the daily zen

Sitting in Nature

2012-06-04T10:28:00.000-04:00

Few settings match the power an immersive natural scene has to make us feel grounded. Nature has the allure of being ever-present and constantly in flux, whether you're in the middle of the woods or maneuvering down a crowded city street. The earth was here first, after all, and it consistently reminds us of its presence no matter how hard we try to escape it.

There's no reason to reject nature, though. We are endlessly integrated with the natural world, and its beauty is unsurpassable. No skyscraper, bridge or automobile can even begin to rival the mechanical intricacies of the flower, bird, or even the human being itself-- a product of nature. I have yet to see any man-made thing triumph the beauty of a good sunset or a ocean breeze. If you want to rejuvenate yourself, you needn't look any farther than the nearest park or hiking trail. Nothing complements mental health and creativity like a contemplative walk through the woods.

Many of the tall trees surrounding you were standing, albeit somewhat shorter, in the same place hundreds of years ago. These are living symbols of past serenity, preceding modern technological innovations like TV and the internet. There's something inherently therapeutic about being surrounded by such intimidating, transcendent vastness.

I lived in the middle of the woods in Connecticut for most of my life before a recent move into NYC. The city is stimulating both socially and intellectually, but it lacks the aged spirit of a forest or ocean. It's both completely humanized and dehumanizing. Everything is artificial, but the city itself becomes this post-human organism that never fully serves its original intended purpose. It's a fun place to live, but it leaves much to be desired as far as spiritual satisfaction goes. Before the change of scenery, I took my natural surroundings for granted. Now, I couldn't stay sane without them.

We need stimulation, but we also need time to unwind and get our thoughts together. Nature can provide us with much reward and relaxation (without charging us a monthly fee, might I add), and we should take advantage of its offerings as often as possible.

How to Procrastinate Productively

2012-05-31T15:40:00.000-04:00

Procrastination gets a lot of negative press. It's an enemy to productivity and hurts motivation, right? Sometimes. If you spend your procrastination time playing video games, watching TV or reading celebrity gossip magazines, you're likely wasting your time. But, if you're going to procrastinate, why not make it productive? These are some things I do when I don't feel like working. They're not as good as getting real work done, but they influence my outlook and thoughts in positive ways:

-Browse Tumblr for visual and ideological inspiration.
-Use StumbleUpon to find interesting articles to read.
-Read about Zen Buddhism, fitness and other topics on Reddit
-Answer important emails.
-Read news.
-Call a friend.
-Read articles on Arts and Letters Daily about arts, literature, psychology, etc.
-Go outside.
-Work out.

These things are not pertinent to the immediate tasks at hand, but they are indirectly productive. If you spend procrastination time cultivating your mind and body in various ways, you'll feel both fulfilled and ready to get work done with a fresh perspective. Ideally, I've made it my goal to make everything I do productive in some way.
Any activities that are generally void and not valuable uses of my time (bad TV, games, worrying) I try to replace with useful activities that are social or intellectually stimulating in some way. Think of what you can do to procrastinate creatively and enjoy it. There's no such thing as procrastination if you're constantly working to improve yourself and your work, whatever it may be.

Decluttering as Meditation

2012-05-29T16:40:00.000-04:00

Whenever I need to clear my mind, I clear my desk. Sometimes I branch out and clean my bedroom, the kitchen, etc. Often, once I get started, I can't stop. The key to productivity is action; decluttering is direct action that can benefit you right now. It serves for me as a form of meditation, like exercise, eating and walking. After practicing meditation for years, I've found it fun and liberating realizing that most banal day-to-day activities can be transformed into useful experiments in serenity and mindfulness.

Start with your computer. Close your tabs, your windows. Go to the desktop, clear out the junk. Get down to the essentials. Empty the trash as you refill it again and again.

From the computer, start cleaning the radius directly surrounding it.

I just did this; I had a chapstick, a plate, a pocket knife, a record, two books and a pair of heaphones laying on my desk.

I started to rationalize, thinking, "Well I might eat another orange today and need the plate and pocket knife and the headphones I'll be bringing out with me soon enough. I need to read those books and that's a great record-- I'll listen to it later and then put it away."

No. The desk has drawers for a reason. I decluttered and put all the stuff away. It's still there, conveniently accessible as before-- it's just out of sight and out of mind. The way you design your workspaces ends up greatly affecting the way you work and the level of focus you have. If your desk is a mess, your mind and work will follow suit.

If you have free time today, declutter something. Anything, really. Desk, car, TV cabinet... Doesn't matter. The important thing is to take the initiative and do it. Come to see decluttering as an exercise in mindfulness and an expression of your desire to take action to improve the way you live.

10 Lessons From Picasso

2012-05-26T10:49:00.004-04:00

Pablo Picasso was a controversial figure. Politics and personal life aside, though, there's one quality most people can agree on concerning Picasso: he was a master of his craft. He devoted his life to one fervent passion and ended up revolutionizing the art world and prolifically producing paintings and sculpture through many decades of movements. Some of these quotes are more art-pertinent than others, but they can help inspire you regardless of your career or aspirations.
I'd say the most important takeaways of what I've learned from Picasso are as follows:

Do what you love, don't try what you love.
Only action will get you anywhere, and the most powerful thing you can do with yourself is direct your creative energy towards a specific pursuit.
Do it individually, without overthinking or self-consciousness.
If you can't find inspiration or motivation, quit whining and just do it.

I'll let you analyze the rest:

“Everybody has the same energy potential. The average person wastes his in a dozen little ways. I bring mine to bear on one thing only: my paintings, and everything else is sacrificed to it.”

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working.”

“Everything you can imagine is real.”

“Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone”

“The chief enemy of creativity is good sense.”

“Bad artists copy. Good artists steal.”

“It takes a very long time to become young.”

“If only we could pull out our brain and use only our eyes.”

“He can who thinks he can, and he can't who thinks he can't. This is an inexorable, indisputable law.”

“Action is the foundational key to all success. ”

if you liked this post, spread the word... send to friends or StumbleUpon. im in the midst of setting up a facebook page, you'll be able to 'like' things soon. thanks for reading.

meditation, zen, action, creativity, inspiration, inspiration, self-improvement, self-improvement, meditating, positivity, self-help, quotes, reading, art

20 Positive Replacements to Make

2012-05-25T10:41:00.002-04:00

The best way to negate bad habits is to replace them with good habits. Sounds simple, but looking at this list you'll realize it's a challenge. Don't get daunted, though-- take small steps and make replacements incrementally. Over time, minor positive changes will grow into major steps towards improving your life. There are plenty more; these are just examples of replacements I've found beneficial in my own life. Work on making your own customized list of bad habits and thoughts with their corresponding positive replacements. Not only will it serve as a helpful guide to the changes you feel you should make in your life; it also might reveal to you personal priorities and values you hadn't consciously thought about before.

TV with books and magazines.

Facebook with direct phone calls.

Processed foods with home-cooked meals.

Envy with neutral curiosity.

Gossip with intellectual discussion.

Procrastination with productivity.

Candy with fruit.

Beer with wine (or, ideally, water. baby steps..)

Down-time with stimulating hobbies.

Driving with biking (if you live in the city like me)

Pop culture with real culture (ie. don't read John Grisham, read James Joyce. Watch Citizen Kane, not Catching Up With the Kardashians)

Procrastination with action.

Worry with yoga or meditation.

Computer speakers with quality speakers. If you're a music fan, you'll be doing your ears and mind a favor.

Frivolous purchases with calculated saving and spending.

Ground beef with turkey. Random, but turkey burgers are fantastic and far healthier/leaner than beef burgers.

Multi-tasking with single-tasking.

Anxiety with creative problem solving.

Over-thinking with writing. Keep thinking, but write your thoughts down and take a load off your mind.

Self-consciousness with confidence.

if you liked this post, help spread the word-- share with friends or upvote on stumbleupon. thanks for reading.

3 Ways You Unknowingly Change the World

2012-05-24T13:19:00.001-04:00

It's easy to feel like an ant among billions of other ants. I live in New York City, and there are times when I'm taken aback by how insignificant such a vast expanse of crowds and urban scenery can make the individual feel. It's both humbling and disturbing; but, we shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking that we're insignificant. If everyone thought that, it would make no sense-- clearly there's significance somewhere. The conclusion I've reached so far is this:

We're all..
Supremely significant to ourselves.
Very significant in the microcosm of friends, family, etc that we're centered in.
Relatively significant in our communities and organizations, should we choose to involve ourselves.
Abstractly significant (to varying degrees) in the rest of the world's workings.

The things you do day after day are diverse in their levels of impact on 'the world', so to speak, but you should take pride and responsibility in the fact that all of your actions and thoughts have purpose and are projected like a ripple onto your surroundings. The way you interact with those environments is abstractly important in creating the type of world you want to exist. Individual actions, on a broad scale, create the concepts we call 'the world', 'humanity' and 'society'.
This is why I find cynicism so counterproductive. If you have grand visions for what the world could be, don't hopelessly denounce it for not having reached them yet. Embody the qualities you want to see. In doing so, you're taking a step towards a universal transformation, even if it is a small step. Enough of my rambling. Here are three ways you unknowingly change the world every day:

Mood and affect
If I walk down a crowded sidewalk in my neighborhood in Manhattan hunched over with a scowl on my face, making eye contact with strangers and glaring everyone down, I'm eliciting in them generally negative thoughts. If someone is having a bad day, and they see a stranger scowling at them, it won't help.
On the other hand, if they see a stranger smile at them, their mood will improve and they will interact with the surrounding world more positively for the day, and so on and so forth. It's a ripple effect. Be nice, and other people will want to be nice too.

Confidence
As a guy, I like to walk poised and with my head held high. The purpose of this is to project a sense of comfort and self-confidence into the situations I encounter throughout the day. The first step towards respecting your world and the people in it is respecting yourself; if you believe you're worthy of walking with pride and purpose, you will deal with other people more positively and less self-consciously. Just don't get too caught up in yourself. That's no fun for anybody.

Generosity
Anything relatively constructive you give anyone else, whether it's a buck to a homeless guy or a few words of advice to a close friend, is a positive change in the world. The more you give, the better. Share positive ideas with people you enjoy, donate old clothes to Goodwill, tip the waitress/waiter regardless of his/her level of cuteness. It all goes towards contributing positive energy to the people you interact with daily.

if you liked this post, help spread the word or subscribe via email. thanks for reading

20 Ideas for Balancing Your Life

2012-05-22T12:23:00.003-04:00

It's easy to get caught-up in extremes. I sometimes have intense periods of work followed by ridiculously lazy periods of relaxation. I used to have days when I'd eat constantly all day, and then days when I'd feel guilty about overindulging and practically fast. These are not paths to self-satisfaction or productive living. The human being needs balance; just like you need the right amount of carbs, fat and protein in your diet, you need an ideal balance of thoughts, feelings and actions in your daily doings. This is just a quick list of 20 thoughts to kickstart your move towards balancing things out.

Handle one task at a time.

Spend at least 20 minutes interacting with nature every day.

Spend at least 30 minutes exercising every day.

Eat without distractions.

Make lists: goals, things you're grateful for, people you appreciate.

Talk to people with regularity, cultivate a social life.

Work on productivity in 20-minute blocks with no distractions. One thing at a time.

Do some sort of charitable activity every week.

Be always on the lookout for new books, music, films and art to observe and learn about.

Spend at least 30-minutes a day reading.

Meditate once a day for any length of time.

Cut down on gossip, speak only when you have something meaningful to contribute.

Spend less time complaining and more time working on correcting what you complain about.

Keep a clean desk and home.

Cook your own food and avoid processed fast/frozen foods and artificial ingredients.

Spend less time on the computer and more time interacting with the physical, tangible world.

Spend 20 minutes a day trying to imagine life in another person's shoes (doesn't matter who).

Turn off the television.

Write your thoughts down; work up to 300-words a day.

Take 10 minutes a day to contemplate the idea of happiness and what it means to you.

7 Tips for Finding Your 'Calling'

2012-05-21T11:28:00.005-04:00

The idea of the 'calling' is cliched and abstracted by now, but it still exists. Many of us do indeed have a true purpose in life, and to put at least a little bit of effort towards discovering it is one of the most worthwhile things we can do for ourselves in the long-run. These are just a few tips...

Don't look for it.
Seek and ye shall not find. The longer you spend actively searching out something as abstract as your 'passion', the longer such a realization is likely to elude you. Immerse yourself in purposeful activities and it won't be long before you intrinsically know your purpose. If you jump the gun and declare your 'calling' too soon, you may end up fooling yourself. No reason to rush; handle the process with grace and slow down your search so you can enjoy life. That's what this is about in the first place, after all.

Do what you enjoy as often as possible.
If you're loving every minute of every day, you won't worry about having to figure out what you're supposed to be doing-- you'll already be doing it. Think intensely about what you want out of the limited amount of time you're given to interact with this strange sphere we call home. If you could devote yourself fully to one activity, what would it be? If you could surround yourself with any people in the world, who would they be? If you could choose one achievement you want to be remembered for posthumously, what would it be? These are big, daunting questions, but the longer you consider them the less fear-inducing they'll be.

Stay healthy.
Once you get healthy exercise and eating habits in place, you have more time to worry about the bigger questions in life, if for no other reason than because you feel better about yourself and can function more optimally. Treat your body as a machine for helping you achieve what you want. The higher quality treatment you provide it with, the fewer physical and mental obstacles you'll subsequently face. Healthy diligence is also a great way to stay grounded and keep your priorities straight. Building self-discipline will help immensely once you figure out what you want to devote your attention to in life.

Make lists.
This is just a simple way to set priorities and realize what you're truly thinking. I often don't realize what my thoughts are on something until I've written them down. Creating lists for yourself will help.

Surround yourself with stimulating people.
You're a product of your environment. If your environment happens to be populated by dull, under-motivated people, you're likely to adopt at least some of their negative habits. On the other hand, surrounding yourself with people you can look-up to and share your positive habits and aspirations with is mutually beneficial.

Read more.
The beautiful thing about a good book is it allows you to live through certain situations and conjecture on them in your own way. You can empathize with a character-- well-written characters reveal to you aspects of your personality that could otherwise go unnoticed. The more you read, the more you know, not only about the world but also about yourself. If you're trying to figure out your calling, so to speak, reading, like exercise, is an auxiliary activity that, to be frank, makes you a better person. There are no negative side-effects.

Meditate everyday.
Even if it's just for 90 seconds, take some time to just sit with your own thoughts everyday. There's so much stimulation nowadays; we rarely get any alone time even when we're alone. There's always a TV show on or a song stuck in your head or a new facebook message. Unplug and count your breathing for a bit each day to facilitate clearer thinking about your ideals.

if you liked this post, submit it to StumbleUpon or share with friends to spread the word. thanks for reading.

Money Money Money

2012-05-17T16:28:00.003-04:00

It's a kind of spiritual snobbery that makes people think they can be happy without money. -Albert Camus

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." -JRR Tokien

In this day and age, it's a bit of a joke to think one can subsist comfortably and happily without money. Indulgent materialism isn't beneficial to anyone; money is more valuable in moderate amounts than in massive amounts. Many of us fantasize about being billionaires, but, in reality, the fun money provides us with is in the balance between novelty use and survival use.

We need money to provide ourselves with housing, food and utilities. If you're on a budget, every time you buy a book or go out to eat, you're weighing the enjoyment of those activities against the fact that the money you're spending on them is money you may eventual need to survive. This game of cost-benefit analysis we're constantly engaged in with money leads to happiness and excitement when we take small, calculated risks for both the sake of enjoyment and the sake of survival.

This dichotomy goes both ways: it's the thrill of the consumer, though it's also the woe of the debt-ridden members of the lower and middle-classes. It's also the reason why I imagine we read about so many miserable billionaires and troubled celebrities. When one no longer knows the excitement of spending for fun what also provides one with livelihood, the whole idea of money becomes lame and uninteresting, regardless of how many houses and Ferraris you buy. Enjoy what you have. Buy what your budget allows in conjunction with whatever saving your future plans require.

Consider the very idea of money-- it dates back as far back in human history as social interaction existed. It's a currency for livelihood. You trade work for money, which you can then spend on rations and luxuries (should they be afforded). The idea of money only gets complicated when you're dealing with people who are trying to get it from you (see: banks, government institutions, corporations, mafia bosses).

Finding a comfortable place for yourself in the balance between budgeting and mildly indulging is more enjoyable than the balance between hoarding and greedily indulging in massive purchases. The 'corporate pigs' so many people protest against often fall into the latter category. These are often people who keep massive amounts of money for themselves and either let it sit in accounts or spend it on lavish overindulgent items unlikely to make them or anyone else happier in the long-run. The cutoff point for money itself providing happiness is around 75,000 a year. Satisfaction past that point comes not from having massive amounts of money, but from the excitement and optimism catalyzed by being productive and successful in a given career. You can't buy happiness, but you can certainly work hard for it.

Satisfaction in life comes from constantly being engaged positively with your surroundings, not from spending massive amounts of cash on ephemeral purchases. Coincidentally, the reward for hard, innovative work often seems to be massive amounts of cash. The illusion millions of people toil miserably under is that there's no middle ground between happiness and money. In truth, the middle ground is passionate, diligent productivity. Work hard and enjoy whatever you can manage to make. Just remember, money is a tool for making the most of your resources, not a magical recipe for happiness. It's a utility for living, not a be-all-end-all life-force.

5 Reasons to Be Eclectic

2012-05-15T12:09:00.001-04:00

The information age has made it drastically easier to be eclectic; music, books, films and ideas are all available in massive variety online for anyone to share and absorb. Eclecticism is a fun practice because it's essentially the practice of abandoning prejudices. When you realize you can appreciate variety rather than (for example) only listening to rock music or only reading mystery novels, the possibilities are endless. Here are some more convincing reasons to cultivate an attitude of cultural eclecticism.

It's natural.
We weren't born destined to remain on one singular track and only enjoy the parts of culture deemed acceptable by our prejudices. Every genre of music exists, experiment with variation. The same goes for any type of culture or media. Food, clothes... You'd be surprised what you'll find pleasing if you give it a try.

It's more interesting.
What's more boring than someone saying, "I only like italian food," or, "I only read non-fiction." These are self-imposed limits that are excuses for people to lead predictable, comfortable, uninteresting lives. Be adventurous and experience as much of the world as you can in the best ways you know how.

You'll learn more.
If you transcend the boundaries of culture, you'll simply be more well-adapted than those who don't. If you appreciate both rap and country music, for example, you can carry on interesting conversations with both rap fans and country fans, wheras people who are exclusionary or opinionated about taste put limits on what they can learn and absorb.

You'll free yourself from traditional attachments.
There was a time where teachers get arrested for allowing kids to read what are now considered pretty mild books. There was a time where people were ostracized and kids kicked out of their houses for listening to 'satanic' rock and metal music. As a free-thinking person, you owe it to yourself to always be on the lookout for ways to expand your cultural horizons. Help others do the same.

You'll live more unexpectedly.
I like to DJ informally at parties occasionally. I usually get a pretty good response from people because I have eclectic music taste; I'd like to think I've found the cream of the crop from a variety of genres rather than just focusing on one or two. My DJ playlist is subsequently eclectic but not displeasing. It's simply a variety of enjoyable songs without genre discrimination. 'Variety is the spice of life' is about as cliche as cliches get, but it's true. I'd argue that the only difference is that, while you can over-spice food, you can never have too much variety. Enjoy it.

Exercise as Meditation

2012-05-08T15:04:00.001-04:00

There are many parallels between exercise and meditation. As a simple first, we can say they are both generally beneficial to both your physical and mental health levels. Ideally, they should both be activities you partake in daily. They are examples of the types of habits you want to get hooked on.

More importantly, though, exercise can serve a meditative purpose. The simple acts of lifting and releasing, running, and even stretching are introspective and focus the mind. Yoga is meditation plus stretching. You can add meditation to your exercise routines simply by staying mindful of your movements.

Treat each rep as a breath. I like to lift and breathe out, and then release and breathe in. When I'm running, I count breaths as I run. Try what works for you. People have been experimenting with meditation techniques for thousands of years. The key is to meditate, not to focus on regimented meditation methods that can take all the relaxation out of the process.

An added benefit is the psychological 'zone' you reach, so to speak, by meditatively counting through your workout. Psychological commitment is a huge part of exercise, and mindfully working through each breath will help you achieve more powerful and energetic results in your workouts.

When you stretch, count your breathing as you hold each stretch to 10 or 20. I like to treat each step I take in the gym as a deliberate part of a cycle and be mindful of every movement I make. This is just fun for me; you can find what works for you and apply it to your workout schedule. The key, as discussed last week, is consistency.

Create Your Own Religion

2012-05-03T14:58:00.004-04:00

Religion is silly. When I say this, I mean not to offend. Instead, I want to point out the simple fact that religious doctrine often objectifies large groups of us and makes the assumption that we are all similar. If history has taught us anything, it's that the idea of 'truth' has many inconsistencies and there is no one 'truth' for everyone. We each have our upbringings, cultural backgrounds, and proposed ideologies. Cultures are bound to clash.

And, chances are, a major massive religion is unlikely to work as effectively as millions of individualized ones. I'm not bashing religion; I think many religion principles are beautiful and can bring people together. Jesus Christ is a remarkable figure and should be looked up to, as should Buddha and Moses (among others). We can live inspired by these figures without having to label ourselves this or that. On that note, I implore you to create your own religion.

What is your God?
At the acknowledged risk of sounding downright narcissistic, I'm going to divulge that my God is myself. I was not brought up in a religious atmosphere, and I see no possible way to help others if I cannot learn to treat myself well first. Appreciating your own worth allows you to appreciate the worth of the individuals around you, rather than viewing people as 'the masses' or labeling them based on ideology. I aim to build character in myself so I can promote it to others and help people find their own purposes and bliss, so to speak. Think about your life's patterns-- what's the figure or inspiration you've come back to time and time again? What's your anchor?
If it indeed the omnipotent figure of God 'himself', then that is your God. If it's George Clooney, then it's George Clooney. You could worship a childhood mentor, a prominent public figure-- the possibilities are endless. But probe deeply within yourself to find what type of figure means the most to you. Make it a goal not to idolize this figure but to embody the values that work for you and make them your own.

What are your precepts?
These are simply your core values. How do you think the world works? What is your view of humanity? What do you see as the most virtuous thing one can do with ones life? Write these things down and start to outline an ideology for yourself. Steal ideas. Draw from old religions, subcultures, artists, writers, filmmakers-- I love making compilations of quotes from people who inspire me to help me better define my 'precepts'. I don't think we can ever perfectly pin down our core values, but it's a noble thing to attempt. If an idea works for you and allows you to productively live healthily and contribute valuable ideas and products to the world, stick with it. Experiment.

What are your rituals?
These are the activities you derive the most satisfaction and meaning from, both personally and communally. I don't have prayer; I have meditation. I don't have Sunday service; I have community service and my writing here on this site. If you volunteer somewhere, make it a ritual. If you enjoy buying a friend coffee, playing music or giving a dollar to a homeless guy, make it a ritual. I wrote earlier in the week about how important consistency is. Find what you do consistently and positively; pattern your life according to these activities.

These are just the big three-- God, precepts and rituals. There's certainly more; if you like this whole idea of creating a personalized religious doctrine for yourself, take it a step further and keep developing your ideas. More importantly, keep reading about philosophy, psychology, religion and self-improvement. Your worldview can only be expanded by good reading. Thanks for reading this.

The Value of Consistency

2012-05-01T13:42:00.001-04:00

"We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." -Aristotle

You are your habits.

The things you do repeatedly define who you are. The key is repetition. We live in a culture that promotes instant gratification and the ephemerality of fads. Every month it seems there's a new product, brand or app in style. Your individuality and integrity comes from transcending these shallow fads and developing long-term habits that will allow you to better understand yourself.

Habits are essentially patterns. If you've been biting your nails during every bout of anxiety you've had since you were a little kid, such a pattern is likely to continue until you decide to put a stop to it. If you smoke, overdrink, overeat, or curse too much, these habits will only persist as patterns until you make the conscious decision to override them.

This is why consistency is so important. Just as consistently bad habits are harmful, consistently good habits are remarkably beneficial. Exercising every day or every other day, eating something healthy with every meal and drinking water instead of processed drinks or booze are only a few positive habits that you should want to turn into long-term patterns in your life.

If you've realized you have many bad habits and just few good ones, you're likely overwhelmed and don't know where to start. Make incremental changes. Eat healthy, but have a few cheat days. Eventually, whittle down to one cheat day. Eventually, with conscious effort on your part, you'll eat healthily and not even want to have a cheat day. If you smoke, cut down your daily consumption by one cigarette per week or something along those lines. Stay consistent and you'll turn from a pack-a-day fiend to a non-smoker in less than 6 months.

I hate to say it all comes down to willpower, but it does. You are in control of the patterns of your behavior, and I implore you to take charge and assert positive habits over negative ones. It's difficult to get rid of the indulgences and decadence that bad habits often consist of, but you'll do it in time and look back proudly at your process of transformation. I've done it a few times, and I hope to continue on that path. Best of luck.

4 Ways to Stay Interested

2012-04-26T12:11:00.002-04:00

Much of the fatigue of modern life comes from repeating the same activities seemingly endlessly. We spend the week working, the weekend playing (or also working), and repeat. We eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, then repeat. Sometimes these cycles go on for years before we realize we're on autopilot. The following are simple practices to ensure you won't become an automaton and can appreciate life fully regardless of your work/play ratio.

Talk
Talk to random people, say things you might usually hold back. It may result in awkward situations, but these are great experiences. They're memorable. It's easy to fall into tedious conversation habits like over-asserting your opinions, stumbling on what to say next and worrying about the receiving party judging you. To reverse these habits, talk to strangers, make bad jokes, speak freely. Make mistakes when it doesn't matter and learn from them for when it does. Actively practice talking and you'll find conversation less of a chore and more of a hobby.

Explore
I like to go with a friend to Brooklyn or Queens and take pictures of graffiti on old abandoned warehouses, or find a cool burrito place. Exercise your freedom of transportation. We often take for granted the fact that at this point in history it's remarkably easy to travel. Plane tickets are expensive, but even a train ride to a distant city or a bike ride to a strange new part of the city you already live in can be simple but exhilarating opportunities to appreciate your surroundings.

Write
The repetition of most of our experiences leads to the phenomenon of years flying by in what feels like months. One way to preserve the integrity of your time is to write about it. Keep a journal or start a blog. In time, your writings will compound and you can reflect realistically rather than just relying on memory. Not to mention, you'll become a better writer. There's something rewarding about stockpiling ideas. I try to write a two to three pages of this stuff a week; that's 100-150 pages of writing a year. If you felt like writing a novel, a few pages a week for a year or two isn't too bad of a prospect.

Dance
I don't want to come across as lame and corny, but move around a bit. Blast music in the car, get songs stuck in your head, walk with a spring in your step. Just subtle enough to not be self-conscious and just obvious enough to feel refreshing and exciting. I walk past people in the city who walk depressingly and look like they've been hit by trucks. They clearly haven't all been hit by trucks. If society drags people down so much that they can't walk with purpose or dance a bit, be the counterexample to that. Enjoy yourself, that might as well be all we're here for.

A Short Guide to Optimism

2012-04-24T12:24:00.002-04:00

People say optimism isn't realistic. You know why? Because it's not. But stark realism has never done any good for individuals striving for happiness. Ernest Hemingway said, "Intelligence in happy people is the rarest thing I know." Hemingway was a great writer, but according to his friends and family he was an unrelenting jerk. In this case, I'd argue for abandoning that sort-of level of intelligence for the sake of happiness. There's no need to overanalyze every part of your life intellectually; it'll just make you neurotic and miserable.

Instead, be a little more stubborn. Value intellectualism, but don't intellectualize everything. Be optimistic even if it seems unrealistic or naive. Historically, very few monumental goals have been achieved without a certain level of stubbornness. Don't overthink, just think positively and do.

Go outside of your comfort zone.
Much of our negative thinking comes from self-imposed ideas of negative consequences. We think about a situation and say, "I bet this could go horribly wrong... How?" And then proceed to list the ways. This is no way to live. Envision good outcomes-- you might as well. Then, you'll fear fewer situations and be able to step outside your realm of experience more often.

Throw yourself into your pursuits.
If you're going to do something, there's absolutely no point in half-assing it. I realize the irony in saying this as I post twice-a-week on a blog titled The Daily Zen, but take it as advice. If you wholly commit yourself to what you want to do, you'll learn and accomplish more. Pretty simple.

Don't overthink it.
Just do things. Don't act impulsively, but don't overthink actions you know you have to do eventually. There's no failure worse than the failure to try. Procrastination comes from overthinking. Stumbling in an interview comes from overthinking. Don't overanalyze every situation and you'll find yourself acting more naturally and productively.

Just smile, dammit.
Even if you're completely miserable, if you can manage to muster up an honest smile, you'll help other people be less miserable. There's no downside to smiling, especially at strangers. What do you have to lose? Your outward projection of optimism will affect you positively in time.

Don't make comparisons.
There's no better way to achieve pessimism than to compare yourself to all the people you see on the street. "Look at how expensive her clothes are." "Look at how nice that dude's hair is." This is a purposeless and emotionally draining thought process. Appreciate yourself and be an egomaniac for a few minutes a day. Thinking positively and acting productively starts with enjoying your own company and not comparing yourself to anyone else.

5 Activities to Slow Down

2012-04-19T13:23:00.000-04:00

Modern life moves too fast. Great moments are here and then they're gone, often before we have the chance to reflect on them. Here are some basic activities you likely do every day (in some form) that are worth slowing down.

Breathing
We move too fast culturally and our breathing speeds up as a result. We're told to be constantly busy and always on-the-move. You can be productive and still be calm. Practice regulating your breathing in stressful situations and you'll find an increased ability to deal with them rather than the anxiety produced by improper breathing. Meditation is a great way to learn to regulate breathing.

Eating
When was the last time you sat with a meal-- with no distractions-- and really enjoyed it? I often find myself reading or people-watching while eating. These are fun activities but they detract from the act of eating itself. Not only does this hurt the quality of whatever you're eating-- it also leads to overeating. Practice eating deliberately and slowly and absorbing all the smells and tastes of your food. You'll enjoy it more and eat the right amount rather than mindlessly continuing to eat after you're full.

Exercise
Recently, I learned the value of practicing proper form with weightlifting rather than trying to get the maximum number of repetitions. Eight concentrated, controlled, slow reps will build muscle more effectively than fifteen rushed, sloppy reps. If you lift, practice a 5-second release on each rep. In other words, lift, and then give yourself five seconds to slowly return to starting position and then do the next rep.
This resistance is more effective than rapidly lifting and dropping. If you run, meditate while you run. This way, you won't constantly be thinking about finishing and can focus on interim goals without becoming daunted by the idea of running a certain number of miles in a certain amount of time.

Reading
In 21st-century America, we're seeing less and less of an emphasis on the value of intellectualism. My high-schooler sister was recently assigned a 200-page book and given a month to read it. I recall being in the same situation in high school; kids would be given a month to read a book that should take a few hours, not read it, and then frantically read a page-long summary the day before it was due. The experience of reading a book shouldn't be about what we're taught in school. The point is not to know what happened-- it's to respond emotionally and philosophically to the plot, characters and dialogue.
A good novel transforms your worldview and informs the decisions you make in your daily life, both conscious and unconscious. Savor each page rather than trying to blaze through the book like it's some sort of competition. Some books are meant to be skimmed (often textbooks, interestingly enough), but if you're reading a classic try to really enjoy it rather than focusing on the goal of being done with it.

Conversation
I was sitting in the park the other day, and I heard a couple talking. Their conversation followed a pattern. The woman would ask a quick question, and the man would nervously give an excessively long response, spoken so quickly it was difficult to keep track of his thought process. Texting, tweeting and facebook messaging are amazing tools but have handicapped our personal discussions.
In a conversation, you don't have an hour to think of a response before actually responding. Your subsequent response isn't natural, and feels forced. Try to take a relaxed approach to conversation. Really hear the other person, pause a sec, and respond naturally without trying to formulate some sort of fancy long-form retort. You'll appreciate the other person's words more and speak with a quality of honesty and integrity.

Meditating in Public

2012-04-16T16:23:00.000-04:00

Those of you who meditate likely practice in private. The recommended location for meditation is one where you're isolated and free from the noise and distractions of the outside world. This is valuable and should be the primary condition of your practice, but there's a certain point you get to with meditation where it becomes fun to spice things up a bit and experiment.

I've recently experimented with meditating in public. Not in a weird way that makes it obvious, or in a show-offy way, but as an exercise for myself. If I'm on the subway alone for ten or twenty minutes, I meditate. If I'm sitting in the park in the sun, I meditate. Even walking, I occasionally meditate (preferably not while crossing the street).

Here are the main reasons I think it's a good idea to try meditating in public:

You can take full advantage of appreciating your surroundings.
You can integrate your practice with real-world experience.
You'll practice find centeredness and mindfulness within chaos.

When we meditate alone, and do it for a long time over many days, months, years, etc, the effect of silent contemplation and 'letting go' of thoughts carries over into daily life. But, if you meditate as part of your experience in daily life, you'll experience the benefits immediately. I find the subway claustophobic and surreal-- meditating on the subway thus gives me an added level of calmness I might not have achieved if I just stood there and people watched.

4 Reasons to Get Uncomfortable

2012-04-12T11:59:00.000-04:00

We live in a culture of comfort. The classic stereotype of the lazy American is the fat guy sprawled out on the couch in his boxers with a beer and a box of pizza, munching away as brain cells disintegrate along to some sort of awful television show. We're taught by advertising how important it is to feel comfortable all the time. Because of this, many people seek instant gratification rather than long-term satisfaction.

In reality, most potentially rewarding situations are uncomfortable. First encounters in relationships, job interviews, talking to your kids about sex and drugs-- these are awkward, uncomfortable conversations. These are some reasons why you should 'embrace the awkward', and will help you reap both the emotional and material rewards of those situations.

Horizons
In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury writes, "We dread the unfamiliar." We fear experiences and interactions that fall outside of our deeply-engrained boundaries of comfort. Step outside these boundaries, and you'll find yourself entrenched in enlightening new situations that will broaden your worldview.

Comfort
Put yourself in uncomfortable situations often enough, and you'll find yourself unfazed by what you once found awkward or 'risky'. Learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, and the whole concept of discomfort disappears. It's a valuable skill to build, because most situations are uncomfortable in some way or another.

Confidence
If you don't fear discomfort or awkward encounters, you likely won't fear the people you see as the sources of these encounters. Realize there's no use in making yourself uncomfortable about other people judging you; they're likely fearing the same thing about you. Walk and speak with confidence and, if you have faith in yourself, other people will follow along. This comes from practicing being in uncomfortable situations so you can stop worrying about them and just enjoy yourself.

Mindfulness
Like fear, good, evil, and beauty, discomfort is merely a construct of the mind. It's a rational thought we've developed over time in response to our surroundings, especially when they don't meet our expectations or feel starkly unfamiliar. Realizing there's nothing wrong with potentially 'uncomfortable' situations is key, because there really isn't. You can only be uncomfortable if you allow yourself to be-- the first step is getting used to discomfort. After that, you can embrace it and watch it dwindle away.

7 Reasons to Keep a Dream Journal

2012-04-10T13:22:00.004-04:00

I've been keeping a dream journal for the greater part of the last six months. I now have a moleskine notebook almost filled to the brim with scribblings, pictures and writings, some of which I can understand, but all of which is fascinating to me.

I write dream recollections down in my sleep and review them the next night prior to sleep, so as to put the idea of dreaming in my head and hopefully remember more dreams. It's worked. I now remember tons of dreams and I think my life has improved because of it. You might enjoy trying this experiment too; it's both fun and enlightening and really has no negative side-effects as far as I can tell.

Recall
Start writing your dreams down, and you'll find your ability to remember dreams steadily increasing. We have numerous dreams during each REM cycle, but forget most of them due to the fact that we're sleeping. When you start writing your dreams down upon waking, you'll begin to remember more and more.

Experience
This has been debated by psychologists for decades since there's no way to come up with a concrete answer, but I'm of the opinion that dreams are experiences. Our memories are the accumulation of a lifetime's worth of experiences. Remembered dreams become experiences; therefore, dreams are experiential. I like the idea of having extra experiences while I sleep.

Fun
The other night I dreamt I was an explorer on an expedition in some sort of bizarre desert filled with these ornate ancient sculptures and structures. It was ridiculously cool, and I wrote it down. I can now look back on that dream as being enjoyable. When I had it, I felt quite positive and was enthralled with the idea of exploring such an interesting place. The more dreams you write down, the more you remember, and the more potential you create for memories of fun dreams.

Subconsciousness
Freud believed dreams were expressions of wish-fulfillment, or that we dreamed about things we subconsciously wished would happen. Carl Jung believed some dreams were embodiments of a 'collective unconscious', reflecting all of humanity's cumulative knowledge. These are intriguing theories, but they're merely theoretical.

There are few concrete facts concerning the purpose of dreams, but it's generally accepted that they aid the subconscious in processing thoughts as we sleep. The brain, like any other organ, continues working as we sleep. It needs something to do; dreaming is a reflection of your brain's creative activity as you slumber. Appreciate it by keeping track of this activity rather than just forgetting about it.

Decision-making
If, like Freud said, dreams are expressions of wish-fulfillment, we could say they might aid us in making decisions. The old saying, "Maybe you should sleep on it," is reflective of this. If you can remember a dream you have that's pertinent to a current dilemma you're facing in your life, it could help you figure out a solution.

Fear-conquering
Similarly, if you start remembering more dreams, you'll approach them with a less naive attitude. Since I began keeping my dream journal, I've found nightmares to be more amusing. I used to occasionally wake up in a cold sweat, knowing I had a nightmare but not knowing what it was, just feeling horrified. Now, I remember my nightmares and can reflect on them instead of repressing them.

Creativity
The entire Surrealist movement in art was a direct response to Sigmund Freud and his dream theories. Salvador Dali made paintings and films based on his dreams. Dreams are artistic experiences; they are examples of the mind in its unbridled, uninhibited creative state. Most of the time, you can't regulate your own dreams. They just happen, and you reflect on them after. Keep a dream journal, and see if it can inform some sort of creative activity, whether it be writing, painting, music, or filmmaking.

6 Reasons to Care Less

2012-04-04T15:17:00.000-04:00

Certain aspects of our lives require special care and attention. For me, these areas are fitness, diet, friends/family, music and academia. For you, they may be entirely different. Whatever your core values may be, they are appropriate to care about; we need to have certain attachments in order to make life feel meaningful.

But, outside of that realm, much of what we care about merely wastes energy. We devote attention to buying superfluous items, searching for chemical antidotes to our problems, and others judging us. These are not worth caring about, so, to be blunt: stop caring about them.

You'll have more energy to think about what matters.
In simple terms, if you walk down the street making eye contact with every stranger you see worrying about what they think of you, you'll miss out on all the enjoyable opportunities walking down the street can provide. You won't notice the warm sun, a cool dog, or a new shop you want to check out. Give up on negative caring.

You'll appreciate your surroundings more.
Again, if you're not transfixed on attachments to what you should/shouldn't be doing in a given situation, it'll be a weigh off your mind. It will certainly free up some of your attention.

You'll be able to focus on necessities.
Needless caring can grow abstract to a point where it impedes upon our daily functioning. It's how people end up working at jobs they can't stand, settling for the wrong relationship or going into debt buying expensive designer clothes. When you care about what really matters to you, and no one else, you'll have more control over how you organize your life.

You grow more outcome-independent.
Caring less about a select few things could positively carry over into other facets of your life. Outcome-independence means not being attached to how things turn out. Many of the situations we worry about are out of our control.

Goodbye anxiety.
If much of our anxiety stems from the uncontrollable, why suffer over it? Less caring = less anxiety.

Hello charisma.
There's a reason musicians, artists and writers are often more charismatic than accountants, car salesmen and teachers: many times, they've sacrificed a conventional lifestyle for the sake of doing what they care about rather than what society expects of them.

This fosters a natural air of relaxation or carelessness. Obviously there are exceptions, but the point is this:

when you stop worrying about what other people think of you or if you're conforming to institutional standards, you'll become a more interesting person-- not only to others, but also to yourself.

The Importance of Moderation

2012-04-02T15:02:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately, humanity has been granted the major psychological obstacle of craving. When a little kid takes a bite of a piece of cake, he may be overheard saying, "Mom! I want to eat the whole cake! I could eat 5 cakes!" We equate temporary pleasure with prolonged enjoyment, and think that the constant replication of a fun activity will make life more fun.

But this isn't really the case. Think of the things you don't do in moderation. Most of us work in excess, sleep in excess, spend time commuting in excess... These are often not enjoyable activities; they eat up most of our waking time. I know I personally spend far fewer hours in the week eating cake than I do working. If I ate cake for many hours a day, it'd lose its appeal.

Habit is powerful, and novelty is fun. The key to living a mindful, meaningful life is in finding the self-control and moderation to keep healthy habits, all-the-while preventing novelty from becoming habit. The process of letting novelty become habit is what advances the cute kid with a sweet-tooth into an obese overeater, the 'social smoker' into a pack-a-day nervous wreck, and the enthusiastic college partier into a mid-life alcoholic.

If human history has taught us anything, one could conclude that complete abstinence from anything (with the exception of incredibly destructive habits like hard drugs or violence) is unnatural. Just as you shouldn't go through life as a sex addict, an alcoholic, or an overeater, you shouldn't go through life as a celibate, vegan teetotaler.

There's a middle ground to every habit. The key is finding novelties that aren't prone to turn into grinding, unhealthy habits. Find novelty in reading books, hiking, taking photographs, lifting weights or writing down your thoughts. Those things are less likely to turn into harmful habits than drinking, smoking, or mindless sex.

By the same token, moderation is similarly applicable to your thoughts. When people stop moderating their thoughts (usually the result of lapses in mindfulness and the tempting draw of the crowd mentality), we historically find racism, bigotry and general unpleasantness as a result. We all know that guy who takes political debates too far and spoils the discussion. No one wants to be that guy.

So, I implore you to examine your habits, thoughts and deeds. Have you consciously been moderating yourself? Meditation is a great way to cultivate mindfulness. Keeping logs of what you eat, drink, and imbibe is a similarly useful exercise. I've found meditation to have built my willpower to a point where I can enjoy my healthy habits without completely refraining from indulging in 'novelties' every once in a while.

Remember:
be a master of mind, rather than mastered by mind.

3 Appropriate Responses to Fear

2012-03-29T14:50:00.001-04:00

“Courage is resistance to fear; mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” ~ Mark Twain

Fear is a universal human emotion, but there's no reason for it to feel universally paralyzing. Naturally, some of us are more fearful than others. Fear and anxiety have a complex relationship and often play off of one another. But we can't forget that, like anxiety, fear is simply an emotional construct of the mind. It's all in your head. And, while you have plenty of reasons to be fearful should you find yourself standing face-to-face with a lion, most of the outcomes you stake fear on in your life are merely wastes of energy.

Rather than letting fear get the best of you, try to cultivate an attitude towards fearful feelings that leads to these reactions:

Curiosity
Examining why you feel the need to internalize fear about something often results in a loss of fear. Afraid to talk to someone? Why? You fear their response? Why do you fear their response? You can continue along a path like this until you find a flaw in your original thought process and you can proceed with confidence in the direction of what you truly feel and want, not what you think is safe and secure.

Openness
The old quote, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself," plays into this. Mostly, what we're scared of is being scared. We tend to feel fearful when we think we should, rather than when a true threat presents itself. This status-quo in relation to fear has produced a world filled with generally very anxious people-- massive worldwide levels of abuse and overuse of prescription drugs attests to this fact. Approach fear not with a conditioned attitude of stigma, but instead with open-mindedness. You'll be surprised how fast your anxiety will diminish.

Intensity

If these steps have failed, and you find yourself genuinely scared of something for concrete, valid reasons, it's likely worth being intensely fearful of. When you eliminate the fear of non-life-threatening day-to-day situations, what's left are likely a few primal sources of genuine fear. Death, hatred, mindlessness-- these are things to be genuinely fearful of. Don't fear them with pessimism, but detest them to a point where you can cultivate their opposites: optimism, compassion, mindfulness. Fear can be harmful, but if you aggressively approach the qualities you wish to keep away, you'll find the motivation to improve yourself and keep those negative qualities away.

7 Reasons to Go Outside

2012-03-27T13:25:00.000-04:00

Nature eludes us plenty these days. Even in reading how to improve yourself, you're likely spending time holed up in a room or an office in front of a little screen. I admit, I spend a remarkable amount of time in front of this screen. The glow of LCD and plasma displays determine much of how our lives function nowadays-- or so we think.
The stock market flashes on a huge LED screen. Much of our communication with others is done, hunched over, alone in front of a computer. This isn't always a bad thing, but it certainly detracts from the natural beauty that surrounds us and doesn't cost $100 a month or come with advertisements.

Stillness
Outside, many things are huge and out of your control. The world is vast, and many natural processes occur slowly and steadily. If you pay attention to them, it's quite relaxing. There's a reason humans have been enchanted by the prospects of staring at the stars, the clouds, and the mountains. In an age when we're governed by erratic systems and our thoughts often feel jumbled, the strength of a mountain, an ocean, or a huge tree is both comforting and humbling.

Chaos
On the other end of the spectrum, sometimes nature moves very quickly. I was in the park the other day and saw squirrels fighting/playing. It was surprisingly entertaining. Just as you can rely on nature for its consistency and strength, you can rely on it for its spontaneity.

Light
There's something to be said for natural light. We spend much of our days-- at least those of us who haven't been so lucky as to escape the weekly grind of school and/or work-- under a cover of fake florescent light. It's bright, unfading, and soul-crushing, in my opinion. Going outside is a beautiful escape from florescent light. Natural light is either soft and ambient, or bright, sunny and re-energizing. I prefer a foggy, crappy-weather day to any day spent under florescent tubes.

Ambient sound
Like lighting, artificial human sounds are abrasive and irritating. Phones ringing, people talking with their stressed-out, tense or whiny voices. Car horns. The list goes on. Outside, in truely natural settings, there's the soft rustling of the leaves in the wind, or the regularity of the waves crashing on the shore constantly throughout the day. I prefer those sounds.

Air
Just as many indoor atmospheres breed artificial light and sound, they can also be detrimental to the quality of our primary sustaining life-force: air. Instead of being emitted from the trees and blowing around freely, oxygen is pumped into buildings from oft-polluted areas and filtered before being sent through dusty vents. Step outside for a breath of fresh air, and you'll often feel shocked by the change in quality.

Solitude
To be frank, it just feels good to get away sometimes. It's a wonderful skill to learn to rely on yourself as your primary source of contentment. Once you have that covered, you can deal with other people on a higher level, uninhibited by anxiety or judgement. Nature is a great place to cultivate a feeling of satisfaction with yourself.

Awe
Nature is sublime. It can evoke in us feelings of extreme humbleness and awe. It's a reminder of how simultaneously insignificant and valuable we are as individuals. Appreciate it.

5 Ways to Do the Right Thing

2012-03-23T13:38:00.002-04:00

I realize the irony in writing about doing the 'right' thing on a blog about Zen, where we're supposed to abandon notions of good and bad. But, despite Zen's lack of dualism, it's still of the utmost importance to be compassionate and make decisions mindfully. Here are some thoughts...

Empathize

Put yourself in the other person's shoes. Were you in their position, how would you feel about your various potential reactions to the situation? What would you respect the other person for saying? Decision-making is an egotistical process, naturally, so we tend to forget to empathize. It's actually one of the best ways to figure out what to do if you're in some sort of moral quandary.

Step back.

Anxiety makes just about everything more difficult. Let's say you have a simple task, like pouring a glass of water. The more anxious you are, the harder it is to pour-- your hand shakes, you can't focus, and you spill the water. Anything else is really just a larger scale of something like that. If you get too worked up about a given decision, you'll be mentally shaky and find yourself losing sight of the true simplicity of it all.

Drop conventions.

Pop morality is in a bad place in 2012. TV shows, message boards, texting... I know in my generation, many old-school core values have been subverted into more cynical, detached versions of themselves. I imagine it's harder for two 20-year-olds to have a dead-serious conversation now than it was a hundred years ago. If you have to make an important decision, forget about the BS that's been shouted into your ear for so-many-odd years about how to behave. You have an inborn sense of morality, and should act from that impulse. Give yourself some time and you'll figure out the right thing to do.

Talk it over.

Talk to someone else. There's a reason therapy is so popular-- it is an outlet for you to voice your thoughts. Bouncing ideas off someone else not only allows you to fill the gaps in your own reasoning; if you're pleasant about it, it's actually enjoyable for the other person too. I enjoy going on walks with friends and sharing our problems with one another. Hearing someone else's woes allows you to help them and take your mind off of yours. It's completely mutually beneficial.

Realize the value of mistakes.

Face it: there's a chance you'll make the 'wrong' decision. You can't be certain of anything, and no outcome is set-in-stone after you choose to act. Realizing this prior to making a decision takes some of the pressure off. You should not act carelessly, but instead be careful with the realization that no one has a godly ability to make perfect decisions. You're doing the best you can. Best case scenario, you do the right thing. Worst case, you do the wrong thing accidentally and learn something you'd have to learn eventually regardless.

6 Lessons I've Learned From Exercise

2012-03-21T15:04:00.002-04:00

There are endless reasons to exercise. There are DVDs you can buy telling you how to look 'hot' and get a 'beach bod' or 'six pack abs' in an hour or two hours or whatever. This is yet another reason to despise modern mainstream consumer culture-- we're told to exercise for all the wrong reasons.

Exercise isn't something you do to look good or to compensate for overindulging in junk food. It's something you should do because it's an essential human activity. The extent to which I exercise is the extent to which I feel primally human. Pushing your body is, basic as it seems, a Zen experience in both mindfulness and non-attachment. Here are 7 invaluable lessons the gym has taught me.

Change comes incrementally.
Even olympic track runners and professional bodybuilders show up to the gym every day, warm up, set daily goals, and pace themselves. The key with exercise is continuity. Try to go to run/walk outside or go to the gym 3 times a week; don't go nuts or obsess every visit, just keep going consistently. Over time, you'll build the motivation to work on a specialized program and hit your fitness goals.

You are in control.
There's probably no one yelling at you to exercise. It's a willpower thing, and if you don't want to do it, you have to decide if you have enough self-control to get up and go work out. The biggest bump, for me, was in the first few months. I had trouble finding a reason to convince myself to go. Then I got hooked; now, I can't imagine not wanting to go to the gym. I see it as a reward.

Health feels good.
Chugging down water, eating a post-workout meal and waking up with sore muscles feels fantastic. It's an animalistic appreciation and recognition of the body. Your body image will improve. Your posture will improve. With these things comes confidence. With confidence comes lowered anxiety. With lowered anxiety comes a more here-and-now affirmative attitude towards life in general.

The present feels good.
When you're running a marathon, or bench pressing, there's nothing but right now. You have to put one foot in front of the other, and you have to push the bar back up. Every other thought or problem flies right out the window. You'll find this is a remarkably efficient way to clear your head and strive towards more constant mindfulness.

Everyone's mostly just concerned with their own stuff.
This is more specifically for people who work out in a weight room, but it goes for any work-out situation, really. At our core, we're selfish animals. We perceive the world from the perspective of the ego, so naturally, most thoughts are self-centered to varying degrees.

The gym is a great reminder that the vast majority of people are more preoccupied with themselves than they are with you. There's no point in fearing looking fat, weak, or exhausted-- no one cares. You have a responsibility to yourself, and no one else, to take care of yourself. This is mostly because you're the one reaping the thousands of benefits of taking care of yourself.

It was meant to be.
Humans are supposed to exercise. Just do it and don't overthink. It also doesn't matter how out of shape you are. If it means running a mile today, run a mile today. If it means just walking half mile today, walk a half mile today. Take baby steps and don't think too far ahead into the future or get discouraged.