Thanks, @Se7enZ

Many of the quotes you highlighted struck me during my reading as well. To add to the discussion,

I work as a teacher and the trend in the education fraternity is to notice the good and give students targetted positive praise so that they can develop a growth mindset. This is why this paragraph jumped at me. I guess the ultimate aim of education is to help the individual recognise the vitality within himself, to quote Joseph Campbell. But I think this is a lofty ideal to achieve in today’s era of social media-fuelled landscape. Content creators literally rely on external validation from others to make a living. When your bread and butter is inextricably linked to the extent in which people like click subscribe n forward your content, it’s hard to rely on your mind as the only worthy source of affirmation. Even the V4V ethos deviates from this. Just the way it is framed: I provide value in hopes to get back value, right? So how do i tailor (notice I didn’t say pander, haha) my content to your needs so that I can have the best chances of generating value?

I was also intrigued by this. Just examining a negative thought will make it no more (or at least, diminish its power). My first defense is that it’s easier said than done! But I guess that’s where daily, deliberate meditation comes in. When we get into a routine of feeling and analysing negative thoughts before discarding them, we build our tenacity for the catastrophic curveballs life throws us.

To digress slightly, I think the Japanese people are regular folks like the rest of us. But why do they practise the Stoic philosophy so naturally when tsunamis happen? Perhaps it’s because it’s such a routine-rich (some will say regimental haha) nation that the Japanese just automatically fall back on the things they can do. I admire their deep reservoirs of resilience.

Another quote along the same line.

Thanks for initiating the book club! It has become a sanctuary, especially since we are powering through Million Sats Madness. It’s great to step back from the fervent zapping and engage myself totally with the book and your thoughts xP

Bonus: you might want to give this podcast a go. She distinguishes between mindfulness and meditation, which will fire you up, be it good or bad. She notably said that she doesn’t believe in bucket lists because if we do all we can to be happy in the moment, we shouldn’t need to look forward to an arbitrary future.