Timeless Impulses to Un-Rush Your Life.
IMPULSE : The Most Important Skill Nobody Taught You
For two years in Japan and about five more in Germany, I practiced Kyudo, Japanese archery, or, literally translated the way of the bow. It seems that only decades later I realize all the lessons it has taught me.
The two main lessons I like to share with you:
The answer to how and why you reach a goal lies within yourself.
Because: A master (parent, boss, teacher, trainer) should not be someone “who teaches something, but someone who encourages his student to do his best to discover a knowledge that he already carries in his soul." writes Paulo Coelho in his book The Archer.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
Because: No matter what kind of sports, work, career, or activity you want to become good or excellent in, you need perseverance and consistency - never stop practicing.
Most of the time we want to know from our mentors, trainers, and coaches the answer, the solution for HOW to do something, how to change ourselves, and how to switch on the lightbulb.
But, a good teacher/mentor cannot give one answer to all of his students, because we are all different.
The idea is that you learn to rely on your intuition to discern the answer to a question you want to pose, instead of relying on others to give you the solution you are supposed to figure out your own answer. Yes, naturally, if something is going wrong or needs correction, the more experienced one, a teacher, parent, or leader, should offer advice and insights.
We have forgotten to lose ourselves in our actions like children, this state that we call today "flow" state according to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and that can produce great things.
"Childishness" must be regained after long years of practice in the art of forgetting oneself, writes Suzuki in 1953 in the introduction to Eugen Herrigel's book Zen in the Art of Archery.
Strength and focus come from the inside, not from focusing on the outcome. If we aim too intensely for the target, we will neglect the process and the art required to hit it, as it says in Kyudo.
INSIGHT : Regrets of an ex-workaholic named Bill Gates
Bill Gates recently gave a commencement speech and parts of his advice to his young audience was about explaining that his (new) thinking around the value of relaxation and leisure is hard-won.
"When I was your age, I didn't believe in vacations. I didn't believe in weekends. I pushed everyone around me to work very long hours. In the early days of Microsoft, my office overlooked the parking lot--and I would keep track of who was leaving early and staying late," Bill confesses…
And – Science confirms that play, fun, and leisure help to be successful.
Slow down. Stress less - Have more fun!
INDEPTH : Bathing in “green” is healing, calming, and healthy
Stepping outdoors, ideally into nature of some sort even if it is just for a brief moment already lets your stress level go down. Do. It.
I would think we all know that we feel better and healthier when we are outside in nature. It seems common sense to me. Duh. Isn’t that obvious? Hasn’t nature been known for being something good for us humans?
I felt it is ridiculous to write about something that is so obvious and normal. Well, then I noticed that the world seriously does research on that. AND, guess what? They found, gee whiz, that nature is good for our health and well-being. Who would have thought?!
Studies have shown that spending time in nature reduces depression, anxiety, and stress. Bam! Now you can finally believe it since we only believe what science tells us.
For those of you who need some encouragement to spend more time outdoors and in nature – here are some insights to help you embrace the green outdoors.
People who live in cities seem to be more receptive to mental illness, being in nature helps us to disengage from this immense pressure
Walking in the forest has been proven to reduce cortisol, the stress hormone, in test subjects. Pulse rate and blood pressure are dramatically lower after people visit the woods.
There are such things as nature and forest therapy guides, which include for example bathing in the forest
Turns out that already images of nature and green in doctor’s practices help patients to feel better
If you like to get deeper - read my whole article on this here >
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