Split thread - sloth & the motivated buddhist

[Geika]

I used to procrastinate a lot, and then I started making things more of a game, and I realized that motivation is just one of many good habits that can be cultivated with practice, I promise!

[Geika]

And by practice, I mean practicing good habits, not just Zen practice.

[Matt]

Hehehe you are right Jundo, this fellow is no Zen teacher by any means, I missed that the title of the blog may be misleading :P His blog went from productivity issues from the start, back in 2009 or so, then gradually went to simplifying lifestyle, minimalism, meditation and things like that.

Hi Koshin,

I, too, read Zen Habits fairly regularly. I usually find the advice helpful, and mentally file it under a 'good advice' category as you state.

I will say that I recently had a friend post something on Facebook asking if anyone knew of any good sites that taught meditation. Before I could reply, she had commented that she found the Zen Habits site.

Unfortunately, given the blog's name and its huge popularity (one of the very top entries when you Google 'zen'), I think people could be mislead to thinking that he is in fact a zen teacher.

It reminds me of the importance of practicing under a good, qualified teacher and why I am grateful to Treeleaf.

Gassho,
Matt J

[ZenHarmony]

Leo was one of the big reasons I came to Zen Buddhism! I had read him for a while and appreciated his gentle and concise common sense approach to things. I could see some parallels and may have learned a lot from him but I never once considered him a teacher of Zen. I, of course, wanted to know more and needed to get the "real" teachings, so I came here.

Gassho,

Lisa

[Ivan]

Hello Nigel,

I agree with what people said here, but what you described sounds like a mild depression, and it is known that depression can be caused by a mix of psychological conditions (stress and traumas) and biochemical conditions (dis-balance in brain chemicals), and there are ways to address both. Spiritual practice (such as Zen) and positive thinking are known to be very efficient for healing depression, but you may also consider psychotherapy and body-level means such as supplements (e.g. B-complex vitamins), antidepressants or cranial electrotherapy (Alpha-Stim device for example, it's not cheap, but it is quite efficient and harmless as compared to antidepressants that have some side effects).

Gassho,
Ivan

[Ernstguitar]

Hi Nigel,

I have a concept, which is easy and effective: I don´t love to brush my teeth, but I don´t hate it. - It has to be done.
Not a good or bad thing, just a prevention.
One day I realized, that it works also for things I do not like or where I felt a low level of energy.
- It is just like brushing my teeth. There is no need of "want to do ..", it is just "brushing teeth".
So, whatever I have to do and when I have stories in my head like: "The plan is......." or "Yes, but if that is not working......" I start to do it like cleaning my teeth.
Without "I love it" or "I hate it". That is how I can do nearly everything I have to do.

just a possibility, maybe.......

gassho
Ernst

[Jishin]

Hi Nigel,

I have a concept, which is easy and effective: I don´t love to brush my teeth, but I don´t hate it. - It has to be done.
Not a good or bad thing, just a prevention.
One day I realized, that it works also for things I do not like or where I felt a low level of energy.
- It is just like brushing my teeth. There is no need of "want to do ..", it is just "brushing teeth".
So, whatever I have to do and when I have stories in my head like: "The plan is......." or "Yes, but if that is not working......" I start to do it like cleaning my teeth.
Without "I love it" or "I hate it". That is how I can do nearly everything I have to do.

just a possibility, maybe.......

gassho
Ernst

Good advice. Just do it! :-)

Gassho, Jishin

[Matt]

just "brushing teeth"

Yes