The Invisible Artwork

Imagine that you go to meet an enlightened sage. You tell him all your troubles and sufferings, and his only response is a beaming smile full of wonder, awe, and playfulness. Why? 

Why is he smiling? Doesn’t it seem like an inappropriate response? You’re full of suffering and dismay, and he just sits there smiling at you, like you just told him the most wonderful story. That’s the question to think about throughout this article. Hopefully the answer will be clear towards the end.

The Source of Seriousness

If there is one thing that characterizes modern humans, it is the dead-serious attitude with which we approach life. Even when we have “fun” it is only a way to rest so that we can be more effective with the “serious” things.

Why? Why do we take life so seriously? It is not our natural disposition, it is not because everyone else does it, it is not even because life itself is serious.

This serious attitude is the result of our striving to attain something that we consider very important. The problem is, we haven’t the slightest idea what this something might be. Continue Reading →

Posted by Andrew Olson on May 31st, 2012 — Spirituality

Techniques Vs. Philosophies

There are basically two ways people try to make changes in their lives: by performing a technique or by adopting a new philosophy.

Techniques are like Weight Watchers: everything is simple and pre-packaged. You just eat the right foods in the right quantities and (hopefully) get the results. It’s basically mindless. No thinking required.

Philosophies, on the other hand, are much more powerful. They exist at the level just beneath actions. So when you change your philosophy, the actions and techniques will automatically change to align with the new beliefs. Plus, this is a comprehensive change that happens at the core of your being, making the results much more likely to stick.

Lazy people love techniques. If you write a great blog post with life-changing philosophies and a bullet list of techniques at the end… most people will dive right into the technique.

This can be frustrating to a blogger like me who is more interested in sparking meaningful philosophy shifts. 95% of people who read blogs like this just want the author to solve their problems and make them rich in 4-7 steps. If you can’t do that, you’re useless. That’s okay with me – I’ll just keep writing for you 5% who get it :) .

As you have surely experienced, philosophy shifts are harder to develop but they are much more likely to stick than a mindless technique. If you’ve had trouble achieving what you want, maybe it’s time to give up the techniques and try to create a more meaningful shift. This article explores how to do that.

The Problem with Techniques

The short answer: they’re for lazy people who don’t know what they want. And, they require immense struggle just to make the needle budge. Let’s explore that in more detail. Continue Reading →

Posted by Andrew Olson on May 22nd, 2012 — Philosophy • Success & Achievement

Why I Gave Up on Setting Goals

I want to share with you an effective way to achieve what you want without the added stress and unhappiness that often comes through setting goals.

The title of this post may seem like treason to many people. Like most, I started off my adult life a firm believer in the power of setting goals. Who isn’t? Goals are the American way, aren’t they? “You can achieve whatever you believe.”

If you run across someone who doesn’t have goals, our society treats them like they treat someone who smokes. They get condescending but compassionate looks from a holier-than-thou crowd who is clearly smarter than they are. But if you proudly proclaim that you have a GOAL to do something, why then, you get all the reverence and support you can handle.

Well, goals made a lot of sense to me! I tried them. I learned the SMART system, I read Steve Pavlina’s articles, I watched the Secret. Worse, I was one of those obnoxious missionaries who witnessed to everyone around me the power of setting a big goal and believing you can accomplish it.

Then, I noticed two more-than-small problems:

  1. After years of effort, I wasn’t getting any closer to actually achieving the goals. I was still far away from what I wanted.
  2. The process of striving for the goal was creating more stress and unhappiness in my life than the goal would ever have been worth.

Yet, I continued to persist with this plan for years. My natural response to a lack of results was to put even more effort into the process. I stepped up my dedication and pushed even harder. Continue Reading →

Posted by Andrew Olson on May 14th, 2012 — Success & Achievement

The One Ingredient Diet Update with 5.5 Whole Food Recipes

This is day #8 on my 30-day experiment of The One Ingredient Diet and I wanted to give you an update on my progress and share some of my favorite recipes that I have been experimenting with over the past week. First, a quick recap of how this experiment is going:

Processed Food Withdrawals

Now on day #8, I feel pretty amazing on this diet. I experienced some withdrawal symptoms for the first 4-5 days, not as severe as giving up coffee, but still disruptive. I was more tired than normal, moody, and seriously craving a piece of bread or a brownie.

Even more severe than the physical withdrawals have been the mental/emotional habits. I never considered myself to be much of a comfort eater, but snap peas just don’t satisfy your cravings. After a meal, I would often have a piece of dark chocolate or a small ‘healthy’ dessert. No more of that.

It has been unnerving to finish eating a huge meal with plenty of healthy calories only to feel like something is missing. It’s not hunger, but more of a craving for something processed. I still feel this way, but it is getting better. I expect it to take another week or so before I break the habit and rewire my brain to be satisfied with healthy foods. This rewiring process is precisely why I committed to this plan for a full 30 days. Continue Reading →

Posted by Andrew Olson on May 9th, 2012 — Health