Mark Nepo is an American poet, spiritual teacher, and bestselling author of The Book of Awakening. His philosophy and work center on living each day fully, appreciating life in all of its hardships and awe.
CLEAR ALL
Learning any new skill involves relatively brief spurts of progress, each of which is followed by a slight decline to a plateau somewhat higher in most cases than that which preceded it . . . the upward spurts vary; the plateaus have their own dips and rises along the way. . . .
Excessive use of external motivation can slow and even stop your journey to mastery.
What we call ‘mastery’ can be defined as that mysterious process through which what is at first difficult or even impossible becomes easy and pleasurable through diligent, patient, long-term practice.
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Indecision leads to inaction, which leads to low energy, depression, despair.
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Ultimately, nothing in this life is ‘commonplace,’ nothing is ‘in between.’ The threads that join your every act, your every thought, are infinite. All paths of mastery eventually merge. [Each person has a] vantage point that offers a truth of its own.
Resolve to do the things you find to be difficult. That’s what confident people do. They tackle those things that are scary and they get addicted to doing it.
Positive energy is your priceless life force. Protect it. Don’t allow people to draw from your reserves; select friends who recharge your energies. . . I’m not asking you to cut people out of your life, but I am asking you to invest your time with people who will push you to be your best.