If you can’t have your cake and eat it too, instead of despairing and thinking ‘Fuck…If only [1 of the things you love here] wasn’t here/wasn’t happening/didn’t exist.’, is it possible to think ‘Excellent. A chance to see how tough I am.’? This is something I may be facing soon. It might still be hard, but it’ll definitely make you…
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There’s no degrees of contentment –you either have it or you don’t. But what if there was also no degree of ‘difficult’. Things can always get more difficult. If you’re worried about how you’re going to do something hard, or are faced with a tough challenge, imagine it was even harder, with even more obstacles. Need to apply for a job…
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You are unfortunate in my judgement, if you have not been unfortunate. – Seneca, from On Providence When anything difficult, trying or challenging (whether small or massive) comes along, embrace it. Life is a series of tests designed to make us appreciate the good times and stronger during the tough. Next time, you think ‘I hate this. This sucks’ Or…
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A friend wrote to me today telling me it’s been an ‘interesting’ time for me lately. Now, you don’t need to know what ‘interesting’ means in this case, but interesting is the right way to put it. There is no good, no bad, no sad, no tough, no difficult things that happen. Everything just is –we exist as part of humanity and…
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Patrick Dangerfield’s one of Geelong’s superstars, in the Australian Football League. And he’s a rare breed of not only player, captain, but also sportsman. He says that after a loss, typically a captain hangs their head (and emotions) low. Throughout the 121-year history of the VFL/AFL, it’s been normal for a team’s skipper to show a type of pissed-off disappointment…
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You might’ve heard this thing before: Win the Morning, win the day. You’d agree that losing is the opposite of winning right? And winning’s the opposite of losing? So doesn’t that mean that if you lose the morning, then doesn’t that mean you also lose the day? Yeah, starting the day by doing your routines matters a lot. And not jumping…
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When force of circumstance upsets your equanimity, lose no time in recovering your self-control and do not remain out of tune longer than you can help. Habitual recurrence to the harmony will increase your mastery of it. – Marcus Aurelius, from Meditations So in other words, when something or someone pisses you off (or tries to), be like Kobe: In the…
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Nowhere can man find a more untroubled retreat than in his own soul – Marcus Aurelius, from Meditations Here’s a Buddhist temple: And where are they usually? In isolated places, built in locations faraway from the noise and unpredictability and sometimes chaotic events of real life. ‘One of the purposes of practising Buddhism’s to ‘pursue happiness by using knowledge and practice…
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When you go through something tough, don’t deflect, deny or numb (with alcohol, drugs, distractions etc.) the feelings of how much it sucks. Embrace the shockwaves within you and that fucked up feeling in the pit of your stomach. Label it. Visualise it. Take in everything you can see and hear and feel at that moment. Write it down. Remember…