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When Lost, Focus On Intention
When you are faithfully occupied with performing the acts of a wise and decent person, seeking to conform your intentions and acts to the divine will, you do not feel victimized by the words or deeds of others. At worst, those words and deeds will seem amusing or pitiable. — The Art of Living, Epictetus
Whenever you try too hard to be good at something, you end up messing up. There are two types of energies when you come about any activity, desperate energy, and relaxed energy.
We all want to be good at stuff. At love, at work, at sports, you know, play the game of life well. But, when we are try-hards, we end up messing up and going about stuff in tremendously unstylish ways. When we do this, we incur into our desperate energies, energies that don’t work.
Back in the day when I, sometimes, played football, I could realize the truthfulness of this idea first-hand. I noticed myself whenever I was “being desperate”. I believe I wasn’t really able to concentrate on the ball. I was too tight, too preoccupied about my performance. Your head is everywhere but in the game when you’re desperate. I think that’s why desperate energy doesn’t work.
In contrast, when I noticed myself tight, and desperate, I would try to relax, and focus on the game, not on the outcome. I began to play better instantly. and you know what? I even…