While reading a book yesterday, I came across this quote
from Peter Ouspensky, a prominent Russian philosopher and writer of the early
20th century, who use to ask his students who got upset about the
insults, gossip, and actions of other people (I translate “criticism”), “Is
there truth in what that individual said?” If the answer was no, Ouspensky would say, “Well, then, why
should you be disturbed? Stay
focused on your purpose.” What is your purpose? To identify mentally and emotionally with harmony, peace,
wisdom, understanding, success, right action, and beauty. It’s as simple as that.
In other words, what people think or say about you is none
of your business and what the above tells me is to pay attention to what my truth us and to stay focused on what
I need to do to feel good about myself.
I have noticed that I sleep better when I have done something that feels good,
done something where I have learned something, moved my body in exercise, and
when I feel that I have completed what I needed to do that day. And it really helps if I take the time
to record some of what happened during the day in my journal.
It is said that every night Columbus recorded the
activities of the day in the ship’s log and then added, “Today, we moved
westward.” He paid attention not
only to the complaints, illnesses, mutiny threats, but also the progress they
made. I sometimes forgot that the
most important thing to record is the “progress” I made.
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