be applied to all of the types of greed we mentioned above — wanting to do everything, read everything, say yes to everything, go everywhere, eat all the things. Identify the urge: The first step in this practice is to recognize that your greed tendency is showing itself. Notice that you want to do everything, eat everything, and so forth. Once we’re aware of the tendency, we can work with it. See the effects: Next, we need to recognize that indulging in the greed tendency only hurts us. It makes us feel stressed, overwhelmed, always unsatisfied. It makes us do and eat and watch and shop too much, to the detriment of our sleep, happiness, relationships, finances and more. Indulging might satisfy a temporary itch, but it’s not a habit that leads to happiness or fulfillment. Practice refraining: Third, we can choose to refrain — choose not to indulge. The practice of refraining is about not indulging in the greed tendency, and instead pausing. Noticing the urge to indulge, and mindfully noticing how the urge feels in our body, as a physical sensation. Where is it located? What is it like? Be curious about it. Stay with it for a minute or two. Notice that you are actually completely fine, even if the urge is really strong. It’s just a sensation. Focus with generosity: Then we can choose to be generous and present with one thing. Instead of trying to do everything, choose just one thing. Ideally, choose something that’s important and meaningful, that will have an impact on the lives of others, even if only in a small way. Let this be an act of generosity for others. Let go of everything else, just for a few minutes, and be completely with this one thing. Generously give it your full attention. This is your love. Clear distractions: If necessary, create structure to hold you in this place of focus. That might mean shutting off the phone, turning off the Internet, going to a place where you can completely focus. Think of it as creating your meditation space. Practice with the resistance: As you practice focus, you are likely to feel resistance towards actually focusing and doing this one thing. You’ll want to go do something else, anything else. You’ll feel great aversion to doing this one thing. It’s completely fine. Practice with this resistance as you did with the urge: noticing the physical sensation, meditating on it with curiosity, staying with it with attention and love. Again, it’s just a sensation, and you can learn to love it as you can any experience. Let go of everything, and generously give your complete focus to one thing. Simplify, and be completely present. You can do this with your urge to do all tasks, read all things, do all hobbies, say yes to all people and projects. But you can also do it with possessions: choose just to have what you need to be happy, and simplify by letting go of the rest. You can do the same with travel: be satisfied with where you are, or with going to one place and fully being there with it. You don’t need to watch everything, read everything, eat everything. You can simplify and do less. You can let go and be present. You can focus mindfully. If you’d like to train in this kind of focus, train with me in my Mindful Focus Course. via Tumblr Focus as an Antidote for Wanting to Do Everything
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By Leo BabautaI have a problem, and I think most people do as well: I want to do everything. OK, not actually every single thing, but I want to do more than I possibly can:
Obviously, this is all impossible. But I bet I’m not alone in constantly wanting all of this and more. There’s a term for this in Buddhism that sounds judgmental but it’s not: “greed.” The term “greed” in this context just describes the very human tendency to want more of what we want. It’s why we’re overloaded with too many things to do, overly busy and overwhelmed. It’s why we’re constantly distracted, why we overeat and shop too much and get addicted to things. It’s why we have too much stuff, and are in debt. Greed is so common that we don’t even notice it. It’s the foundation of our consumerist society. It’s the ocean that we’re swimming, so much a part of the fabric of our lives that we can’t see that it’s there. So what can we do about this tendency called greed? Is there an antidote? There absolutely is. The traditional antidote to greed in Buddhism is generosity. And while we will talk about the practice of generosity, the antidote I’d like to propose you try is focus. Focus is a form of simplicity. It’s letting go of everything that you might possibly want, to give complete focus on one important thing. Imagine that you want to get 20 things done today. You are eager to rush through them all and get through your to-do list! But instead of indulging in your greed tendency, you decide to simplify. You decide to focus. Let’s talk about the practice of complete focus. It can be applied to all of the The Practice of Complete FocusThis practice can be applied to all of the types of greed we mentioned above — wanting to do everything, read everything, say yes to everything, go everywhere, eat all the things. Identify the urge: The first step in this practice is to recognize that your greed tendency is showing itself. Notice that you want to do everything, eat everything, and so forth. Once we’re aware of the tendency, we can work with it. See the effects: Next, we need to recognize that indulging in the greed tendency only hurts us. It makes us feel stressed, overwhelmed, always unsatisfied. It makes us do and eat and watch and shop too much, to the detriment of our sleep, happiness, relationships, finances and more. Indulging might satisfy a temporary itch, but it’s not a habit that leads to happiness or fulfillment. Practice refraining: Third, we can choose to refrain — choose not to indulge. The practice of refraining is about not indulging in the greed tendency, and instead pausing. Noticing the urge to indulge, and mindfully noticing how the urge feels in our body, as a physical sensation. Where is it located? What is it like? Be curious about it. Stay with it for a minute or two. Notice that you are actually completely fine, even if the urge is really strong. It’s just a sensation. Focus with generosity: Then we can choose to be generous and present with one thing. Instead of trying to do everything, choose just one thing. Ideally, choose something that’s important and meaningful, that will have an impact on the lives of others, even if only in a small way. Let this be an act of generosity for others. Let go of everything else, just for a few minutes, and be completely with this one thing. Generously give it your full attention. This is your love. Clear distractions: If necessary, create structure to hold you in this place of focus. That might mean shutting off the phone, turning off the Internet, going to a place where you can completely focus. Think of it as creating your meditation space. Practice with the resistance: As you practice focus, you are likely to feel resistance towards actually focusing and doing this one thing. You’ll want to go do something else, anything else. You’ll feel great aversion to doing this one thing. It’s completely fine. Practice with this resistance as you did with the urge: noticing the physical sensation, meditating on it with curiosity, staying with it with attention and love. Again, it’s just a sensation, and you can learn to love it as you can any experience. Let go of everything, and generously give your complete focus to one thing. Simplify, and be completely present. You can do this with your urge to do all tasks, read all things, do all hobbies, say yes to all people and projects. But you can also do it with possessions: choose just to have what you need to be happy, and simplify by letting go of the rest. You can do the same with travel: be satisfied with where you are, or with going to one place and fully being there with it. You don’t need to watch everything, read everything, eat everything. You can simplify and do less. You can let go and be present. You can focus mindfully. If you’d like to train in this kind of focus, train with me in my Mindful Focus Course. via Tumblr Focus as an Antidote for Wanting to Do Everything By Leo BabautaOur days are filled with chaos, busyness and noise — often with very little time for intentional activity, quiet, solitude, mindfulness. But we can intentionally create that lovely, mindful space that we crave. Today I invite you to join me and a thousand others in my Sea Change Program as we launching into the Beautiful Mornings Challenge, which is about creating simple, lovely morning routines, and waking just a little earlier to make space for those intentional activities. It’s about creating some space for meditation, reflection, movement, writing, or anything else you’d like to have room for in your life. And finding some space in the mornings for that, a sacred space that takes advantage of the quiet and beautiful light of the mornings. Here’s how the challenge works:
So it’s that simple … slowly wake a little earlier each weeks (for 3 of the weeks) to make space for something you’d like to have in your mornings. And spend a little time making it a sacred space where you practice mindfully. If you join the Sea Change Program, you’ll get:
Join Sea Change today (free for 7 days, then $15/month). via Blogger The Beautiful Mornings Challenge: Create a Sacred Morning Routine By Leo BabautaOur days are filled with chaos, busyness and noise — often with very little time for intentional activity, quiet, solitude, mindfulness. But we can intentionally create that lovely, mindful space that we crave. Today I invite you to join me and a thousand others in my Sea Change Program as we launching into the Beautiful Mornings Challenge, which is about creating simple, lovely morning routines, and waking just a little earlier to make space for those intentional activities. It’s about creating some space for meditation, reflection, movement, writing, or anything else you’d like to have room for in your life. And finding some space in the mornings for that, a sacred space that takes advantage of the quiet and beautiful light of the mornings. Here’s how the challenge works:
So it’s that simple … slowly wake a little earlier each weeks (for 3 of the weeks) to make space for something you’d like to have in your mornings. And spend a little time making it a sacred space where you practice mindfully. If you join the Sea Change Program, you’ll get:
Join Sea Change today (free for 7 days, then $15/month). via Tumblr The Beautiful Mornings Challenge: Create a Sacred Morning Routine By Leo BabautaOur days are filled with chaos, busyness and noise — often with very little time for intentional activity, quiet, solitude, mindfulness. But we can intentionally create that lovely, mindful space that we crave. Today I invite you to join me and a thousand others in my Sea Change Program as we launching into the Beautiful Mornings Challenge, which is about creating simple, lovely morning routines, and waking just a little earlier to make space for those intentional activities. It’s about creating some space for meditation, reflection, movement, writing, or anything else you’d like to have room for in your life. And finding some space in the mornings for that, a sacred space that takes advantage of the quiet and beautiful light of the mornings. Here’s how the challenge works:
So it’s that simple … slowly wake a little earlier each weeks (for 3 of the weeks) to make space for something you’d like to have in your mornings. And spend a little time making it a sacred space where you practice mindfully. If you join the Sea Change Program, you’ll get:
Join Sea Change today (free for 7 days, then $15/month). via Tumblr The Beautiful Mornings Challenge: Create a Sacred Morning Routine By Leo BabautaCreating a life of focus, purpose and mindfulness is a tough thing these days. If you’re like me, you want to bring forth your gifts to the world, but you’re pulled in a thousand directions, plagued by overwhelm, distractions, a ton of messages and emails, and so many obligations that it’s causing you to put off doing the important work you want to do in life. You would like to:
Unfortunately, it’s not always so easy. The Demons of Chaos stand in your way:
Trust me, I understandI’ve worked with many people as a teacher and coach, and I know from personal experience (including my own life), that most of us just go about our daily lives like this. We’re doing our best but in the end having a difficult time coping with the distractions of technology, the chaos of our work and personal lives, the uncertainty that lies in everything we do. We struggle to find focus, and find the practice of mindfulness elusive on a day-to-day basis. Amidst all of this overwhelming chaos, we can often get stuck in indecision and procrastination. We want a greater sense of meaning in our lives, a greater sense of empowerment and control, but aren’t sure where to find it or how to get there. The Mindful Focus CourseI’ve created Mindful Focus Course just for this very common problem. In this four-week video course, we will look at:
But this isn’t just a bunch of video content … this is real daily training, designed to help you actually create greater mindful focus in your life. I’ve designed it after my own personal training, and after training many others in these methods. Features & Benefits of the CourseThe Mindful Focus Course features:
This course has been designed to bring important benefits to your life:
It’s Not Easy, But You Got ThisCommitting yourself to training like this isn’t easy. A four-week commitment might sound like a lot … but consider how important your work in the world is. Consider how a lifetime of improved, mindful focus will benefit not only you but those you serve, those around you, anyone who is close to you. Devoting yourself to this kind of training is never easy, but you are someone who isn’t afraid of the difficult, and who has taken on the discomfort of putting yourself out there in the world to serve others. Your heart is bigger than a little discomfort, and you are up to this challenge. I believe in you, and would love to work with you. Take Action NowSign up today to get access to this training, which I believe is life-changing. Enrollment for this course is just $99, for a lifetime of focus. But if you sign up by April 15, 2019, you can get 10% off the course — use the discount coupon “early-bird” (without quotes) in the checkout cart. Sign up for Mindful Focus Course here. Money-back GuaranteeI fully stand behind this course, and give my personal guarantee that it will be worth your money. If you’re not fully satisfied, just ask for a full refund, you don’t have to give an explanation. via Blogger Develop the Powerful Habit of Mindful Focus By Leo BabautaCreating a life of focus, purpose and mindfulness is a tough thing these days. If you’re like me, you want to bring forth your gifts to the world, but you’re pulled in a thousand directions, plagued by overwhelm, distractions, a ton of messages and emails, and so many obligations that it’s causing you to put off doing the important work you want to do in life. You would like to:
Unfortunately, it’s not always so easy. The Demons of Chaos stand in your way:
Trust me, I understandI’ve worked with many people as a teacher and coach, and I know from personal experience (including my own life), that most of us just go about our daily lives like this. We’re doing our best but in the end having a difficult time coping with the distractions of technology, the chaos of our work and personal lives, the uncertainty that lies in everything we do. We struggle to find focus, and find the practice of mindfulness elusive on a day-to-day basis. Amidst all of this overwhelming chaos, we can often get stuck in indecision and procrastination. We want a greater sense of meaning in our lives, a greater sense of empowerment and control, but aren’t sure where to find it or how to get there. The Mindful Focus CourseI’ve created Mindful Focus Course just for this very common problem. In this four-week video course, we will look at:
But this isn’t just a bunch of video content … this is real daily training, designed to help you actually create greater mindful focus in your life. I’ve designed it after my own personal training, and after training many others in these methods. Features & Benefits of the CourseThe Mindful Focus Course features:
This course has been designed to bring important benefits to your life:
It’s Not Easy, But You Got ThisCommitting yourself to training like this isn’t easy. A four-week commitment might sound like a lot … but consider how important your work in the world is. Consider how a lifetime of improved, mindful focus will benefit not only you but those you serve, those around you, anyone who is close to you. Devoting yourself to this kind of training is never easy, but you are someone who isn’t afraid of the difficult, and who has taken on the discomfort of putting yourself out there in the world to serve others. Your heart is bigger than a little discomfort, and you are up to this challenge. I believe in you, and would love to work with you. Take Action NowSign up today to get access to this training, which I believe is life-changing. Enrollment for this course is just $99, for a lifetime of focus. But if you sign up by April 15, 2019, you can get 10% off the course — use the discount coupon “early-bird” (without quotes) in the checkout cart. Sign up for Mindful Focus Course here. Money-back GuaranteeI fully stand behind this course, and give my personal guarantee that it will be worth your money. If you’re not fully satisfied, just ask for a full refund, you don’t have to give an explanation. via Tumblr Develop the Powerful Habit of Mindful Focus By Leo BabautaCreating a life of focus, purpose and mindfulness is a tough thing these days. If you’re like me, you want to bring forth your gifts to the world, but you’re pulled in a thousand directions, plagued by overwhelm, distractions, a ton of messages and emails, and so many obligations that it’s causing you to put off doing the important work you want to do in life. You would like to:
Unfortunately, it’s not always so easy. The Demons of Chaos stand in your way:
Trust me, I understandI’ve worked with many people as a teacher and coach, and I know from personal experience (including my own life), that most of us just go about our daily lives like this. We’re doing our best but in the end having a difficult time coping with the distractions of technology, the chaos of our work and personal lives, the uncertainty that lies in everything we do. We struggle to find focus, and find the practice of mindfulness elusive on a day-to-day basis. Amidst all of this overwhelming chaos, we can often get stuck in indecision and procrastination. We want a greater sense of meaning in our lives, a greater sense of empowerment and control, but aren’t sure where to find it or how to get there. The Mindful Focus CourseI’ve created Mindful Focus Course just for this very common problem. In this four-week video course, we will look at:
But this isn’t just a bunch of video content … this is real daily training, designed to help you actually create greater mindful focus in your life. I’ve designed it after my own personal training, and after training many others in these methods. Features & Benefits of the CourseThe Mindful Focus Course features:
This course has been designed to bring important benefits to your life:
It’s Not Easy, But You Got ThisCommitting yourself to training like this isn’t easy. A four-week commitment might sound like a lot … but consider how important your work in the world is. Consider how a lifetime of improved, mindful focus will benefit not only you but those you serve, those around you, anyone who is close to you. Devoting yourself to this kind of training is never easy, but you are someone who isn’t afraid of the difficult, and who has taken on the discomfort of putting yourself out there in the world to serve others. Your heart is bigger than a little discomfort, and you are up to this challenge. I believe in you, and would love to work with you. Take Action NowSign up today to get access to this training, which I believe is life-changing. Enrollment for this course is just $99, for a lifetime of focus. But if you sign up by April 15, 2019, you can get 10% off the course — use the discount coupon “early-bird” (without quotes) in the checkout cart. Sign up for Mindful Focus Course here. Money-back GuaranteeI fully stand behind this course, and give my personal guarantee that it will be worth your money. If you’re not fully satisfied, just ask for a full refund, you don’t have to give an explanation. via Tumblr Develop the Powerful Habit of Mindful Focus By Leo BabautaI’ve coached thousands of people who want to change habits, in my Sea Change Program, and I’ve found there’s a key difference between those who actually make changes and those who don’t. That key difference is what I like to call “habit resilience.” Habit resilience is the ability to bounce back when things don’t go as you planned, to stay positive, to encourage yourself, to forgive yourself, to be loving and compassionate with yourself, to shake it off and start again afresh. To learn and grow from struggles. The opposite of habit resilience is getting discouraged when things don’t go as planned, beating yourself up, trying not to think about it when you mess up, ignoring problems, complaining, blaming others, deciding you can’t change, hardening your low or harsh opinion of yourself. Let’s look at one example: I want to change my eating habits, which is pretty tough to do … so I set myself a plan to eat oats for breakfast, a salad for lunch, and scrambled tofu with veggies for dinner. Great! But then during the week, I have to go to a work get-together, a family party, a 3-day trip to New York, and then my daughter’s birthday party. All the plans went out the window on those days. So at this point, I can give up, beat myself up, ignore the problem … or, if I’ve developed habit resilience, I can shake myself off, make some adjustments to the plan, give myself some love, encourage myself, and start again, keeping a positive attitude the whole time. The second way of doing it will result in long-term change — if you can stick with it, there’s no change you can’t create. That’s just one version of habit resilience, but you can see the difference between the first option and the second one is huge. So how do we develop habit resilience? Let’s take a look. Developing Habit ResilienceThe good news is that you can develop this marvelous quality or skill of habit resilience. Actually, it’s a set of skills, but they can be developed with some practice. Here’s how to develop habit resilience:
Can you feel that if you practice these skills, you’ll handle any difficulty that comes your way? That your path to change might be bumpy, filled with obstacles, but nothing will stop you if you keep a positive attitude, keep coming back, keep being loving and compassionate with yourself? This is habit resilience. And it will change your entire life, if you practice. via Blogger A Guide to Habit Resilience By Leo BabautaI’ve coached thousands of people who want to change habits, in my Sea Change Program, and I’ve found there’s a key difference between those who actually make changes and those who don’t. That key difference is what I like to call “habit resilience.” Habit resilience is the ability to bounce back when things don’t go as you planned, to stay positive, to encourage yourself, to forgive yourself, to be loving and compassionate with yourself, to shake it off and start again afresh. To learn and grow from struggles. The opposite of habit resilience is getting discouraged when things don’t go as planned, beating yourself up, trying not to think about it when you mess up, ignoring problems, complaining, blaming others, deciding you can’t change, hardening your low or harsh opinion of yourself. Let’s look at one example: I want to change my eating habits, which is pretty tough to do … so I set myself a plan to eat oats for breakfast, a salad for lunch, and scrambled tofu with veggies for dinner. Great! But then during the week, I have to go to a work get-together, a family party, a 3-day trip to New York, and then my daughter’s birthday party. All the plans went out the window on those days. So at this point, I can give up, beat myself up, ignore the problem … or, if I’ve developed habit resilience, I can shake myself off, make some adjustments to the plan, give myself some love, encourage myself, and start again, keeping a positive attitude the whole time. The second way of doing it will result in long-term change — if you can stick with it, there’s no change you can’t create. That’s just one version of habit resilience, but you can see the difference between the first option and the second one is huge. So how do we develop habit resilience? Let’s take a look. Developing Habit ResilienceThe good news is that you can develop this marvelous quality or skill of habit resilience. Actually, it’s a set of skills, but they can be developed with some practice. Here’s how to develop habit resilience:
Can you feel that if you practice these skills, you’ll handle any difficulty that comes your way? That your path to change might be bumpy, filled with obstacles, but nothing will stop you if you keep a positive attitude, keep coming back, keep being loving and compassionate with yourself? This is habit resilience. And it will change your entire life, if you practice. via Tumblr A Guide to Habit Resilience |
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