» The Four Things I Wish I Could Say No To. » Toss Productivity Out. 3 clear reasons to change careers. Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Jennifer Gresham at Everyday Bright.
I sat in my hospital room, anxiously twirling the strings that were not securing the gown behind me, waiting for the nurses to wheel me into surgery. My husband squeezed my hand and told me we’d be okay. Up until that moment, it certainly looked like I had it all. I’d spent 16 years in the military, and by all accounts, had a bright future in front of me. I wasn’t on the fast track, but my boss valued my ideas and was a gifted mentor. I told myself again and again how lucky I was, but I still felt a kind of euphoria every time I took a day off. The 5 Principles of a Profound Workday. ‘Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.’
~Laozi Post written by Leo Babauta. Let us toss out all we know for a moment. Toss notions of productivity, time management, efficiency, and the bottom line. Empty our workdays of all we’ve packed them with, and sit still with an empty room. Start Here. The Amazing Power of Being Present. ‘Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.’
~Thich Nhat Hahn Post written by Leo Babauta. How can you bring calm and peace to the middle of a stress-ful, chaotic day? The answer is simple, though not always so easy to put into practice: learn to be present. No matter how out-of-control your day is, no matter how stressful your job or life becomes, the act of being present can become an oasis.
Work, the internet, my own lizard brain.Social media and other digital distractions.For me it’s too many things coming at me all at once. The amazing thing: all of these problems can be solved by one technique. How Being Present Solves Problems When you look at all of the problems above, you can see if you look closely that the problems are entirely in the mind. If you are completely present, the external forces are no longer a problem, because there is only you and that external force, in this moment, and not a million other things you need to worry about. How to Practice Being Present. The Little Productivity Tip of a Zen Master. Post written by Leo Babauta.
A little while back I ran into a friend, Susan O’Connell (Zen Master and Vice President of the San Francisco Zen Center), and she did something old fashioned. When I said we should have tea sometime, she immediately went to her bag and got out her paper calendar, and suggested we make a date right then. Four Simple Fitness Fundamentals. Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Chris of Zen to Fitness.
Health and Fitness have always been meaningful to me as I work in the industry and have always been fascinated by the topic. Nowadays I see too many people push themselves too hard, use bad form and quite simply overdo it with exercise or trying to be healthy in the quest to be fit. Simple Daily Habits to Ignite Your Passion. “Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.”- Hardy D.
Jackson Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Scott Dinsmore of LiveYourLegend For the past 8 years I’ve run experiments on myself and others to better understand what makes us come alive. Finding Your Voice. Post written by Leo Babauta.
Creators of any kind must find their voice. We are writers, musicians, designers, programmers, parents, builders of anything. But we are not truly expressing ourselves, and speaking the truth, until we’ve found our voice: the tone, style, tenor, pitch, personality we use to express ourselves. Our voice is our essence, writ plain for the world to see. Effortless Decision-Making. Post written by Leo Babauta.
How do you make a choice when you’re stuck at a fork in the road? How can you decide when two or more possibilities seem equally good? I’ve been learning (but haven’t mastered) the principles of Effortless Decision-Making. It’s a way of making decisions where you can flow through the constant stream of decisions we must make every day of our lives, without getting stuck, without being paralyzed by fear. We choose, and flow, and we let go of worry. 5 Steps to Create a New Habit. ‘Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.’
~Benjamin Franklin Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Tess Marshall of The Bold Life. When I decided to quit smoking, I was 27 years old, my two oldest daughters were seven and five, and the twins were three. Place Yourself in the Presence of Greatness. ‘As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world – that is the myth of the atomic age – as in being able to remake ourselves.’
~Gandhi Post written by Leo Babauta. Just being in the same room as greatness inspires you to new levels of the possible. How to Be Happy Anytime. Toss Your Expectations Into the Ocean. My Standing Desk Experiment. Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Corbett Barr of CorbettBarr.com and ThinkTraffic.net. For the past three weeks I’ve been standing while I work, instead of my usual sitting. I have some interesting results to share with you in a moment, but first let me tell you why I’ve been doing all this standing. It all started after a couple of tweets came across my radar in the same day about the negative health effects of sitting. It turns out that sitting all day every day for work might not be good for your health and wellness. Who would have thought? The studies and experiments I found really caught my attention, partly because I’ve been sitting through 40- to 60-hour work weeks every week for the better part of 15 years.
The Illusion of Control. ‘The Master allows things to happen. She shapes events as they come. She steps out of the way and lets the Tao speak for itself.’ The Comparison Trap. How to Be Irresistible at Any Age. The Quiet Theory of Influence. 7 Simple Tips To Deal With Negative People.