Tag: Miloism

Simpler, Fewer, Better

On By kennythefisherIn Art of Living, Miloism, Personal MasteryLeave a comment

“The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” ~ Socrates

“Less is more” – three simple words of wisdom worth living by.  They underpin Minimalism, a movement which first began in art, and subsequently influenced many domains including product design, home design, and way of living.

More recently, Marie Kondo has taken the simple idea of “What sparks joy?” from decluttering homes to decluttering businesses and life – inspiring many to simplify their lives.

Consider apply the following questions to the various aspects of life, including possessions, relationships, clients, personal goals, pet projects, etc.

  1. Simpler – What is essential? What is non-essential?
  2. Fewer – What to keep? What to discard?
  3. Better – How to improve, make the best use of, or enjoy what is left?

“Voluntary simplicity means going fewer places in one day rather than more, seeing less so I can see more, doing less so I can do more, acquiring less so I can have more.” ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are

Must, Should, and Could

On By kennythefisherIn Art of Living, Miloism, Personal MasteryLeave a comment

“So much to do, so little time.” Sounds familiar?

Although the number of hours in a day is finite, time actually flows infinitely from one moment to another. Each day, we are bestowed with another gift of 24 hours – a gift that we often take for granted whilst being caught up with the busyness of our daily lives.

“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.”~ Seneca

Seneca reminded us of the importance of not wasting this precious gift. It’s helpful to begin by examining how we live an ordinary day, as how we live each day is how we live our lives. Our days are typically occupied by doing things to take care of our concerns – both major and minor. Make breakfast, finish a proposal, call a client, attend to a crisis at work, consult the dentist, pay utility bills, pick up kids from school, chair a board meeting, meditate, call mum, take a walk with spouse, exercise, etc.

But not all tasks are created equal. Some tasks matter more than others. Some are urgent, and some are not. And not all of them need to be completed on the same day. Distinguishing the importance and urgency of each task is vital, as Eisenhower has discovered. The urgent is often mistaken as important. Consider three categories of activities that will occupy your day.

  1. Must do – important and urgent tasks, that if not completed, will have severe undesirable consequences. Strive to do them all today so that we take care of our major concerns daily.
  2. Should do – important but not urgent tasks, that should be done today if possible or scheduled for another day, before they become urgent. Strive to do as many as possible today.
  3. Could do – unimportant tasks, that even if not completed today, will not have any severe undesirable consequences. Do them if you have time to spare, especially the urgent ones. If they are neither important nor urgent, it’s probably OK to leave them undone.

According to Tim Ferris, “lack of time is actually lack of priorities.” Perhaps the first ‘must do’ is to make time to sort out what we must do, should do, and could do, followed by channeling our attention and energy accordingly.

Results, Reasons, and Actions

On By kennythefisherIn Art of Living, Miloism, Personal Mastery, Personal MotivationLeave a comment

In life, we get either the results we want, or reasons for not getting them.

Reasons make us look good. They make us feel better, right, or less guilty. 

“I didn’t’ get this or that because … It’s not my fault.”

However, no amount of explanation, justification, or excuses will change the fact that we didn’t get the results we want – be it losing weight, having a loving relationship, or winning a new business deal.

To get results, we need to get off the reasons, and get on with taking new actions that will bring forth the desired outcome. 

Only actions will transform reality.

Past, Present, and Future

On By kennythefisherIn Miloism, Personal MasteryLeave a comment

Time is not a thing, thus nothing which is, and yet it remains constant in its passing away without being something temporal like the beings in time.” ~ Martin Heidegger

Time is not a thing we can grasp or manage. It cannot be stopped or stored. We can only live in it – moment by moment. 

The past has already happened and is unchangeable. It remains in our memories and recollections. The future has yet to happen and hence, remains uncertain. The present is all we can experience – right here, right now. 

It is common to think that our present is shaped by our past, and similarly, our future will be shaped by our present.  However, consider these propositions by Werner Erhard, founder of est:-

  1. The past has nothing to do with who you are in the present.
  2. Who you are in the present is given by the future into which you are living.
  3. If it is true that the future into which you are living gives you being and action in the present, and if you put the past into the future, it will appear as though who you are in the present is given by the past.

Erhard is a friend of Richard Feynman, whose quote was the only one that remained on Feynman’s blackboard when he died. The quote was: “There are certain things you can only know by creating them for yourself.”  He is inviting us to try on the idea that our being and action in the present is given by the future into which we are living rather than coming from the past.  So, if we stop projecting our past into the future, the future is simply a field of possibilities, unconstrained by our past. 

When we create a new future for ourselves, our current circumstances don’t change.  They are still the same as before, but we are now put onto a different trajectory that is unfolding toward the future into which we are living. 

Q: What is the future you are living into?

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”  ~ Soren Kierkegaard