Over the long run … the real reason you fail to stick with habits is that your self image gets in the way.*
James Clear

What might change if we understood meaningful action to be something we could let happen, simply by standing out of the way?**
Oliver Burkeman

New habits struggle in the wrestling match that ensues
with the old self,
And with them, our hopes;
I must get out of my own way and allow the change
that is inevitable –
A new self to emerge.

*James Clear’s Atomic Habits;
**Oliver Burkeman’s The Imperfectionist newsletter: In Your Own Way.

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.*
George Bernard Shaw

If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system … You do not rise to the levels of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.**
James Clear

It’s not just about changing your mind,
New thoughts will need the support of new practices
or environments, and sometimes new people
or no people:
Because thinking, it turns out, is a social act,
and to think freely, to think differently,
to think independently, you sometimes need
to escape from the herd.^

We’re developing flexibility of mind and heart and activeness,
And becoming more human.

*Jonathan Hoban’s Walking With Your Wolf;
**James Clear’s Atomic Habits;
^Brian McLaren’s Faith After Doubt.

Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith … Sometimes I think it is my mission to bring faith the the faithless, and doubt to the faithful.*
Paul Tillich

We can grasp the fact that at any moment what seems most certain to us is an illusion. It is an illusion that it preceded a further revelation of ourselves.**
M. C. Richards

Are you sure?

… this is the final and ultimate version of who you can be?
… that you can’t start again?
… you’re unable to forgive someone and move on?
… that you can’t lose weight/get fit?
… you’re unable to complete a project?
… that next time, with the right tweaks, you can make “this” better?
(… whatever it is that you feel so certain about right now)?

I doubt that, and
maybe you should, too.

Doubt is a key to many locked doors.

*Brian McLaren’s Faith After Doubt;
**M. C. Richards’ Centering.

There’s no creative running in the Olympics. No style points. No bonus for running the race in an interesting way. The only thing that matters is how fast you get from here to there … The clarity is so magnetic. A definite start. A definite finish. And clarity of what goes in between.
Gabe Anderson

stoic joy – the joy that comes from purpose, excellence, and duty**
Ryan Holiday

This isn’t about life being like a race,
More a marathon than a sprint, and all of that;
Life is the bigger story (unique to each of us),
The interesting stuff between the start and finish –
Meaning, artistry, commitment –
A gift to others and
joy for us.

*Gabe Anderson’s blog: Creative Running;
**Ryan Holiday’ and Stephen Hanselman’s The Daily Stoic.

Let us allow our wild spirits to roam unfettered and unbound. Let us roar and howl and voice our deepest yearnings without caring what others will think about us.*
Keri Smith

Success is the product of daily habits – not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.
James Clear

Of all things, it was his brother’s betrayal that
set Joseph^ upon a path to astonishing accomplishment that
he could not have imagined:
It can sometimes be the actions of others that
let loose our wild spirit –
This is how it was for me;
Criticised and betrayed,
I both came upon and make a path that
brings greater fulfilment and
joy,
Though it has not been all at once –
I walk a slow journey in the same direction –
Nor am I roaring and howling:
Quite the opposite – I prefer hidden and quiet.

I hope you find your wild:
You don’t have to wait
for the criticism and betrayal.

*Keri Smith’s The Wander Society;
**James Clear’s Atomic Habits;
^Genesis 37.

From the beginning I have believed the world an amazing place, full of marvels, unheard of, not-yet-experienced.*
M. C. Richards

I’ve come to understand, a common feature of all aspects of spirituality is a loss of self, a letting go, a willingness to embrace something outside of ourselves, a willingness to listen rather than talk, a recognition that we are small and the cosmos is large.**
Alan Lightman

At the centre of everything,
The stillness and the being –
I am small and
the universe so big.

Oh my!

*M. C. Richards’ Centering;
**Alan Lightman’s The Transcendent Brain.

Plenty of people are “masters” of their universe while lacking the most important power there is … power over their own actions and choices.*
Ryan Holiday

Time that has passed is certainly irrecoverable, but what has happened within that time is unassailable and inviolable. Passing time is therefore not only a thief, but a trustee.**
Viktor Frankl.

Here is wisdom:
To see and understand all that time holds as trustee
for us, rather than as thief;
Everything focuses differently when we find
or make our purpose,
Riches of understanding and knowledge available
for the present,
For the benefit of others,
For beauty and joy.

Towards this,
It may be worth wasting a little time,
To slow down and take a closer look
at the greater story within.^

*Ryan Holiday’s Discipline is Destiny;
**Viktor Frankl’s The Doctor and the Soul;
^This is what dreamwhispering is about; get in touch for support with this.

Secret #2 is more important: Generosity.  It is much easier and more effective to come up with good ideas for someone else, much easier to bring a posture of insight and care on behalf of someone else.*
Seth Godin

*Seth Godin’s blog: Two simple secrets to good ideas.

How old do you have to be to make a bad drawing?*
Lynda Barry

Don’t listen to the naysayers –
Keep on doodling;
Today’s my 65th birthday and
I’m going to keep on doodling.

*Lynda Barry’s Making Comics.

So, to further our kinship relationship with the instinctual nature, it assists greatly if we understand stories as though we were inside of them, rather than as though they are outside of us. We enter a story through the door of inner hearing.*
Clarissa Pinkola Estés

You can probably find someone to do the job, play the parts, wear the uniform, show up mostly on time, and even smile now and then. But someone who can do the job AND CARES about the job…that’s a lot harder to find.**
Gabe Anderson

The inside story is your story,
It’s a wild story because it connects with who you are
and who you are becoming;
It’s a story of obsession, and
needs to be,
Else you’ll experience “story-creep” –
The thing that happens when you say “yes” to
too many things and too many people:
Trying to please everyone,
they end up pleasing no one.
To try to do everything
is to ensure you’ll do
nothing.^

The difficult part isn’t identifying the story –
Though this is hard enough because of what you’ll be handed
from all directions –
No, the difficult part is figuring out how to be focused on your story,
Every day, no matter what:
Your practice, your liturgy, your rituals.

In many cases, the real talent is being obsessed with the thing. What are you willing to focus on so wholeheartedly that you are happy to ignore nearly everything else?^^

*Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ Women Who Run With the Wolves;
**Gabe Anderson’s blog: Who Do You Want For the Job?;
^Ryan Holiday’s Discipline is Destiny;
^^James Clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter: The secret to creativity, how our challenges shape us, and the value of bad workouts.