In this video you'll learn key takeaways from the book Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. A spiritual path in the modern world.
Video Summary by Wisdom For Life
Key Takeaways
"Death isn't sad, the sad thing is most people don't live at all."
Way of the Peaceful Warrior is a book that was written in 1980 and then it was adapted into a movie in 2006. It’s got a 7.3 on IMDB, so it’s a pretty good flick.
If you don’t read the book at least check out the movie, but the book definitely has way more wisdom than the movie.
Quick Synopsis:
The book is about a young man named Dan who is a very competitive and ambitious gymnast. He trained super hard and all he wants to do is win.
One night he’s wandering about and he meets an old man named Socrates. Dan becomes his student and his life is forever changed.
The old man challenges him in interesting ways and opens his mind into a whole new way of thinking and being.
Life has three rules: paradox, humor, and change.
Paradox life is a mystery don’t waste your time trying to figure it out.
Humor keep a sense of humor, especially about yourself. It is a strength beyond all measure.
Change know that nothing ever stays the same.
1. Act, don't react.
"A warrior acts, only a fool reacts."
We all run into tough circumstances and seemingly difficult people. We must become aware of our thoughts, emotions, and irritations, and then react wisely.
You are in control of your reactions, not anyone else. How you react shapes your entire life.
2. Every moment is special and unique.
One thing that’s always bothered me is when people tell me they’re bored. How could you possibly be bored living and existing in such a wonderful world, at such a remarkable time. I don’t get it.
"There's never nothing going on."
Every moment is amazing, filled with mystery and wonder. Existence in itself is mind-blowing when you sit down and reflect on it. So slow down and take in every moment or it’s only ever going to happen once.
Remember when you were young, when you were a kid and you’re amazed by everything. Somehow along the way we lose that, so we get caught up in the day-to-day life trying to get a good job, get a nice house, a nice car, and all that.
Try to be like a kid again. Find wonder in every aspect of life.
- For example have you ever been on an airplane and you’re sitting there going man I’m bored. Think about that for a minute. You’re in a steel tube at 35,000 feet in the air, going like five hundred miles an hour. That’s amazing. How the hell could you be bored doing that? How are you not amazed by that?
Find ways not to be bored.
Every moment is special and unique, don’t forget that.
3. You are not your thoughts.
"That's exactly what it is Dan, a thought. No more real than the shadow of a shadow. Consciousness is not in the body, the body is consciousness and you are that consciousness, not the phantom mind that troubles you. So you are the body, but you are everything else, too."
You are not your thoughts. Don’t let your thoughts run your life.
Try and observe your thoughts from a distance, and you’ll soon realize that if you are able to observe your thoughts, then you can’t possibly be your thoughts.
You’re something higher than that, so get to the next level beyond just thought. Separate yourself from your thoughts simply by observing them. It’s perfectly fine to think about your thoughts, and reflect on them, just don’t blindly run on them.
95% of thoughts you have in a day are pretty much useless. Think of them like clouds floating by.
When a thought you don’t like runs through your mind, just say hey thanks for your input brain and move on.
4. Enjoy the journey
"The journey is what brings us happiness, not the destination."
"Be happy now without reason, or you will never be happy at all."
I really love that last one because a lot of people attach their happiness on to some future goal, some future possession, something in the future, when you can actually just be happy now.
There’s literally nothing stopping you from being happy right in this moment.
Most people are going through life trying to reach some kind of destination, “hey if I can make X amount of money or get that promotion or get that fame, then I’ll be happy and my life will be how I want it.”
This however is not true. It’s just a story you’re telling yourself in your mind.
Your life is the journey, not the destination that you have made up in your mind.
If you focus on what’s out there in the future, your life will pass you by.
As they say stop and smell the flowers. Take time to stop and appreciate the complexity and beauty in.
5. Be your own voice.
"Everyone tells you what's good for you, they don't want you to find your own answers, they want you to believe theirs."
"Nobody knows you. Nobody knows your wants, desires. Only you know your true nature."
"Everything you'll ever need to know is within you. The secrets of the universe are imprinted on the cells of your body."
Follow your heart, your intuition and don’t let outside forces dictate your life. Focus on the things that you can control and make your life how you want it to be.
You may not be in control of certain outside influences, but you are 100% in control of how you react to them.
First you must master yourself. When you have important decisions to make, sit quietly and reflect on it without distractions.
All the answers you will ever need are within yourself. Nobody knows you better than you know yourself.
6. Forget the limitations your past has set for you.
Don’t believe all the limitations others have placed on you. Whoever they may be – either media, family, friends – past experiences shape our limitations if you let them.
7. We only have the present moment.
"Where are you? Here. What time is it? Now. What are you? This moment.
"Action always happens in the present because it is an expression of the body which can only exist in the here and now, but the mind is like a phantom that lives only in the past or future. It's only power over you is to draw your attention out of the present."
You only have the present moment.
If you observe your mind for an entire day, you’ll see your mind wanders to the past and the future constantly.
You have to snap out of it and focus your mind on the present moment more and more. All we have is the now. Don’t worry about the future or regret the past.
You are only ever here and now. Reflect on that and let that sink in until it’s internalized.
You are not in the many places your mind carries you away to. Studies show that we spend about 50% of our time wandering in our mind.
Living in the ever unfolding moment makes you much more aware of life and all that is happening. Make it a habit to focus on the moment you’re in right now.
When you are having that cup of coffee, let yourself become immersed in that activity. That’s how you should live your life. It’s much more fulfilling and full of quality moments when you do this.
8. Don't be afraid to make mistakes.
"It's better to make a mistake with the full force of your being then to timidly avoid mistakes with a trembling spirit."
"Responsibility means recognizing both pleasure and price, action and consequence, then making a choice."
Be decisive.
Be decisive. If you want to go for something, then go for it without the fear of making a mistake. Don’t let the fear monger stop you from acting.
Planning is obviously important because we want to make the best decisions with the information we have, but don’t get paralyzed by analysis. aka paralysis analysis.
You’ll never get enough information to make the best decision, so go with what you have and be decisive.
There are no mistakes, everything is a learning or growing opportunity. Don’t fear or resist it. Allow it to be.
There are no failures in life. Focus on what you can learn from everything, instead of viewing each thing as good or bad, win or lose, success or failure.
Every path is the right path.
9. There is nothing to fear.
Fear takes you out of the present moment and out of a state of peace. Be in the present moment as much as possible.
It’s understandable that we fear things sometimes because that’s just how our brains have developed throughout our evolution, but fear doesn’t serve the same purpose as it once did.
If you fail at something you’re probably not gonna die, so stop being scared of silly things. In the end we all die, so what is there to fear? We’re all going to the same place.
Enjoy life and don’t let fear hold you back.
Would you rather be on your death bed thinking about all the things that you didn’t do or would you rather be thinking about all the chances you took and obstacles you overcame?
10. Take responsibility for your life.
"It is better for you to take responsibility for your life as it is, instead of blaming others or circumstances for your predicament. As your eyes open you'll see that your state of health, happiness, and every circumstance of your life has been in large part arranged by you consciously or unconsciously."
Take responsibility for everything that happens in your life. Focus on what you can control and accept what’s outside of your control.
You truly do become more aware when you take responsibility and stop the blame game. No excuses, no blaming and no complaining. Make that a part of your life.
Once you become aware, changes will begin to happen.
11. Everything has its purpose.
Everything has a purpose, it’s up to you to find it.
Behind all of your so called failures and bad experiences is a purpose.
We’re all a part of something bigger. Like cogs in a machine, we’re just a tiny part in this machine and are not aware of how it all works.
Look back at a past event that’s turned into a benefit in some way. At the time you thought it might have been the worst thing that could possibly happened, but it helped you in some way down the road.
The next time life doesn’t go the way you want it, keep that in mind. You may not understand why it’s happening, but just allow it and accept it to be. Embrace it.
Investigate why it happened and find out what you can learn from the experience.
12. Don't waste your life away.
"Wake up. If you knew for certain that you had a terminal illness, if you had precious little time to make use of your life and consider who you are, you'd not waste time on self-indulgence or fear lethargy or ambition."
Tell yourself you only have one year to live. What would you do?
You wouldn’t waste time on trivialities that’s for sure. You would do something meaningful.
Treat every new day as a gift. When you look at it like that, you’ll value your time a lot more.
Make use of your time to the best of your ability.
13. Allow your emotions to come and go.
"You don't need to control emotion. Emotions are natural like passing weather. Sometimes it's fear, sometimes sorrow or anger. Emotions are not the problem. The key is to transform the energy of emotion into constructive action."
Embrace your emotions and allow them to be.
Don’t allow yourself to be controlled by your emotions. This is done by changing your relationship with them. Channel that emotional energy into something constructive.
To make this easier observe and pay attention to your emotions and be aware that just like your thoughts, you are not your emotions, you are much, much, more than that.
14. Be happy now and accept what comes your way.
"Be happy now without reason or you will never be at all."
"There is no need to search, achievement leads to nowhere. It makes no difference at all, so just be happy now."
Love is the only reality of the world because it is all one you see. The only law are paradox, humor, and change.
There is no problem, never was, and never will be. Release of your struggle. Let go of your mind. Throw away your concerns and relax into the world.
No need to resist life, just do your best, open your eyes, and see that you are far more than you imagine.
You are the world. You are the universe. You are yourself and everyone else, too. It’s all that marvelous play of God.
Wake up. Regain your humor. Don’t worry, just be happy. You are already free.
There’s nothing stopping you from being happy right now.
Happiness is a mental construct, so why do people feel the need to look outside themselves for happiness? It’s not based on assets, achievement or anything outside of yourself.
Let go of all the concerns and troubling thoughts playing in your mind and just be.
"Do your best and forget the rest."
You are much more than just your body, brain or spirit or whatever you want to call it. You are a piece of the entire universe. You are the universe.
You may have heard this before, but every atom inside of your body was once part of the stars. How mind-blowing is that?
15. Be willing to let things go.
"If you don't get what you want you suffer. If you get what you don't want you suffer. Even when you get exactly what you want you still suffer because you can't hold on to it forever."
16. We literally know nothing.
"We know nothing at all. All our knowledge is but the knowledge of school children. The real nature of things we shall never know."
If Albert Einstein says that we don’t know anything, I’m inclined to believe him.
"You are ignorant of where the universe is and thus where you are. In fact you have no knowledge of where anything is or what anything is or how it came to be. Life is a mystery. My ignorance is based on this understanding. Your understanding is based on ignorance. This is why I'm a humorous fool, and you're a serious jackass."
Life is a mystery. Nobody really knows anything when you really think about it. Our universe could be a brain cell inside some alien being for all I know. So be a humorous fool.
17. Be grateful for what you already have.
"The secret of happiness you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less."
Start small, what are three things you’re grateful for right now?
Do this daily. In the morning is best, so you can start your day off on a positive note.
Dan Millman TED Talk
You have a story and it is your treasure because no story on the planet is the exactly like yours.
It’s not as if you just have a story, you are a story in the making, you’re a novel being written, and you never know what the next chapter is going to be.
We don’t have to pretend to like difficulties when they come, but we need to keep that thread of attention that there are hidden gifts depending how we respond to it.
How can we develop a talent of living?
The Peaceful Warriors Way.
When things are going great in our lives, we don’t want change. At those points, we want everything to stay the same, but it doesn’t. Life is full of changes.
When things aren’t going well, and we have challenges in our life, then we are looking for change.
Anytime we face some adversity or challenge, we start to reflect and look at our lives once again and wonder if we can make some changes.
There are two types of changes:
1. External changes brought about by political activists, changing our technology, institutions and social institutions improving the world around us.
2. Internal changes psychological, personal growth, spiritual, the greatest change I can make is changing myself, and then I can bring more into the world and be useful.
If you want to help people, of course do what your heart tells you to do, but don’t neglect the work on yourself because that’s what is going to give you the clarity, courage to know how to exert the right leverage, at the right place, at the right time and really make a positive difference in the world.
It’s a matter of both external and internal changes.
Two fundamental approaches to change:
The easiest explanation is to JUST DO IT.
Inspiration comes and goes. Motivation rises and falls. The question remains, what will we do?
You can only do one thing at a time. Keep things simple. A little bit of something is better than a lot of nothing. Dream big, start small.
Six words that can change your life if you practice it: Here and now. Breathe and relax.
Most of our troubles are self-created about past and future, regrets, anxieties, but right now we can handle this moment.
Life comes at us in waves of change. We cannot predict or control those waves, but we can become better surfers.
Learn to surf the waves of change, here and now. We can always handle this moment, and the quality of our moments become the quality of our lives.
Your mind, not other people or your surroundings is a source of your moods.
We need to understand where thoughts come from, how they arise in the first place.
Stressful thoughts = a conflict with reality. Stress happens when mind resists what is. A way to get the mind to stop resisting is to meditate.
Silence is the warriors art and meditation is their sword. With it, you’ll cut through your illusions.
Understand that the swords usefulness depends on the swordsman. If you don’t know how to use the weapon properly, it can become a dangerous, diluting, or useless tool.
The warrior uses the skill of meditation with skill and understanding. With it, you slash through thoughts to reveal their lack of substance.
The purpose of meditation is to expand awareness, direct attention, surrender to the light of consciousness.
There are two simultaneous processes with meditation:
1. Insight, paying attention to what is arising.
2. Surrender Letting go of attachment to arising thoughts.
Everything has a purpose.
It’s for you to make the best use of it.
There are no accidents, everything is a lesson.
There are no good nor bad events, they are simply events.
Your bad habits don't count, your good ones do.
Your good habits have to become so strong that they dissolve those which are not useful.
So often we become critical of each others and our own faults. Instead of constantly critiquing what we don’t like, we should focus more on encouraging what we do.
The more we focus on the good habits, the less time and effort we have for the bad ones, until eventually they’ll fade away.
When you fail and give into temptation and fall back into bad habits, ask yourself, did I really do my best?
Old urges will arise, but urges do not matter, only actions do. A warrior is as a warrior does.
There are no ordinary moments.
Sometimes you look at the day and think it’s just another day, and this is exactly why we stay mediocre.
There’s nothing ordinary about any of this. We are alive on a planet that is mostly water, with oxygen to breathe, all while blasting around space at 67,000 mph around a gigantic ball of fire.
Instead of thinking about how mundane or boring your day is, think about the individual moments that collectively make up the day. Turn some of those ordinary moments into extraordinary moments and it will make a difference in your day, life.
Remember that you can control your efforts, not outcomes. Do your best, but make sure your effort isn’t what matters.
Most of us never learn how to enjoy life, only achieve. We spend our lives seeking happiness and yet never find it. This is what differentiates an expert from a master.
An expert dedicates their life to training with the purpose of winning competition. The master dedicates their training to life. Focuses on their best efforts without attachment to the outcomes.
The Happiness Formula happiness = satisfaction divided by desire.
You are rich if you have enough money to satisfy all of your desires.
There are different ways to be rich. Earn, inherit, borrow, beg, or steal enough money to meet your desires or you cultivate a simple lifestyle with few desires. This way you always have enough money.
A warrior has the insight and discipline to choose the simple way.
Know the difference between needs & wants.
We have few basic needs, but endless wants. The secret of happiness is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.
What time is it? Now. Where are you? Here.
Remember the time now and the place is here.
You can do nothing to change the past, and the future will never come exactly as you expected it.
The warrior is here and now. Your sorrow, fear, regret, guilt, envy and anger, in plans and cravings, live only in the past or in the future.
Instead of constantly reflecting and reliving on the past or thinking about the future, enjoy the present and focus on making the here and now the best it can be.
