How do I control my emotions? How do I stop getting angry so often, or how do I stop being sad? And I think there's a really important distinction to understand is that you can't completely control your emotions. What you control is your reaction to your own emotions. And a lot of people don't ever make that separation for what goes on with them.
Interpretation
You cannot control your emotions entirely, but you can control how you respond to them.
Mark Manson emphasizes the importance of recognizing that while we cannot completely control our emotional state, we have the power to control our reactions to those emotions. This understanding allows us to process our feelings more effectively and respond to situations in a healthier manner.
In practice
During a discussion about mental health at a community center.
Whereas a lot of Buddhism concerns itself with stages of enlightenment, various precepts and moral codes, and even power structures and hierarchies, Zen is just like, 'Shut up, sit down, and observe your thoughts - oh, and by the way, what you perceive as you' doesn't actually exist.' I loved the minimalist approach of it.
I think people who become compulsive about fitness or eating right, a lot of the time it's out of fear that they're going to lose control or that they're not good enough, so I think anything done out of fear or motivated by fear is often unhealthy.
Many people come to self-help material because they feel like something is wrong with them or the way they are. The problem is that anything that tells you how to improve your life is also implying that there is something inherently wrong with you the way you are.
The first and perhaps most important thing to realize about being happier in life is to stop trying to be so happy in life.
Writing/reading is like visiting another person's brain. And a short book or article is like a short stay. You come in, have a coffee, talk about the weather or sports, and then move on.
I think humility - which I think is a very good value to adopt - is basically an extension of understanding your own ignorance.
In a man's middle years there is scarcely a part of the body he would hesitate to turn over to the proper authorities.
Nobody has the right to shield any idea as so sacred it can’t be challenged. ... Almost all human progress is driven by people who stood up and said ‘I disagree’ with this idea that society at the time considered to be the most precious.’
Meditation is one of the rare occasions when we're not doing anything. _x000D_ _x000D_ Otherwise, we're always doing something, we're always thinking something, we're always occupied. _x000D_ _x000D_ We get lost in millions of obsessions and fixations. _x000D_ _x000D_ But by meditating-by not doing anything-_x000D_ _x000D_ all these fixations are revealed and our obsessions will naturally undo themselves like a snake uncoiling itself.
To know how to hide one's ability is great skill.
Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself there.
What's the use of making mysteries? It only makes people want to nose 'em out.
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