Reddit reviews The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process
We found 12 Reddit comments about The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
New World Library
It is better to be process oriented than results oriented. You should learn to enjoy the act of practice, rather than just looking forward to the result. It is rare for anyone to ever feel they have mastered a skill, so looking forward to being good at something might mean you will always feel uneasy at your progress.
This book is pretty good and covers this in some detail: https://www.amazon.com/Practicing-Mind-Developing-Discipline-Challenge/dp/1608680908
Yeeeeow nice post man.
If you're a bit of a reader, I think you'd like the following books:
Drive: http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivates/dp/1594484805
Talks about where human motivation stems from. People are mislead by thinking that extrinsic rewards are the no. 1 motivator for people (e.g. money). However most studies are starting to show that intrinsically motivated people are the most productive and successful.
Talent code - http://www.amazon.com/Talent-Code-Greatness-Born-Grown/dp/055380684X/ref=pd_sim_14_6?ie=UTF8&dpID=41MunW5Js4L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL320_SR216%2C320_&refRID=168Q5YDYYGJGSE9QPMCJ
The practicing mind - http://www.amazon.com/Practicing-Mind-Developing-Discipline-Challenge/dp/1608680908/ref=pd_sim_14_17?ie=UTF8&dpID=41xIyq0O4wL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR100%2C160_&refRID=097CJ40FQXQ88KG5TDAS
Both of these books are great for instilling the fact that greatness isn't bestowed upon someone, it takes years and dedicated practice cultivate a valuable skill.
If you'd like these books, send me a PM because I have the PDF/Audiobook of them.
Whatever you have to do, try doing it very slowly, so slowly that you have to focus to prevent yourself from speeding up. This can help to occupy your brain, so your attention doesn't wander. You treat your task almost as a kind of meditation in itself.
Another one is to break your task down into smaller parts than you think you need to. For example, if your task is to write an essay, don't break it down into 1) do research 2) write essay, break it down into 1) get pen and paper 2) clear off desk 3) search google for sources 4) make list of potential sources ... etc. You'll know what works for you through trial and error. This can make even a huge task seem manageable. It's all about tricking your own brain.
The first tip is one I picked up from this book, by the way, which I highly recommend: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Practicing-Mind-Developing-Discipline/dp/1608680908
I struggle with the same things as you do. I am in the process of changing my habits for the better. Here are a few things I have learned that might help you too:
1. I recommend you watch motivational speakers and read motivational blogs online.
It is not a waste of time. You want to accomplish things in your life and you don't know how to go about it. This is actually another skill just like programming/plumbing/speaking a language. And you can actually learn it. I have had a lot of misconceptions when I began this journey and some lectures and blogs have completely changed my mindset.
2. You said you have read all of these and you are too lazy to pick anything up from them. I do not know what kind of advice you have read but there is a difference between these.
The latter is the one that is the most important. The other two are great too (for example exercising is a very reasonable thing to recommend, thats why you see it on every 'Top 10 How to get motivated' list) but you can not go without understanding how your brain works and why you don't feel compelled to do the things you want to be doing.
3. Motivation is overrated.
You think every time you sit down to do something useful you need to feel motivated. When you make your plans for tomorrow you imagine yourself being happy and feeling good while doing the things you love and should be doing. You imagine it like you are the main character of a movie. Then you wake up the next morning, begin doing these things, and it is hard you are not happy at all and you feel horrible. So you stop working. The truth is: it is going to be hard. You are not going to feel like doing it. You will be frustrated, angry. There will be obstacles. There will be things you don't understand and have a hard time with them. It is going to be pain. Stop waiting to feel motivated. You are not going to feel motivated every day. What makes successful people different from everyone else is that they can handle the pain and the hardness of doing the things they want to be doing for a long time.
4. Stop comparing yourself to everyone who you think is better than you.
You see somebody you think is better than you and you feel horrible about yourself. You might even think you will never get that good because you are not that smart/creative, their genes are better than you, etc. I think this is bs. The only thing that matters is work. Those people have probably worked very hard to get where they are. They have struggled too. They have felt horrible about themselves too. They hit rock bottom once or twice. This is how you succeed, through hard, sweaty work. You are capable of achieving these things too. Everyone is capable to do anything. Everyone can learn how to do programming. Everyone can loose weight. Everyone can become an artist. There is no talent, no genetics, no 'I was born like this'. The difference is the willingness to work hard towards that goal.
5. Stop thinking you are late.
Do you feel like you should have started doing these things ages ago? Wish you started exercising/loosing weight 5 years ago so it would have been easier and you would be already at your goal weight? Wish you started programming when you were xy age so you could be at an advanced level right now? Stop thinking like that right now. Concentrate on the present moment. Being in the past and feeling down because you could have done better is not helping you at all. You can not change the past. You can only act in the present.
6. Goals are overrated.
Throw your goal-schedule away. Do not think you have to be 70 kgs by next month. Stop thinking we have to be an awesome programmer and artist by next year because we are already behind schedule, we should have been doing this for ages. When you think like this you just give up entirely because the deadlines you give yourself are too short. Stop thinking about these deadlines.
7. Habits matter.
For example your goal is to loose weight. This tells you nothing about what you have to do. Instead try saying: I will go jogging 3 times a week. I will not go eat at a fast food restaurant. I will eat 3 different vegetables every day. I will eat 3 meals every day: breakfast at 8 am, lunch at 1 pm and dinner at 5 pm. Every day, my lunch will contain a course of vegetable soup and a salad on the side. My dinner will fit on my smaller plates. These are habits. These are very specific, well defined actions. Once you set your mind to doing these, there is no question, no wiggle room of what you should be doing. Your brain can automatically do these things.
8. Regularity matters more than volume.
For example the jogging habit. It matters more that you put on your jogging clothes and go for a jog every day (even when you feel your worst) than the amount of time you can spend jogging. Even if you cloth up and go for a 10 minute run it makes the difference between day and night. Even if you cloth up and run around your house 3 times a week is better. This is because you likely will decide on some days: heck, I'm gonna run 10 more minutes if I'm already here. And then that becomes normal. Then you decide one day, oh well I'm not even tired right now, let's go for another 10 minutes. It comes naturally. What is really really hard is going for a 10 minute jog. Going for a 20 minute jog instead is not much more harder. This is why you have to tackle regularity first. Volume can be added later.
9. Stop denying happiness from yourself.
Stop thinking you should loose 20 more kgs and then you will be happy about your body. Stop thinking you should learn to program in xy language and write xy game and then you will be content with your skills. Start feeling good about yourself today. Because, why not? Is there any use in beating yourself up? Beating yourself up will not help you achieve your goals. It is not going to motivate you to be better. It only makes things worse. You will feel like you are not capable of what you want to be doing because you tell yourself you are stupid and bad and fat and etc. You are not any of these. You have plenty of work to do, that's true. But even today, you are better than you were yesterday because you are making an effort. Let yourself be happy and content when you come home from jogging because you have worked towards your goal today. Let yourself be happy when you have practiced drawing for half an hour because it moved you towards achieving your goal. If you focus on the result you get frustrated every day on the journey. If you focus on the practice, the work, you will be content every day and the goal will naturally be achieved because you are working on it.
10. Be present in the moment.
When you start your day and want to go watch anime or play video games just stop for a moment. Don't start working just stop and do nothing. Let yourself be present in the moment of right now and do nothing at all. No distractions. No computer. No TV. No music. No eating. No tidying up. Just feel the time pass by. Isn't it werid how slow time passes when you are not distracted? You will soon feel more awareness than you usually do in the mornings. Just like you feel at night, right before going to bed. Your brain can get in that state at night because you have eliminated all your distractions and you are laying in a bed doing nothing at all. You can do the same thing in the morning.
11. Educate yourself further.
Recognize any source of stress (mentioned above or not) and find a reason (by yourself or on the internet) why this mentality is wrong. Because it is always wrong. It is not helping you to work, but drags you down and makes you feel bad about yourself. There are numerous things I did not talk about or do not even know about that might be causing you problems. Go and find the resources you need to get rid of these thoughts. Search on the internet, ask another question on reddit, find videos, articles, books, anything.
12. Sometimes the advice is not going to work for you.
When you read this advice there might be things that did not hit target. Maybe I talked about something that was not a problem for you or it is but the advice does not work in your case. Ignore those points. Take away what works for you and leave the rest. Do not feel bad about something here not working for you. Every one of us is different, what works for me might not be good advice for you.
I watch and read these people:
http://jamesclear.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTugjssqOT0
https://www.youtube.com/user/marieforleo
https://www.amazon.com/Practicing-Mind-Developing-Discipline-Challenge/dp/1608680908
Some specific articles from James Clear that I really liked:
http://jamesclear.com/stay-focused
http://jamesclear.com/chemistry-habits
http://jamesclear.com/choice-architecture
http://jamesclear.com/akrasia
http://jamesclear.com/better-sleep
I also like read about Eastern philosophy, specifically Taoism. These philosophies are vastly different from the western culture and resonate more with these points.
The Practicing Mind, since it basically teaches you to shift your perspective in a way that will help you achieve flow in anything.
Read this book: The Practicing Mind. It really motivated me to take a different approach to my life.
Edit: it is a short book, even the "lazy" can finish it.
Edit: price fixed, wrong link.
The other answers here are all very good. Here are some books that can maybe help address your question:
Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin
The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life - Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process by Thomas M. Sterner
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
This book helped me with staying in the moment. I'm of course still working on it everyday.
(Me: not a trumpet player, but had same thoughts). Going pro means a lot of things besides having beautiful technique and repertoire. You might invited to a band for live sound, logistics and recording studio skills, or you might end up like most pros i know that teach privates or at a college/high schools and do other work (repairs, manufacturer's rep, run retail shops etc). So you have to think about what it takes to make a living.
Here's some books for you to read and think about as far as your playing tho
Kenny Werner, http://www.amazon.com/Effortless-Mastery-Liberating-Master-Musician/dp/156224003X
Sterner: http://www.amazon.com/The-Practicing-Mind-Developing-Discipline/dp/1608680908
Bruser: http://artofpracticing.com/book/ (Gerald Klicksteins' book is also good, i remember)
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Power-Now-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577314808
http://www.amazon.ca/Practicing-Mind-Developing-Discipline-Challenge/dp/1608680908/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412469721&sr=1-1&keywords=the+practicing+mind
I'm getting a lot out of this one right now: The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life. As for drive, which in my opinion comes from listening to your inner voice, a good start would be Pressfield's The War of Art.
If there's a book you might want to check out about this, it's probably 'The Practicing Mind' by Thomas Sterner. By learning or remembering to focus on the process instead of the outcome can help remove the anxiety about never being 'good enough' at something.
https://www.amazon.com/Practicing-Mind-Developing-Discipline-Challenge/dp/1608680908/