Origin of Action

Actions fundamentally arise from three different places: 1) Reflexes or instincts, which are automatic and don’t require training. 2) Training, which leads to habits and automatic behaviors. 3) Thoughts

Reflexes and Instincts, Habits, Connecting Thoughts and Actions

“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” ― Lao Tzu

• Where do most of your daily actions originate from - reflexes, habits, or thoughts?
• How can being more aware of the thoughts behind your actions impact your life?

Modern society tends to focus on the visible outcomes and actions themselves, such as grades, physical appearance, and productivity metrics, rather than the thoughts and understanding that give rise to those actions. This is likened to focusing on the fruits, flowers and leaves of a tree while ignoring the roots and seed from which it grows.

Productivity Metrics, Health and Appearance, Educational Grades

It’s almost like if you look at a tree, what you can see is really beautiful. There’s leaves, there’s flowers, there’s fruit, this is what everyone sort of sees when they look at a tree. But when we think about where that tree came from, we don’t really focus on the roots. We don’t think about the seed we don’t think about the birth of the tree itself.

• In what areas of your life do you focus more on outcomes than the underlying thoughts and processes?
• How might shifting your focus to the “roots” and “seeds” change your approach and results?

While society emphasizes gaining knowledge and expertise, there is little focus on training the mind itself - the equivalent of “push-ups” or “sit-ups” for the mind. Strengthening the mind as an organ is key to accomplishing what you want in life, starting with the skill of concentration or Dharana.

Knowledge vs Mind Training, Concentration

• What current practices, if any, do you use to actively train and strengthen your mind?
• How might developing the skill of concentration impact your ability to achieve your goals?

Notes

We’re a society focused on outcome and not really on action(which in turn originates from thought). We struggle with motivating ourselves because we don’t often think about the process or the actions that we need to take in order to better ourselves because we don’t think long term.

How do we strengthen our minds as an organ, we train our bodies but we don’t train our minds. We can train our minds with Concentration(Dharana).