A Broad-Minded Student of Life

“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.”_Henry Miller

Henry Miller is an American writer, whom some people may not prefer to be their role model. 

While I understand the reason behind such reasoning, yet, in a quest to be an all-round student with a broadminded heart, I feel we can learn a thing or two from him—and anyone for that matter—on how to maximize our own potential in life.

Remember, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. And if we are truly committed to personal growth and improvement, we can extract wisdom in anything and from anyone— at any time.

Therefore, I have collected ten insights from some of Henry’s work. The first seven relates to the rules he used to guide his practice in particular, and the last three relate to his take on life in general.

Now let’s get down to the business of learning.

  

Seven Rules of Work

1} Work on one thing at a time until it is finished.

2} Forget the books you want to write; think only of the book you are writing. In other words, focus only on the job at hand, whether it is writing, painting or building.

3} Work according to your plan and not according to your mood; then learn to stop at the predetermined time.

 4} Cement a little every day, rather than add new fertilizers. In other words, be bias toward making the current work more solid and sound. Don’t diffuse your efforts.

 5} Don’t be a draught-horse! Work with pleasure only. In other words, do great work, but make it fun.

 6} Concentrate and narrow down on what really matters. Get rid of the non-essentials.

 7} Work calmly and joyously on whatever is at hand.

 And lastly here are Miller’s insights about life.  

Profound Views on Life

“The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, serenely, divinely.”

“If there is to be any peace it will come through being, not (through) having.”

“Everything hinges on how you look at things.” In other words, when the perceiver changes, that which is perceived also changes.

I hope you can find at least one idea quite useful in your own world.

Cheers!

Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself

“The pursuit of perfection often impedes improvement.”_George Will

Most of my writings are centered upon doing the work regularly enough to establish good work ethic and empowering habits in our lives.  They are based on striving to be the person we are capable of being by living the best version of ourselves, everyday.

However, today, my article will focus on how we can enjoy the heroic journey despite some unavoidable slips that are going to happen every now and then.

In other words, I mean sticking to the process of excellence is not exactly the same with a dogged pursuit of perfection: a ruthless rejection of anything less than perfect. 

You see, there is a huge difference between continuously striving to get better and a mindset of all-or-nothing. The former is the centerpiece of all of my work; the latter is not. Excellence is a wholesome thing but perfectionism is not. Perfectionism—in its complete sense— is mirage that no human can attain.

Perfectionism is not as good as it may seem to some people. In fact, it insidiously hinders the progress of its hardcore seekers because it is a fertile ground for many destructive emotions like constant self-doubt, anxiety, and even depression.

When we strive for perfection, we brood over extreme versions of what could be instead of being practical with the good that is attainable. Improvement is never about making a perfect score but it is always about making a better score. 

Certainly, self-discipline is a requirement for progress in any area of our lives but if we want to maintain our sanity along the way, we need to know how to deal with the inevitable low moments of life. Excellent striving gives birth to more motivation while real perfectionism is a sure of source of de-motivation and distress. 

To avoid this flaw in your heroic journey, learn to embrace your humanity, learn to celebrate your successes and try to learn from your failures. But above all, know that perfectionism is a mirage that no human can attain.

In a nutshell, be disciplined but don’t be too hard on yourself.

The Greatest of All Principles

“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success.” – Dwayne Johnson

Consistency is the greatest of all principles. It is the dominant characteristic of chief natural forces like the sun, the moon, the rain, the wind, and the ocean. 

To understand this truth, look at the fact that the precious natural gifts of days and nights have becoming from God since the beginning of time without cease.

In a sense, God is teaching us His unmatchable power of unshakable consistency.

And as it turns out, consistency is the number one predictor of success or failure in all human affairs, whether the matter is in relationship, business politics or religion. 

All other virtues birth full flower only when they are done with consistency. That is why consistency is the greatest of all moral, scientific and religious principles.

Nothing is more effective than consistency when we are concerned about lasting success. Consistency is everything because it means dependability, reliability and assurance. 

Without a doubt, consistency is the single greatest principle for significance and lasting impact. No wonder one artiste once said that he prays to be like the ocean, with soft currents, and waves at times. I prefer the consistency rather than the ebbs and the highs.

Embody Consistency

I dare you—as I dare myself— to embody consistency from now on!

Why?

This is because it's not the good that we do once in a while that really counts; it is the one we do consistently. For our contributions to be of any true value, they've got to be steady and unremitting. 

As you may know, anyone can do well once in a while, but to do it again and again is where the enduring merit lies. To aim high for good and stay up there, one must embody the virtue of consistency.

Now that you know the import of consistency, you should strive to stay the course in whatever good you may do. You should commit yourselves to mastering this powerful trait as a decorated surgeon, Antonia Novello wisely advised us all: “More than anything, be consistent. Go at it. Go at it. Go at it.” 

Consistency of performance is the best brand builder. In fact, consistency is the greatest success hack there is because excellence is not born of one remarkable effort but of our consistent positive actions.

Finally, in all walks of life: consistency determines the eventual winner; the person who can stay the course for as long as it well darn takes. This is why consistency is the greatest of all principles.

Absolute Clarity

“Clarity, clarity, surely, (absolute) clarity is the most beautiful thing in the world.”_George Oppen

In matters of values, principles and purpose, absolute clarity is of supreme magnitude.

A man without a clear purpose driving him forward will easily succumb to the suppressive forces of his immediate surroundings. 

But a man with absolute clarity on what he knows to be true can remain firm amidst the pull of confusions and subjective conclusions of other people as a Spanish poet, Juan Goytisolo once wrote: 

“As I began to discover my own truth and endeavoured to possess it with clarity, I became more and more alienated from that which my companions held or professed to hold.”

If we don’t draw a line and spell out what is really important in life, then we’ll be sidetracked by meaningless distractions and other people’s expectations.  

Absolute clarity creates emotional and mental stamina as it means having a tall purpose to organize one’s whole life by. And it involves creating a personal identity based on moral principles and sublime values. 

Absolute clarity enables us to live our lives with meaning and significance.

In any game, if we are sure of where (or what) the top-scoring target is, then hitting it is relatively easier to accomplish.  

And by the same token, if we are sure of what matters most in life, then it is relatively easier to overcome any challenges in the pursuit of that overriding objective.  

Therefore, let’s take the time to be crystal clear about who we want to be, because without absolute clarity on what we stand for, we will always be at the mercy of changing seasons and capricious events.

Finally, clarity of values, clarity of principles, and clarity of purpose are everything. Indeed, absolute clarity is the most beautiful thing in the world.

Tenacious Repetition is the Big Deal

“Repetition of the same chant, the same affirmations leads to belief, and once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.”_Claude M. Bristol

One of the suboptimal realities of human life is that too many of us are inconsistent, in areas where consistency matters, most of the time.  

To confirm that assertion, look around you and listen to what people claim to be their main wants—either implicitly or explicitly—then observe closely to see if their behaviours align with those claims. 

In a lot of cases, there is often a mismatch between people’s aspirations and their exertions.   

So to be among the committed few who are really sincere to their own hearts, we need to become relentless with the art of purposeful repetition. 

By that, I mean our persistent capacity to do what we need to do, when we need to do it, whether we have the impulse to do it or not. 

This is a process of repeating the basics again and again, both during the winter and the during summer; it is the discipline of loving the work and doing it, both when we feel excited to do it and when we feel bored out of our minds.  

In other words, we should be bias for the process of repetition that will invariably lead to the outcome we desire as Zig Ziglar, the author of ‘See You at the Top’ said: 

“Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.”

Commit to Tenacious Repetition

“The eight laws of learning are explanation, demonstration, imitation, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition.”_John Wooden

Do you have a resolution this year?

If yes, write it down and don’t worry about it

Then create a plan for throwing in the work that is necessary. Create a schedule for putting in a volume of work on the things that are relevant to achieve the goal.

The goal is just an event; an occurrence that is not immediately up to you. However, the repetition of a few critical inputs is what you have control over— right away.

Understand that repetition of the same relevant action is what develops into a habit. And enabling habits are what will help turn any lofty resolution into an attractive reality. 

By the foregoing, I like to think that setting up a system for putting in the work is far more important than choosing the goal. 

If you disagree, honestly answer the following questions.

If we ignore the goal and focus only on the tactical repetitions; won’t we attain the goal?

But if we daydream all day about the goal and become lax on doing the boring, repetitive work that must precede good outcome; are we going to make it?

Since habits are defined as repeated performances, we want to make sure that the actions we repeat on a daily basis are relevant to the outcomes we want.  

Therefore, let’s commit ourselves to tenacious repetition of necessary disciplines, if we want exciting results to be ours—in the end.