Mindfulness
by Ryan Holiday
Why can't we sit still?
Ryan Holiday starts from Blaise Pascal's complaint that humanity's problems come from our inability to sit quietly in a room alone. He asks how anyone stays steady while everything around them speeds up. He calls the answer stillness, and finds it in Stoic, Buddhist and Epicurean thinking alike.
Hear a sample · read by Laura
Holiday splits the book into three domains. A mind full of noise, a spirit ruled by envy or anger, and a tired, neglected body will each knock you off balance. Every short chapter is one practice for one domain, from keeping a journal to going to bed on time.
Holiday tells how Napoleon had his secretary wait three weeks before opening letters. By then many urgent problems had sorted themselves out, and only the ones that needed him were left. You can't think clearly while every feed and inbox is pouring into your head at once.
Holiday treats desire as the enemy of stillness. However much you earn or win, someone has more, so the chase never ends by itself. His remedy is a single word, enough. Decide what would be sufficient before the next offer arrives, then notice when you've already got there.
In 1915 the disaster at Gallipoli cost Winston Churchill his post running the Navy, and he sank into gloom. That summer he tried painting, and he kept at it for the rest of his life. Holiday's point is that a hobby gives a worn-out mind somewhere to rest.
Slow down
Kennedy took his time during the Cuban missile crisis, and that pause helped avoid a war.
Fewer inputs
Cut down the news and noise you take in, so there is room to think.
Enough
Decide what enough looks like for you, or the wanting never stops.
Walk
Go for long walks. Moving the body is one of the surest ways to settle the mind.
Sleep
Protect your sleep. A tired mind can't be still.
A story from the book
In October 1962, John F. Kennedy learned the Soviets were putting nuclear missiles on Cuba. His generals wanted airstrikes. In 1961 he'd been hurried into the Bay of Pigs fiasco. This time he refused to be rushed. He listened, chose a naval blockade and left Khrushchev room to back down.
One thing to try
Once this week, walk for half an hour with no phone, podcast or music. Holiday's chapter on walking is full of thinkers, like Kierkegaard, who did their best thinking on foot. Take one stuck problem along and leave it alone. See what's come loose by the time you're home.
Knotd has the key ideas from 250+ non-fiction books, each in a few minutes, in plain words. Stillness Is the Key comes with a Your Move story to make it stick.
Get the whole book on KnotdOpen in the appWhy can't we sit still? Ryan Holiday starts from Blaise Pascal's complaint that humanity's problems come from our inability to sit quietly in a room alone. He asks how anyone stays steady while everything around them speeds up. He calls the answer stillness, and finds it in Stoic, Buddhist and Epicurean thinking alike.
Mind, spirit, body; Limit your inputs; Knowing what's enough; Churchill's paintbrush.
Once this week, walk for half an hour with no phone, podcast or music. Holiday's chapter on walking is full of thinkers, like Kierkegaard, who did their best thinking on foot. Take one stuck problem along and leave it alone. See what's come loose by the time you're home.
Yes. Knotd has the key ideas from Stillness Is the Key in a few minutes, in plain words, plus a Your Move story to test them. It's one of 250+ non-fiction books in the app.
