I was scrolling through instagram the other week, as you do, when I came across this and it stopped me in my tracks. I thought it was quite wonderful and felt the urge to put it up here for you all to see.
I want to fully acknowledge and thank @librarymindset who posted it under the title “7 Japanese techniques to overcome laziness.” I felt the word “laziness” could be misleading as it really is about a philosophical way of looking at and handling the complexities of life with all it’s trials and tribulations and challenges. Other than that, I have reproduced this verbatim.
1. IKIGAI
It means having a purpose in life. The reason you wake up each morning.
4 rules of IKIGAI:
- Do what you love
- Do what you’re good at
- Do what the world needs
- Do what you can be paid for
2. KAIZEN
It means focusing on small improvements every day. Trying to become 1% better every day.
3. SHOSHIN
It’s a concept from Zen Buddhism which means approaching things with a beginner mindset.
“If your mind is empty….it is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few”. Shunryu Suzuki ( author of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind ).
4. HARA HACHI BU
This means to stop eating after you’re 80% full. If you eat too much you’re more likely to feel lazy.
5. SHINRIN-YOKU
Shinrin in Japanese means “forest”, and yoku means “bath”. It simply means that one should spend more time in nature.
6. WABI-SABI
This means that instead of perfection one should find beauty in imperfection.
7. GANBARU
This means that one should be patient and do the best possible.
