The founders of the mindfulness movement have grown evangelical, predicting that the discipline has the potential to ignite a universal or global renaissance. Mindfulness enthusiasts believe that paying closer attention to the present moment without passing judgement has the power to transform the world. Yet, anything that offers success without trying to change is not revolutionary; it just helps people cope. It could also make things worse.

Mindfulness is problematic

Mindfulness does help reduce stress, chronic anxiety and other disorders. Becoming aware of automatic reactions can make people calmer and potentially kinder. Yet, the problem is how mindfulness has been packaged. Mindfulness is essentially concentration training. It is stripped of the Buddhism teachings on ethics that accompanied it, as well as the liberating aim of detaching from a false sense of self while having compassion for all other things. What remains is a tool of self-discipline disguised as self-help.

Worthy dimensions to mindfulness practice

Instead of setting people free, mindfulness help practitioners adjust to the conditions that caused their problems and reinforce its destructive logic. People are expected to adapt. Stress has been pathologised and privatised, and the burden of managing it is outsourced to individuals, causing the proponents of mindfulness to step in to save the day. But mindfulness can only be effective if they accept that personal stress also has societal causes. Failing to address collective suffering and creating change to remove it reduces mindfulness to something that keeps people focused on themselves.

Overturning a dysfunctional system

Instead of discussing how attention is monetised and manipulated by large corporations such as Google and Facebook, we are told to find the crisis in our minds, saying it is our failure to be mindful and resilient in an unsure economy.  If we are sad about being unemployed and losing our health insurance, the mindfulness revolution meekly accepts the circumstances, ruling out a way to critically engage with causes of suffering. This submissive position is framed as freedom without the genuine freedom found within a cooperative and just society.

Mindfulness advocates unwittingly provide support for the status quo

Proponents of mindfulness believe that the practice is apolitical and that moral inquiry should be avoided. It is assumed that ethical behaviour will happen naturally from practice, through the teacher's example of soft-spoken niceness, or through the chance of self-discovery. But it is flawed. The emphasis on “non-judgmental awareness” can prevent one's moral intelligence. This reduction in stress and increase in personal happiness and wellbeing are much easier to sell than questioning injustices.

The commodification of mindfulness

All that mindfulness promise is "cruel optimism", as cultural theorist Lauren Berlant shows. We are told that if we practise mindfulness and get our individual lives in order, we can be happy and secure. We are promised that stable employment and success will naturally follow. It is implied that we can gain self-mastery and thrive. Yet it is cruel to be promised to have it all if we can sit in silence, watch our breath, and wait. Because we neglect shared vulnerabilities and interdependence, we fail to imagine collective ways we might protect ourselves.

Promises of mindfulness

The long read: It is sold as a force that can help us cope with the ravages of capitalism, but with its inward focus, mindful meditation may be the enemy of activism

mindfulness

Mindfulness

mentalhealth

Mental Health

The mindfulness conspiracy

What is abundance?In my experience, abundance is a mentality that translates to energy-this definition can be applied to every aspect of your life. You won't win a game when you already believe that you are going to lose. The abundant mindset is the freedom that you are a winner regardless of circumstances.It's the wind in your sails that drives you to your destination. Abundance is seeing the whole picture while paying a great deal of attention to the details.

Abundance💮

The 21st century is the best time to be alive. With the amount of access that we have, it's also important to have a clear perspective on what is important- pay attention to what is valuable to you.Prioritizing is important for your FOCUS.The focus will accelerate your GROWTH.With abundance, life is not just black and white, bad vs good; it can be purple, blue, small, thick, twisted, etc. Abundance is allowing life to flow as is without placing any judgment or limitations.Abundance is the wisdom that life is as it is and you are merely a privileged observer.

Abundance in the 21st Century🕑

Abundance can be more than a mindset it's the way the universe functions.• The universe itself is still expanding• The human population is growing• New ideas birth new technologies which open new markets• Our standard of living is increasing every centuryAll of these changes bring about different circumstances depending on the mindset of the observer. How you respond depends on your perspective of the situation.

Perspective👀

The future is brighter than what the media portrays it to be. The News provides a microscopic view of the greater picture that is humanity. Stories of drama, gossip, and gore far outweigh the great progress that humanity is making.nNews are a factory that has to keep its doors open by selling its best product -Bad news. We are wired to seek out threats and any dangers lurking. This way of thinking is necessary if you live in the jungle amongst wild animals but in a civilized society, it causes nnecessary stress.Information is food for your brain, make sure your brain is getting a healthy diet

Media📰

In a world so abundant how can one know what to focus on?Well what do you believe in, and what do you value?• Freedom• Family• Fame• Growth • Money It all depends on YOUR PRIORITIES in life, what is YOUR VALUE?• Remove the distractions (news)• Block out the noise ( mindless social interaction)• Read and digest that which gives you energy.(positive affirmations)

Focus🎯

BE LIMITLESS AS THE YOU-NIVERSE WITH IN YOU

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

What does Abundance mean?

David Goggins: U.S navy seal whose life was filled with hardships, the book covers his story on how he calloused his mind to overcome the hurdles. Whenever you try to do something out of your comfort zone, Mind acts like a governor, a voice that pops up, a big lie that brain comes up with all sort of reasoning so you stay in comfort zone,brain just wants comfort zone and Denial is the best comfort zone. Because brain always tries to simplify things.

Calloused BRAIN

Everyday try to do something uncomfortable even a little so that brain gets calloused instead of getting scared of your fear and insecurities, it will always haunt you, having victim state of mind is waste of time, nothing changes but keeps you in a lopp of problem mindset. Identify week links and challenge them. Dig on things that you know are surely important for you but you are not doing.

Growth Does Not Come From Comfort Zone

When you go past your percieved limit, you will realise how capable you are, most of us give up when we have put only 40% effort and failed, but theres still 60% more effort left. So whenever you feel you have reached your limit think as if you have put only 40% effort and theres still 60% more. This gives second wave of energy

40% - 60% Effort 

Whenever you feel you have reached your limit and path ahead seems difficult then use cookie jar method.Make a list of all your achievements and put it in imaginary jar and when you think you have reached your limit, take out a cookie and remember what you accomplished, it can be even a small achievement, remind yourself about how it felt. This will enable you with second wave of energy

Cookie Jar Method

We dont rise to the level of expectation, but we fall to the level of training. When failed dont say it is not meant to me, but try harder. Train more. But not at the cost of health, be in state of ‘Peaceful but never satisified'Goggins took several ultramarathons of miles both with and without preparation, there was a stark difference, do not consider anything for granted , do the homework.

No TRAINING VS TRAINING

Constantly recheck the map you are heading, and know overconfidence can kill. Identify where you are heading and never ignore knowledge coming your way due to your ego. Once reached the destination dont let the ego think you are the greatest because somebody out there who is at next level. You are your only competition. Peaceful but never satisfied.

Check The Flow Of Your Direction

Biggest motivation and inspiration comes from the story of goggins in the book itself as your read more than the important lessons mentioned above. I recommend reading the book.Its time to break some of your limits.

Biggest Lesson Is From The Story Of Goggins In The Full Book

Goggins used to listen to Rocky Balboa's(boxer) music to pump him up with energy. Music activates various parts of the brain, reminds your brain of the state you were in when you had listened to the song.

Having A Song To Energize You

Inspires you with the story of David Goggins : U.S Navy seal about how he overcame his life full of hardships and how he motivated himself amidst uncertainity and achieved greatness by breaking the limit set by the mind and inspires you to break the limiting beliefs you set for yourself by coming out of comfort zone. The book is complete story of his life and I summarized some lessons to be learnt from the book.

New York Times Bestseller Over 2.5 million copies sold For David Goggins, childhood was a nightmare - poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse colored his days and haunted his nights. But through self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work, Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight young man with no future into a U.S. Armed Forces icon and one of the world's top endurance athletes. The only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, he went on to set records in numerous endurance events, inspiring Outside magazine to name him The Fittest (Real) Man in America. In this curse-word-free edition of Can't Hurt Me, he shares his astonishing life story and reveals that most of us tap into only 40% of our capabilities. Goggins calls this The 40% Rule, and his story illuminates a path that anyone can follow to push past pain, demolish fear, and reach their full potential.

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

books

Books

New York Times Bestseller Over 2.5 million copies sold For David Goggins, childhood was a nightmare - poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse colored his days and haunted his nights. But through self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work, Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight young man with no future into a U.S. Armed Forces icon and one of the world's top endurance athletes. The only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, he went on to set records in numerous endurance events, inspiring Outside magazine to name him The Fittest (Real) Man in America. In this curse-word-free edition of Can't Hurt Me, he shares his astonishing life story and reveals that most of us tap into only 40% of our capabilities. Goggins calls this The 40% Rule, and his story illuminates a path that anyone can follow to push past pain, demolish fear, and reach their full potential.

David Goggins is an American ultramarathon runner, ultra-distance cyclist, triathlete, public speaker, and author. He is a retired United States Navy SEAL member who served in the Iraq War.

David Goggins

Can't Hurt Me

2022 is a year of inflation. It resulted from the huge disruption that Covid caused. The high inflation and low economic growth are all over the media. <ul><li>Inflation is getting higher</li><li>Stocks are down</li><li>People are starting to get fired</li><li>Companies are barely hiring</li></ul> Investment ads claim they have investment strategies to generate significant returns during inflation, yet famous hedge funds like Tiger Global are down 60%. So don't be seduced by investment ads that try to profit from fear and greed.

The current economic situation

When we're faced with economic problems, we can view them in two ways:<ol><li>Up-close perspective: Looking at inflation, interest rates, debt, consumer spending, joblessness, etc.</li><li>Broad perspective: Looking at long-term trends and historical patterns.</li></ol> Taking a step back for a broader view can teach us about what's happening now.

Look at the big picture

Periods of high growth and low growth are not uncommon. For example, look at how the world went from the great 1920s to the Great Depression in the 1930s. Investor Howard Marks discusses the concept of cycles in his book, Mastering The Market Cycle. He states that the economy grows, on average, at a consistent pace. The economy will get stimulated and make people take more risks and consume more. In turn, this period often causes inflation and slows things down. Recessions and slowdowns are normal. However, when you invest long-term, these fluctuations won’t harm you.

Periods of high growth and low growth

Avoid taking too much risk when the economy is booming. Likewise, avoid buying into things you don't understand. Things only become troublesome when you make bad investment decisions during periods of high growth. For example:<ul><li>You bought houses without income in the 2000s.</li><li>Or you bought stocks and crypto with borrowed money over the last year.</li></ul>

Tips on investing

When you recognise economic patterns, you'll know that the current trends are expected and normal. <ul><li>Knowledge. Learn more about how the economy and stocks work. When you have better knowledge of the history of finance, you won't fall for too-good-to-be-true investments. Read good books on personal finance that have stood the test of time.</li><li>Mindfulness. Knowledge will not give you full peace of mind, so practising some form of Mindfulness or Stoicism can help detach from money stress.</li></ul>

The economy is affected by various factors out of your control

It’s difficult to have peace of mind during periods of uncertainty, like the ongoing inflation. Here are some practical tips and perspective.

Discover the world of business and economics.

economics

Economics

moneyandinvestments

Money & Investments

How to Have Peace of Mind During High Inflation - Darius Foroux

<ul><li>If you live in America in the 21st century you've probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are.</li><li>We count the ways you've been told how busy you are, and the stock response is a kind of congratulation: "That's a good problem to have."</li><li>It's almost always people whose busyness is purely self-imposed.</li><li>They're busy because of their own ambition or drive or anxiety because they're addicted to busyness and dread what they might have to face in its absence.</li></ul>

The Busy Trap

Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously, your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, and in-demand every hour of the day.It’s not as if any of us wants to live like this, any more than any one person wants to be part of a traffic jam or stadium trampling or the hierarchy of cruelty in high school — it’s something we collectively force one another to do.

The Collective Curse Of Busyness

Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets. The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done.Idle dreaming is often of the essence of what we do.

The Pursuit Of Idleness

The “crazy busy” existence so many of us complain about is almost entirely self-imposed.

productivity

Productivity

timemanagement

Time Management

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

The 'Busy' Trap

<ul><li>A decluttered home is not as satisfying for some as the process of decluttering, and the joy derived from purging stuff.</li><li>Clutter is an overabundance of possessions that collectively create chaotic and disorderly living spaces.</li><li>Being around messiness would lead people away from convention, in favor of new directions.</li></ul>

The Joy Of Decluttering: Key Points

<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/06/realestate/marie-kondo-pandemic-clutter.html">According to experts like organizational behaviorist Tal Ben-Shahar</a>, it’s the joy of decluttering more than the decluttered home that drives this process (hence the great decluttering Americans went through during the pandemic).So enjoy the dance of decluttering your premises and throw away that shirt you never wore but keep on tucked in the closet!

The Urge to Purge

Ironically, as I preach simplicity, I find myself increasingly overwhelmed with clutter. It started off benignly at first: books and articles that accumulated over the years while researching…

writing

Reading & Writing

creativity

Creativity

The Dance of Decluttering

pounding heartgritting your teethsweatingraising your voicebeing snappy / defensivebeing overly critical of peerstight chestshaking

recognise the warning signs

it’s a normal or understandable response in most situations , such as when you or someone else is being treated unfairly . if you’re not sure why you’ve just snapped at someone , think back through your day and try to pinpoint what set you off

work out why you’re angry

sometimes , writing things down can help you work out why you’re feeling angry and how you might be able to deal with it

write it down

this one seems basic , but works really well for anger management . thinking about something other than what’s upsetting you for 100 seconds gives you a chance to gather yourself and your thoughts before you do anything else

count to 100

when you’re angry , it’s almost impossible to deal with the situation in a helpful way . if you feel yourself losing your cool , just walk away from the situation for a while . you’ll deal with it better when everyone , including yourself , is feeling calmer

press pause

exercise is an awesome way to let off steam . you could take a walk around the block , go for a run , or do something really high-energy like boxing

move your body

talking to someone you trust about how you’re feeling can take weight off your shoulders as well as your mind . that could be a trusted adult , friend or family member

talk to someone

if you know what helps you to relax , you’ll find it useful whenever you’re feeling angry . take some time out to do something you enjoy , for instance :going for a walk in the parkreading a booktrying some meditationlistening to music

take time to relax

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

strategy

Strategy

anger management strategies

How you achieve any outcome you are pursuing will be based on the amount of energy you are willing to put into the task.

Energy ⚡

Deliberate system • The part of your brain responsible for processing information and rational decision making Automatic System• Alleviates the deliberate system from menial tasks e.g breathing, movement, blood flow, etc.Your energy powers both systems mostly the deliberate system. How your energy moves between these systems will influence the output of each system.

The Brain🧠

A mind is a survival tool it helps seek out threats and rewards. Defend- less smart and flexible - Threat seekingDiscover - Motivated for rewards - Reward seeking Keep a healthy balance between these two. Your body can maintain a perpetual state of stress and a dopamine overdose is not healthy for your performance.

Defend-Discover🛡️

Your perspective is influenced by the three A's:• Aim:what matters?• Attitude: positive/negative • Attention: focus

Perceptions determine Priorities 👀

Use these two criteria for the pursuit of your goals:• Approach Goals- Contribute to overall growth (Positive)• Avoidance Goals- Doing less of the negative Goal SettingS.M.A.R.T • SPECIFIC• MEASURABLE • ACHIEVABLE• REALISTIC• TIMELY

Goals and Goal-setting🎯

Schedule your time according to your energy levels throughout your day Your energies are normally high in the early hours of the morning (5-12pm) depleting throughout the day depending on the activities done of course. SET TIME FOR BREAKS• A break now and then is like hitting refresh on your computer and thinking of it as a reward for the mindBATCH YOUR TIME • Spend 1-3 hrs per task • Helps with flow & focus• ONE THING AT A TIME

Time⏳

The quality of your relationships determines the quality of your life and  energy • Be with those that feed your energy

Relationships👨‍👩‍👧

Some days are better than some.Heres some ways to have better days

Organized around seven factors that determine whether we have a good day at work, Webb offers specific tools to use based on how our brains work, and she shows how to incorporate them into conversations, meetings, and projects in a way that will increase productivity, confidence, and enjoyment.

In How to Have a Good Day, economist and former McKinsey partner Caroline Webb shows readers how to use recent findings from behavioral economics, psychology, and neuroscience to transform our approach to everyday working life.   Advances in behavioral sciences are giving us an ever better understanding of how our brains work, why we make the choices we do, and what it takes for us to be at our best. But it has not always been easy to see how to apply these insights in the real world--until now.   In How to Have a Good Day, Webb explains exactly how to apply this science to our daily tasks and routines. She translates three big scientific ideas into step-by-step guidance that shows us how to set better priorities, make our time go further, ace every interaction, be our smartest selves, strengthen our personal impact, be resilient to setbacks, and boost our energy and enjoyment. Through it all, Webb teaches us how to navigate the typical challenges of modern workplaces—from conflict with colleagues to dull meetings and overflowing inboxes—with skill and ease.   Filled with stories of people who have used Webb’s insights to boost their job satisfaction and performance at work, How to Have a Good Day is the book so many people wanted when they finished Nudge, Blink and Thinking Fast and Slow and were looking for practical ways to apply this fascinating science to their own lives and careers.   A remarkable and much-needed book, How to Have a Good Day gives us the tools we need to have a lifetime of good days.

Caroline Webb

How to Have a Good Day

Many of us, even if we don’t travel for work, do something similar by avoiding spending time in the home of our own minds. If being fully present—or in the parlance of modern meditators, being mindful—is boring, stressful, sad, or scary, you’re not going to want to do it very much. You can have a more pleasant time being psychologically out of town, as it were.But you should work to be more mindful anyway.

Being In The Present Moment Is Boring

<ul><li>Many psychologists believe that humans are wired to time-travel mentally into the future, to consider new scenarios and try out new ideas.</li><li>But avoiding mindfulness can also be an effective way to distract yourself from pain.</li><li>People’s minds are significantly more likely to wander when they’re in a negative mood than when they’re in a positive mood. </li><li>Some sources of unhappiness that lead to distraction and mind-wandering are fear, anxiety, neuroticism, and of course, boredom.</li></ul>

The Usual Way: Distraction

If you can't meditate, it boils down to two problems:You don’t know how to be at home in your head, or you do know and have concluded that home is no fun. If the former is what’s stopping you, then by all means, dig into the extensive and growing technology and literature on mindfulness. You might try formal meditation or simply pay attention more to your current surroundings.But if your problem is the latter, you need to face the source head-on. Avoiding yourself won’t work in the long run.Avoiding mindfulness to avoid emotions makes things worse, not better.

Avoiding Mindfulness

Mindfulness is not the same thing as navel-gazing. To be here now does not mean obsessing over yourself and your problems and disregarding others. Scholars have <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01481/full">shown</a> that excessive self-concern can increase defensiveness and the perception of threat. Mindfulness should work instead toward a sense of yourself as part of the wider world, and an observation of your emotions without judgment. As you work to focus on the present, remind yourself of two things: You are just one of more than <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/02/dalai-lama-gentle-transgressive-individuality-happiness/617901/">7 billion human beings</a>, and your emotions will come and go as a normal part of being alive.

Mindfulness Isn't A Worry Session

Not being mindful is like escaping from reality.

Facing the painful parts of life head-on is the only way to feel at home with yourself.

Mindfulness Hurts. That’s Why It Works.

Interstitial journaling is a productivity technique created by Tony Stubblebine. To my knowledge, it’s the simplest way to combine note-taking, tasks, and time tracking in one unique workflow. Interstitial journaling has had an amazing impact on my productivity and creativity, and I think many people would enjoy it. The basic idea of interstitial journaling is to write a few lines every time you take a break, and to track the exact time you are taking these notes.

What is interstitial journaling?

I love interstitial journaling because it’s a great way to make your breaks more mindful.<ul><li>Proactive breaks: reflect on your previous task, plan for the next one, take your own mental pulse, jot down anything else that comes to mind so as to reduce your cognitive load.</li><li>Procrastination breaks: become aware of these breaks and how long they actually take. When you create the habit of writing down all your breaks, it becomes easier to not open a new tab to “quickly” check Twitter.</li></ul>

Making your breaks more mindful

<ul><li>Track time. Type /time to insert the current time, then type whatever you are thinking about.</li><li>Track tasks. Type /todo to create to-do items.</li><li>Track content. </li><li>Track ideas. Similarly, if you think of something else you’d like to do today, just add it as a to-do.</li><li>Track well-being. I like to start my work day with a quick note checking in on how I feel, anything that’s been sometimes literally keeping me up at night, any major roadblock I’m anticipating for the day.</li></ul>

Keeping an interstitial journal in Roam Research

I genuinely feel silly writing out these instructions. It’s an incredibly simple system to make your journal more actionable—or to actually start a journaling practice. As always, it may not be for everyone, but it’s done wonders for me. I still use Plus Minus Next journaling for my weekly review, and interstitial journaling makes it even easier to go back to see what went well and what didn’t during your week.

Interstitial journaling: combining notes, to-do and time tracking

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