Thursday, August 13, 2015

The Practicing Mind by Thomas Sterner 


Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have. Make the Now the primary focus of your life.
-Eckhart Tolle


Maybe you know the feeling. The feeling that a writer has secretively found out about your existence, and overcome with an overpowering sense of altruism, has written a book exclusively for you. I have that feeling. Of all the books I have read in my life, 'The Practicing mind resonated with me and my life the most.

Sterner starts out with a simple enough premise. How do you go about learning a new skill ? What mindset do you need to adopt while practicing the skill, and refining your technique? And just as importantly, how do you do so without experiencing a sense of struggle ? And taking it a step further, how does this apply to our life. In fact, as he points out, this applies to every aspect of our lives.

The whole of life is a practice. Each day requires us to learn new things. We can go about this in a harried way, just doing enough to get things going, while simultaneously worrying about a million other things that demand our attention, or we can deal with it all in a calm manner, giving our complete undivided attention to the task at hand at the present moment. He breaks down the process of developing this mindset into relatively simple steps.

This is a tiny book, but Sterner has managed to pack in an incredible amount of wisdom into it while still employing a down-to-earth writing style. His choice of everyday episodes as examples to illustrate his thought process, infact makes them seem all the more powerful.

I have little patience for abstract theories that have nothing useful, or 'actionable' to offer. What makes Sterner's ideas truly credible is that he has been an entrepreneur, an endeavour that is bound to have one facing reality and dealing with practical problems on a regular basis. A process that works in such a context is also one that is likely to benefit most people.


Lastly, this book has cemented in my mind, a thought that has occupied it for the last year or so. One of the most underrated forces on the planet is the power of self-discipline ( when applied to good habits) Self-discipline lends a sense of direction to our lives..Constantly and repetitively doing something pushes us steadily in a certain direction instead of allowing us expend our energy in scattered efforts that die out every so often.

This is a truly powerful book, and I strongly recommend it.

1 comment:

swat said...

Following your recommendation when we spoke last, ive got this on my kindle shelf now. Just need to get started with reading it : )