I was going to title this post “Say no so you can say yes,” but I googled the phrase first and found that Zen Habits’ Leo Babauta has already written that thought down. “We have to clear up some space [in our lives],” Babauta writes, “by saying No to things we’d like to do, but […]
The meditative routine
Chop wood. Carry water.” —Unknown Every time you start to feel a little anxious, just put your head down and get to work.” —Janelle Belgrave One of the things I find fascinating about work that I love is that my love and enjoyment doesn’t cancel out the tedium in the task. Editing can include painstaking attention […]
Selective attention
According to a recent Fast Company article, selective attention can be a neurological advantage. ‘Glial cells’ are the gardeners of your brain—they act to speed up signals between certain neurons. But other glial cells are the waste removers, pulling up weeds, killing pests, raking up dead leaves. Your brain’s pruning gardeners are called ‘microglial cells.’ […]
Listening
The wise are not learned; the learned are not wise.” “A well-frog cannot imagine the ocean, nor can a summer insect conceive of ice. How then can a scholar understand the Tao? he is restricted by his own learning.” “‘Lots of people talk to animals,’ Pooh said. ‘Maybe, but…’ ‘Not very many listen, though,’ he said. […]
Quote of the Week: Jobs
If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you. —Steve Jobs
Of Circumstance and Action
In the New Year’s Eve reflection I posted last night, there are a few lines that say more about my year than anything else I wrote: All of that [skill, experience, enthusiasm, potential, will, and grit] I had, but it wasn’t enough to move me forward. Outside of the umbrella of my former university, I was […]