The art of taking action pdf free download

Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Book Store. How to Order. Continuing Education Center. Contact Us. Visit Foundation. We all have ambitions and goals. Sadly enough, too many people watch their dreams slowly fade away because they are afraid to take action and any major change seems impossible. I'm here to tell you that it is possible. Discover the secret to stop overthinking, overcoming your fears, and become insanely proactive.

Many people fear that change is drastic. Adjusting to an ever-declining income can be an exercise in frustration and adaptation. And I can reduce stress even more by spending less than I earn. As Mr. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds one and six, result misery. I keep going back to the basics: acknowledge my feelings all those endless desires , know my purpose to live within a budget and do what I have to do.

Knowing my purpose and sticking to it is not a matter of settling for less, but a matter of becoming reliable.

I pay careful attention to everyday expenditures. Take meal preparation as an example. She treated obstacles as opportunities. Her homespun advice kept me off the couch of many a psychiatrist. Several years ago, when my year-old daughter was in her last year of university, she called me in tears after a major disagreement with her boyfriend. I asked if her room was messy.

It was. I suggested she clean it up before we talk further, and call me when it was done. She called back in 45 minutes and told me how much better she felt, not nearly so stressed out and able to tackle her books.

When I am filled with emotion, big muscle activity helps reduce my stress. Selye cautions us to resist such temptation.

Aimlessness and procrastination create frustration, and the stress of frustration is much more likely than that of excessive muscular work or engrossing mental work, to produce disease. A natural desire to concentrate on one task at a time.

And that often depends on us. For instance, consider the responsible use of the word NO. I am honored, but not now. My plate is currently full, and until something comes off there is no room for anything else to go on. The specificity of Naikan, when I do it honestly and sincerely, points to a wider image of reality and not just the parts that favor my own self-image.

For example, when I am stressed-out over problems, Naikan reflection helps me see the way I waste money and time; assists me to triage my current situation into uncontrollable, controllable, and influenceable chunks. And I also see the support that keeps rolling in, in one form or another.

This knowledge often gives me a different perspective on my current problem and redirects my attention towards some form of action, rather than just worrying. Conclusion My life, like most of yours, is not stress-free.

However, when I live purposefully and wholeheartedly, my everyday life has more satisfying moments, and I tend not to categorize the rest as stressful or not. It is simply a matter of responding to the needs of the next moment. That offers me true relief.

Surprisingly hard, in fact. Even when we are crystal clear about the need to make a change in how we are living, we can easily slip back into an old groove in the blink of an eye. Our default settings have history on their side, and they are fueled by years of momentum. Take procrastination, for example. Many of us prefer to tolerate the personal consequences and inconvenience that result from procrastination than to face the discomfort and disruption of changing our ways. Yes, the choice rests squarely on our shoulders and is ours to make.

The consequences of that choice, however, are another matter. Often we are not the only victim touched by our irresponsible choices and poor time management.

What sometimes lights a fire beneath us is recognizing the degree to which this is true. This truth can propel us beyond our comfort zone in a way that our own personal suffering never would. Remembering our impact on others during decisive moments can help us to make a different history for ourselves.

Maybe we underestimated the time it was going to take. Maybe we were distracted or tired or just not in the mood. And during those rushing moments, when we are trying to compress our work into what little time is left, our relationships with others can become strained and delicate.

Minor challenges, such as unanticipated distractions or interruptions, may be uncharacteristically provocative, resulting in friction with others. Frenetic energy can be easily contagious, making it difficult for others around us to relax.

Communication problems are also more likely to occur in our haste, as our words and tone of voice may become more impatient. In the aftermath of a rush to the finish line, we may discover, ironically, a new crop of time-consuming problems for us, and others, to deal with. During rush-recovery time we must face the state of affairs that we created in our haste. The more rushed we are, the more we hone in on the goal and disregard everything else.

And the carelessness that results from all of this rushing can take many forms — we can misplace our keys, spill our coffee, forget our phone or drive too fast.

Many mishaps can occur in our attempts to recapture a few extra minutes and reach our goals on time. Which is longer—15 minutes of waiting for someone who is late, or 15 minutes of keeping others waiting? When we keep others waiting, we are not being respectful of their lives. And time is the most precious commodity that any of us have. Even if they are gracious about waiting for us, even if they use their time well and minimize the trouble they experience, we are still stealing some of their life.

Dominoes Suppose one day I leave the house late for an early morning dental appointment. I had hoped to call them on the way in, so they could plan accordingly, but I discovered in the car that my phone was dead.

I encountered an unexpected traffic jam, due to construction, which set me back even further. We are never privy to the ways that our lateness ripples out into the world. I may have triggered problems for the dentist by creating tension, or making him keep other patients waiting, which affects his reputation. I may have kept other patients waiting who needed to get back to work, which may have had an effect on their co-workers and their clients.

Like dominoes, we can tip into each other with our lateness, setting off a wave of impact that we never get to see, even though we may have set the events into motion. But what about the impact of not getting things done at all? At least in some cases, someone else will do what I never got around to doing.

This is tough. It requires good, sound, realistic judgment, which can be hard to come by. Good intentions do not soften the impact of our failure to deliver. In some cases the task simply remains undone, and in its place grows resentment, frustration and disappointment. Excuses No matter how productive and well-intentioned we may be, we will always be vulnerable to that which is uncontrollable and unpredictable.

Circumstances beyond our control may appear when we least expect them and tamper with even our most perfect plan. Our control only goes so far. Extenuating circumstances happen. That is why we need to plan for the unexpected, as much as possible. If we leave 22 minutes for a commute that takes 22 minutes, we are not expecting the unexpected.

Scheduling down to the wire is inviting excuses into the equation. Waiting for the last minute is a set-up for failure. Other people are depending on us, whether we want them to or not. We all are depending on each other, as we weave our lives, families and communities together.

So when we do not carry our weight, the fabric gets a buckle in it. The best we can do is apologize, see what we can learn, and move forward. So what can I learn? To make more realistic choices. To recognize that things take much longer than I expect them to. And to plan accordingly.

Take them on more earnestly. Be aware of our impact on others. Remember how short life is. Look at the big picture. Take action and do what needs to be done.

The enemy is Resistance. For one thing, we show huevos. Our blood heats up. Courage begets more courage. The gods, witnessing our boldness, look on in approval. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation , there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

My vision was for a book that would draw on Eastern wisdom and would be both inspirational and practical. Something that would be a collage of quotes, anecdotes, essays and more. Just one hour of reflecting, brainstorming and talking with others helped me to envision what this book might look like. You have some general idea of something you want to do. What should you do? Go ahead and get started.

Get started without clarity. Take some small steps. Investigate, research, look into possibilities, check things out, talk to people, and… if at all possible — try something out in real life. Just start cooking and tasting, cooking and tasting. Add a little more pepper, or a few more carrots. What can I add to make it different? Be willing to fail. And learn. The problem is most of us associate figuring things out with thinking. We imagine Einstein at his blackboard, spending days writing complex equations.

But in real life, it just keeps us stuck. It keeps us from moving forward and taking action. Action is a way of figuring things out. So be clear and take the next step. Or be confused and take the next step. Life is confusing. Procrastination Disguised as Busyness The meditation teacher Eknath Easwaran talks about how people have energy only when it comes to things they like. So we do everything we can to avoid these tasks. One strategy is to avoid what you need to do and then spend lots of energy trying to find out why you are avoiding it.

This is a great way to continue to avoid taking action. Another strategy is to assume you need to feel like doing something before you do it. Until you feel comfortable or motivated, you assume that it is not possible to move forward and take action. Actually, many people just assume that if the prospect of some task creates discomfort, they simply cannot do it. But a popular procrastination strategy is to do something else instead. If what needs to be done is income tax preparation, then it must be time to clean the refrigerator.

If what needs to be done is to work on an unfinished novel, then it must be time to pay bills. We keep busy, convincing ourselves that we are productive and hard working.

Our failure to do what is important is disguised as busyness. Instead of going out into the fields, he takes a day to go into town for paint, and then spends a week painting beautiful designs on the cart and wheels. When he finally gets around to harvesting the rice, he has to work twelve hours a day just to keep up. Can you see the ways that you keep busy so you can avoid doing what is really important?

How do we cure ourselves of this disease? The answer is obvious, but it cannot be found in words. You cannot post it as a message or discuss it with your therapist. You cannot read about it in a book or discover it on the Internet.

Use your time wisely. It is a gift and it is only temporary. What is it that matters? What should you be doing? Are you hiding — hiding behind the veil of busyness?

If so, then show yourself. Come out into the light. Be true to the work that has been placed on your path. The Slightest Move One of the central principles of Morita Therapy is that we have much more control over our body actions than our minds thoughts, feelings.

Often, once the body is moving, there is a natural influence on our emotional state and our thoughts. For example, you may not feel like exercising. No amount of willpower will allow me to jump six feet in the air from a standing start.

Nor can a person who is paralyzed from an accident stand and walk through sheer effort. There is a gray area, however, when it comes to many health and mental health problems. Someone with mononucleosis may say that she really cannot walk up and down the stairs. In what situations is the body physically incapable of performing a task, and in what situations is it simply due to lack of effort or willpower?

This winter, I got a severe case of the flu. For a few days, I found that I needed an inordinate amount of rest, and I would feel exhausted even after the slightest physical effort. As I lay in bed, I continued to experiment with my situation, and I stumbled upon a technique that I believe can be helpful when we need to get our bodies moving. I found that the best way to get myself up was to start with small muscle movements and then gradually work with larger and larger muscles.

So while lying down, I would start wiggling the end of my index finger and then gradually expand that movement to all the fingers on each hand. Then I would wiggle my toes. Then lift my left arm slightly and then both arms repeatedly. Then rotate my shoulders and maybe lift a leg. At that point I could usually swing my legs over the side of the bed or sofa and stand up.

Once I was up, it was easy to take a few steps. The more I would move around, the easier it was to keep moving. This is often true of exercise programs, diets, public dancing, writing—almost anything. So the next time you find yourself stuck and immobile—whether from depression or a bout of the flu—try starting your engine with just the slightest muscle movements.

And I have a slight fear of just spouting out some half-baked ideas. Therefore I end up writing nothing, nada. Classic case of procrastination. The sad thing about procrastination with respect to a hobby is that you develop an inner conflict. Then you tend to procrastinate even more. After a while you end up reading emphatic articles on procrastination. The idea of reading about how to cure yourself from procrastination is very thrilling. Depending on the quality of the writing, the optimistic feeling of a better life lasts either for the first few pages or sometimes for the whole article.

And what a feeling it is. Yeah, right. Once you actually have to do something, the feeling disappears and you start looking for other articles about procrastination. Which is mostly a waste of time since they all seem to have the same message. But today I had a minor revelation. A key strategy in the self-help articles is that you have to manage your time by dividing tasks into a manageable size. Then prioritize and just start.

But doing this the right way is usually unbearable. Yet today I realize that the most important thing in dividing tasks is the psychological effect of making the task bearable.

The idea of small tasks always felt too abstract and not at all magical. But today it had a concrete effect on me. The tasks just need to be small enough so that they feel conquerable. After that, starting is easy. So now, do you feel excited or thrilled? Well, good. Get moving. Get started. What Do We Have Here? This is what he did before he began preparing a meal. It shifts your attention from your feeling state boredom, anxiety, confusion to the concrete reality of the circumstances surrounding your work.

Recently I decided to make a memorial bench to honor the memory of my father, Ted Krech, who died recently. I went into the garage to search for and gather the parts of an old bench that had fallen apart. I needed to see which parts were salvageable and what I would have to build from scratch.

Very rusty. I stepped back and just looked. This is what we have to work with. This is what the reality of the situation is right now. Step back. Take stock. This is where you begin. This is incredibly effective for me when it comes to writing, exercise and household repairs. Your commitment is just to be there. If you do something, fine. Pick a time when you agree to just sit down with your photos and your photo album.

And then just sit down. As you sit there you may take some action organize photos or you can just relax for a few minutes and then put everything away. Your discipline is in showing up which takes a lot less discipline than working on your project for three hours after dinner. In other words, leading the horse to water puts the horse in a better position to drink.

On Wednesday nights I show up at the gym with my shoes, ball and basketball shorts. If you have a household repair to make, show up with your tools. You may end up taking action for five minutes—you might run a few hundred yards or put three photos in an album.

This happens to me when I work on my income tax return. We actually create more suffering for ourselves by procrastinating than we would if we just jumped into what we need to do. So rather than trying to motivate yourself, psyche yourself up or work with thoughts and affirmations, just put your body in the right place at the right time.

Then see what happens. Your mind lives in the world of thoughts — your body lives in… well… the real world. If your body responded to every thought you had, your life would be in a state of complete chaos yes, more than it is now and you would probably be in jail.

We actually have very little control over our thoughts. Thoughts arise. They dissolve. Other thoughts arise and dissolve. Good ideas, worries, likes, dislikes, criticisms of others, frustrating thoughts, thoughts about the past — they mostly arise spontaneously.

On the other hand, we have much more control over our behavior. We can will ourselves to remain silent during a presentation, pick up the phone and make a call, answer an email, or drive to the store.

Another difference between the worlds of thought and action involves effort. The world of thought is a world of little effort. But the real world often requires lots of effort i. You may feel mentally exhausted after a day of writing or taking exams. The point of all this is that resolutions are thoughts—they reside in the world of thought. Your body ignores them.

One of the reasons your body ignores your mind is because your body is a creature of habit. It tends to do what it is already accustomed to doing. Resolutions are thoughts about what you want to do in the future. However, be careful about making mindfulness into a resolution. Another option is to make some changes by doing things differently.

This is less about resolutions, plans and goals, and more about action. It means spending less time in the world of thought and more time in the real world, using your body to take action.

The presenter responded by asking the audience member what she was inspired to do. There was a long pause. The presenter used that moment as an opportunity to encourage her audience to be inspired to act — not just to feel or think. Is there something or somebody that inspires you? To do what?

On that basis we tend to discount small steps. We want to take giant steps that allow us to move forward quickly in large leaps. Password-Finder 2. The hidden password is decrypted and showed to you instantly.

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