Impressions & Takeaways
I’ve always wanted to adopt a Zen-inducing practice, be it meditation, tai chi, or even Buddhism itself. But I could never get into most of it. I actually really liked tai chi but finding a class or group to join for it was proving to be difficult. Meditation hasn’t been easy for me and my staunch atheism keeps me from fully embracing Buddhism.
Somehow I stumbled upon this book and I’m glad I did. It feels like a good balance of mindfulness and science. It lacks the spiritual or religious elements of most meditation guides, which I appreciate.
The biggest takeaway for me is the distinction between “thought” and “thinking”, which seems to be the foundation of the entire book. As I understand it, a thought is full of excitement and emotion, while thinking is more analytical and rational. Thinking is where thoughts are processed. And ultimately, thinking is where thoughts lose their emotional charge.
“When we create goals out of inspiration, we are not creating from a place of lack. We don’t create because we feel like we have to or we need more. We create because we want to.”
The author goes on to describe the difference between wanting to act on an idea and feeling like we need to accomplish a particular goal. It’s the difference between being inspired to act vs. feeling compelled to accomplish something out of necessity. I have felt this in recent weeks but failed to acknowledge that distinction. I was racking my brain trying to think of and wanting to build an app to make a bit of side money thinking it would be the answer to my immediate needs and acquiesce my growing anxieties of not working. I was thinking about the reason for building an app from a place of necessity rather than inspiration or love of craft. This is a realization made in hindsight and only after reading this book.
And that realization was made even more powerful when I looked at the apps I have built that weren’t born out of “necessity” to make money or quell any anxieties I might have had. I created several prototypes and a couple of apps I have released into the wild. I don’t suspect any of those will become popular or definitely won’t make any money, but I loved working on them, I loved the planning, the product thinking, feature development and the building. I truly relished in the process. And I realize now it was for the love of learning and craft that I loved working on them.
Now… how does this translate to real-world use cases? How does this help me survive in a world that requires money? I don’t live in a hug-based economy. I have yet to figure this part out but I suspect it is highly likely that finding this peace and this inspiration could lead to a more fulfilling life and a more enjoyable journey through it. Only time will tell I suppose.
The biggest takeaway from this book has been the distinction between “thoughts” and “thinking.” Be inspired and don’t let thinking kill your inspiration.
“Thinking is the root cause of suffering.”