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13 Pico Iyer Quotes from The Art of Stillness to Inspire Your Next Trip to… Nowhere?

Excerpt: A trip to… Nowhere? Who would want to go there? According to Pico Iyer, we all should. Read our quotes from The Art of Stillness for more!

“We forget that life isn’t as bad as we’re making it out to be. We also forget that when we’re blowing things out of proportion, we are the ones doing the blowing.”
Richard Carlson, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Beyond the Quote (108/365)

The powerful thing about perspective is that it has the ability to change how we see. And if how we see changes, well, everything in the world will look different. In life, many of us disproportionately view our world as larger than it is—we blow it out of proportion. Why? Because from our perspective, our world is the world. The size of our perception of life is the size of our understanding of the world. And when we hyper focus on the trivialities of our life in comparison to all that’s happening in life throughout the world? Those trivialities can start to look much bigger than they really are.

“Most students, whether it’s in archery or yoga or chemistry, go into a subject with a strong intention. They are outcome-focused. They want to get the best grade or the highest score. They bring their previous ‘expertise’ with them. They want to skip the unnecessary steps and get right to the sexy stuff. As a result, they are difficult to teach and easily discouraged when the journey proves harder than expected. They are not present. They are not open to experience and cannot learn.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 78)

“There are going to be setbacks in life. Even a master or a genius will experience a period of inadequacy when they attempt to learn new skills or explore new domains. Confidence is what determines whether this will be a source of anguish or an enjoyable challenge. If you’re miserable every time things are not going your way, if you cannot enjoy it when things are going your way because you undermine it with doubts and insecurity, life will be hell.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 73)

“Confident people know what matters. They know when to ignore other people’s opinions. They don’t boast or lie to get ahead (and then struggle to deliver). Confidence is the freedom to set your own standards and unshackle yourself from the need to prove yourself. A confident person doesn’t fear disagreement and doesn’t see change—swapping an incorrect opinion for a correct one—as an admission of inferiority.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 72)

“Find people you admire and ask how they got where they are. Seek book recommendations. Add experience and experimentation on top of this. Put yourself in tough situations. Accept challenges. Familiarize yourself with the unfamiliar. That’s how you widen your perspective and your understanding. The wise are still because they have seen it all. They know what to expect because they’ve been through so much. They’ve made mistakes and learned from them. And so must you.”
Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 66)

“[On reading] I cannot understand how some people can live without communicating with the wisest people who ever lived on earth.”
Leo Tolstoy, via Stillness is the Key (Page 65)

Charles Colton Quote on Uprooting Vices and Planting Virtues

“He that has energy enough to root out a vice should go further, and try to plant a virtue in its place.”
Charles Caleb Colton

Beyond the Quote (107/365)

How hard is it to dig up the roots of an old tree? Even trying to dig up the roots of a small tree or a bush can be incredibly hard. This is why, after a tree gets cut down, the stump is either left behind or it’s sawed down and the roots are simply left underground. Trying to take all of the roots up from a cut down tree simply isn’t worth the time and effort it requires in most cases.

Now, how hard is it to plant a seed for a new tree? Even planting a seed for the mightiest of trees is a breeze. There might be some variance in the specifics, but for the most part, you prep the land/ soil, dig a hole to the proper depth, place the seed in the hole, put the soil back on top of it, and make sure it gets enough water and sun and voila! You’re done.

“I believe in tough love. But for tough love to work, love must come first. We must love tough to bring out the best in those who lead.”
Jon Gordon

Beyond the Quote (106/365)

At what point does “tough love” go from being “love that’s tough” to just being hurtful, mean, and even abusive behavior? It’s an important distinction to make because there is certainly a line between being tough out of love and being tough because of harbored inner hate—or lack of control.

In my estimation, I think Jon has it right in the quote above. In order for tough love to work, love must come first. The intention behind the action has to be mindfully channeled through love and has to be conscious and deliberate. When tough actions are taken without the mind, they are usually emotionally charged, disproportionately harsh, and later regretted. Then, after it’s all said and done, those actions are guised behind “tough love” and proper responsibility isn’t always taken.

“You’re so hard on yourself. Take a moment. Sit back. Marvel at your life: at the grief that softened you, at the heartache that wisened you, at the suffering that strengthened you. Despite everything, you still grow. Be proud of this.”
Unknown

Beyond the Quote (105/365)

Why are you so hard on yourself? Is it because you think being hard on yourself will make you hard? Is it because that’s the way others have treated you? Is it because you have high expectations of yourself and want to do bigger and better things? Well, what if, by making yourself “hard” you lose your soft touch? What if you lose your malleability and more easily crack and break down? What if you become more “hard headed” and stiff and rigid to the world and in how you think? Maybe we should take a moment and reconsider what it means to be “hard.”

“We can’t be afraid of silence, as it has much to teach us. Seek it. The ticking of the hands of your watch is telling you how time is passing away, never to return. Listen to it.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 62)

“Instead of carrying that baggage around in our heads or hearts, we put it down on paper. Instead of letting racing thoughts run unchecked or leaving half-baked assumptions unquestioned, we force ourselves to write and examine them. Putting your own thinking down on paper lets you see it from a distance. It gives you objectivity that is so often missing when anxiety and fears and frustrations flood your mind. What’s the best way to start journaling? Is there an ideal time of day? How long should it take? Who cares? How you journal is much less important than why you are doing it: To get something off your chest. To have quiet time with your thoughts. To clarify those thoughts. To separate the harmful from the insightful. There’s no right way or wrong way. The point is just to do it.”
Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 56)

Anne Frank Quote on Reflection and Doing Better Each Day

“How noble and good everyone could be if at the end of the day they were to review their own behavior and weigh up the rights and wrongs. They would automatically try to do better at the start of each new day, and after a while, would certainly accomplish a great deal.”
Anne Frank, via Stillness is the Key (Page 53)

Beyond the Quote (104/365)

How often do you just sit down at the end of a long day and reflect? Reflect on what went well and what didn’t go so well; what could have been improved and what could have been discarded; what made you smile and what made you sad; what you might have done differently and what you think was right on point. See, reflection isn’t just about thinking. What really happens when you take time to reflect on your day is you are taking responsibility for what happened and you are taking control of where you’re heading. Reflection, in this sense, is your Life GPS.

“The world is like muddy water. To see through it, we have to let things settle. We can’t be disturbed by initial appearances, and if we are patient and still, the truth will be revealed to us.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 47)

“During the recording of her album Interiors, the musician Rosanne Cash posted a simple sign over the doorway of the studio. ‘Abandon Thought, All ye Who Enter Here.’ Not because she wanted a bunch of unthinking idiots working with her, but because she wanted everyone involved—included herself—to go deeper than whatever was on the surface of their minds. She wanted them to be present, connected to the music, and not lost in their heads.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 43)

“Yes, thinking is essential. Expert knowledge is undoubtedly key to the success of any leader or athlete or artist. The problem is that, unthinkingly, we think too much. The ‘wild and whirling words’ of our subconscious get going and suddenly there’s no room for our training (or anything else). We’re overloaded, overwhelmed, and distracted… by our own mind!” ~ Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 42)

Oh, how different the world would look…

Picture quote about learning to be still from Ryan Holiday

“How different would the world look if people spent as much time listening to their conscience as they did to chattering broadcasts? If they could respond to the calls of their convictions as quickly as we answer the dings and rings of technology in our pockets? All this noise. All this information. All these inputs. We are afraid of the silence. We are afraid of looking stupid. We are afraid of missing out. We are afraid of being the bad guy who says, ‘Nope, not interested.’ We’d rather make ourselves miserable than make ourselves a priority, than be our best selves. Than be still… and in charge of our own information diet.”
Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 36)

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Set yourself free.

Some good advice here

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