Slow but Effective

Desire for quick fixes, makes facing intimidating mountains a good barrier to entry (once you are on the other side). 

Exams can provide this barrier. Being good at something, is not the same thing as being able to explain (or even know) why you are good at something. Being good at exams is different from knowing the content. Exams impose artificial constraints. Time limits and the interpretation of markers. 

Reality normally lets you use google, maps, or GPS. “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked” is Warren Buffett’s reminder that difficulty is revealing. 

Exam “match fitness” is the ability to deliver under constraints if questions go off the beaten path. 

If you have surface-level knowledge, you can pass tests, if nothing goes wrong. If the right questions are asked. That can develop confidence as you know a single path to success.

Embodied knowledge lets you understand the broader context. It is more sustainable. Which is why challenge allows deeper soaking. Basic processes can let you build that depth. 

The yoga I practice will be the same in 30 years. In 100 years. It is not variety it is teaching. Lots of people will find it boring, preferring postures that change. This style focuses on 12 basic postures, but those who go deep will develop the flexibility to deal with variations. 

No quick fixes, but a process that works.

Sani Pass

Forced Seller

A Stock is a slice of ownership in an underlying business. The Stock Price is not it’s value. It is the amount agreed between the last buyer and seller to swap money and ownership. Very different from if the entire business was sold, but a reasonable guess if you wanted to sell now. If someone offered you a fraction of the value of your home, you’d laugh them off. You prefer to remain an owner. Same deal here, except homes aren’t sold by the brick. The main aim is not to be a Forced Seller. When someone offers you a ridiculous price, and you have to take it because of external demands. Because you need the cash. Being a long-term owner means you need to have a buffer for short term shocks. Shocks that have nothing to do with the business and everything to do with immediate needs. You need to be able to cover the Basics. Markets function best when everyone is calm, informed, empowered, and making decisions based on all the information available. Willing buyer. Willing seller. There is seldom a reason to rush, even in the centre of chaos. Breathe. Don’t force it. This too will pass.

pic by: Ben Molyneux

Slowing Down

“I’m slowing down the tune. I never liked it fast. You want to get there soon. I want to get there last” sang Leonard Cohen. Sometimes we need to pause, and take a breath. The destination isn’t the point, because we never arrive. “Bear insult, bear injury, highest Yoga. Bear insult, bear injury, highest Sadhana” sang Swami Sivananda. Yoga is union/joining. It is the stilling of the waves of the mind and heart. Sadhana is practice. The practice of seeing the union in everything. Of letting go of weighing and measuring the bits of everything, in comparison to each other. The biggest insult is often when people think we are failures. When we fail to meet their expectations. This is regularly because we are seduced by Conspicuous Progress. Outward signs of being very impressive. Successful. Most of the mental health work we need to do is internal. The waves only we get disturbed by, even when outwardly calm. The irony is that the insults of disrespect, dismissiveness, and derisiveness are probably a sign of the internal struggles of the person sending them out.

CREDIT: Kezban Özcan