🤔 Morning thoughts (January 20 - 26)
Every Sunday I share a quote and a reflection on it for each day of the week.
Themes of the week: Patience, Foundations, Clarity, Self-mastery, Mindset, Action, Perspective
Sunday - January 26, 2025
"the study of an art is the same and should commence slowly, with care, and when the ‘fire’ ignites within, move into intensity; this will give you excellence.”
The Book of Samurai
At the start of any project equanimity, care and patience will help more than blind action and reaction. You can’t master anything without solid foundations. Those are built slowly and methodically.
Saturday - January 25, 2025
"To attain real happiness, humans need to slow down the pursuit of pleasant sensations, not accelerate it."
Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
What you chase, by definition, is running away. Rather than pursuing, build yourself up till you’re where you want to go. It’s starts with your body and mind.
Friday - January 24, 2025
"When the mind is calm and balanced, whatever decision you make will be a good one. When the mind is unbalanced, any decision you make will be a reaction."
William Hart, The Art of Living
Your mental approach to life creates life. The thoughts you entertain are mirrored outwardly. If you want peace, deliberately cultivate peace.
Thursday - January 23, 2025
"He knows that once he gets out into the action, his fear will recede and he’ll be okay."
Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
Turn action into your default response. It’s easier to act into thinking than thinking into action.
Wednesday - January 22, 2025
Champions know that, to ascend to the top, you must first be operating from a mindset of objective reality. Self-deception and delusion have no place in the professional performer’s consciousness.
Steve Siebold, 177 mental toughness secrets of the world class
Unless you’re perfectly, aware in the moment, of your flawed mental processes, you can’t operate at a high enough level. Look for clarity and depth of self-understanding.
Tuesday - January 21, 2025
Knowing that you are your own master, that nothing can over-power you, that you can accept smilingly whatever life has to offer—this is perfect balance of the mind, this is true liberation.
William Hart, The art of living
Most people want to control everything in their own life but fail to realize the only thing they actually need to and can control, is their own mind.
Monday - January 20, 2025
"What you do know for sure is that some ways of looking at the world work better than others. Pick the way that works, even if you don’t know why."
Scott Adams, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big
How you frame your life is everything. Create the frame you want to see realized before others do it for you. Any picture of your own creation is better than one left to chance.