Under the comb the tangle and the straight path are the same. – HERACLITUS.
And that’s the final part: Stay moving, always. Like Earhart, Rommel knew from history that those who attack problems and life with the most initiative and energy usually win. He was always pushing ahead, keeping the stampede on the more cautious British forces to devastating effect.
Our generation needs an approach for overcoming obstacles and thriving amid chaos more than ever. One that will help turn our problems on their heads, using them as canvases on which to paint master works.
Mere gossip anticipates real talk, and to express what is still in thought weakens action by forestalling it.
All of this had a purpose: Every second of his energy was to be spent on his legal case. Every waking minute was spent reading – law books, philosophy, history. They hadn’t ruined his life – they’d just put him somewhere he didn’t deserve to be and he did not intend to stay there. He would learn and read and make the most of the time he had on his hands. He would leave prison not only a free and innocent man, but a better and improved one.
The problem is that when we get our identity tied up in our work, we worry that any kind of failure will then say something bad about us as a person.
To prevent becoming overwhelmed by the world around us, we must, as the ancients practiced, learn how to limit our passions and their control over our lives.
Confidence is what determines whether this will be a source of anguish or an enjoyable challenge. If you’re miserable every time things are not going your way, if you cannot enjoy it when things are going your way because you undermine it with doubts and insecurity, life will be hell.
Not “be positive” but learn to be ceaselessly creative and opportunistic.
When we know what to say no to, we can say yes to the things that matter.
You will come across obstacles in life – fair and unfair. And you will discover, time and time again, that what matters most is not what these obstacles are but how we see them, how we react to them, and whether we keep our composure. You will learn that this reaction determines how successful we will be in overcoming – or possibly thriving because of – them.
We want to sit with doubt. We want to savor it. We want to follow it where it leads. Because on the other side is truth.
Ego asks: Why is this happening to me? How do I save this and prove to everyone I’m as great as they think? It’s the animal fear of even the slightest sign of weakness. You’ve seen this. You’ve done this. Fighting desperately for something we’re only making worse.
Stop pretending that what you’re going through is somehow special or unfair. Whatever trouble you’re having – no matter how difficult – is not some unique misfortune picked out especially for you. It just is what it is.
To quote Beethoven: “The barriers are not erected which can say to aspiring talents and industry, Thus far and no farther.
What is the meaning of life?” As though it is someone else’s responsibility to tell you. Instead, he said, the world is asking you that question. And it’s your job to answer with your actions.
Carter did not have much power, but he understood that that was not the same thing as being powerless.
Instead, she simply chose to see each situation for what it could be –.
No pressure. Just presence. Just happy to be there.
To perceive what others see as negative, as something to be approached rationally, clearly, and, most important, as an opportunity – not as something to fear or bemoan.