Mindfulness lessons from commandos

When we were children, we all knew how to live in the present. Now for most of our lives, we just exist. But you can learn to live again. Eric Bertrand Larssen, author of Now !, says that it is enough to change the way of thinking a little and then the whole universe will open to you. A little is a lot.

Who is Eric Larssen?

Eric Larssen is a leading business and personal growth coach and author of two bestselling books, No Self-Pity and On the Limit. He served in the Norwegian Special Forces and developed the Hell Week program that has changed millions of lives around the planet. Eric knows how to inspire and ignite people. And he knows how to really change life.

No balance

There is a legend that there is a certain balance between work, family, hobbies and other important things that we must achieve.

But the truth of life is that such a balance is impossible. How do you imagine that an adult family man is simultaneously building a career, periodically traveling and relaxing in the Maldives, going to children's matinees and spending several hours a week in a fitness club? He, of course, can try to do all this, or at least dream about it, but this is one hundred percent failure. It seems to him that something is wrong with him and he is a failure, since he cannot achieve balance. Isn't that crazy? What another!

Society forces us to chase the illusion of success. So we fall into a trap, like a squirrel wheel. We run and run, trying to succeed everywhere, but we don't have a damn thing.

Understand that it is impossible to achieve success in all aspects. But this, of course, does not mean that now you can lie on the sofa and do nothing else. It’s just much better to be happy and calm than to constantly reproach yourself for failure. It will become easier for you if you realize the impossibility of balance.

Ninja Pulse

Once Eric in one film saw a ninja who defeated an opponent in a fight in an unexpected way - by pretending to be dead. His enemy did not detect the ninja's pulse and relaxed, deciding that he was already finished. But it was not there! At the same moment, the ninja jumped to his feet and defeated his enemy.

You can apply the same method in your daily life to “defeat the enemy”. When everything around you turns into chaos, many insoluble problems arise, and you panic and get nervous, try the following.

Eric called this exercise Ninja Pulse. Sit comfortably. Concentrate on your breathing. Breathe as deeply and slowly as possible. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 … Slow down your breathing as much as possible. When it seems to you that the world has stopped, and your heart is beating now 100 times slower, at that moment you will become a ninja.

This exercise has a great bonus: after it you will be able to perceive what is happening around you much more calmly and more consciously. Well, stop being nervous.

List of 16 things

Erik Larssen and other trainers recently held classes in Norway. They asked the audience to answer the question: "What are the 16 most important things for you in life?" Ask yourself this question and write the answers down on paper.

At first it seemed to the participants that making a list of 16 things was rather difficult. But in fact, they easily and quickly coped with this task.

But the next steps were really difficult. After all, now it was necessary to cross out from this list first five items that are least important, then remove three more, and so on, until there are only three items left on the list. The most important three points. Thus, we consciously prioritize, leaving only the most important.

Usually, this exercise is done the other way around: we make up and write down the three most important things. But then other things, which are also important for us, are ignored. Without a complete list, we do not take them into account and, accordingly, do not assess their importance.

Catch the wave

To catch a wave of calm and return to the moment of "here and now", ask yourself the following questions. Especially when you are just busy or thinking about something.

Do I feel peace within me?
Am I breathing deeply and slowly? Am I in control of my pulse?
Do I see beauty around me? What is it?
Do I feel joy in myself and from what?

Find the answers within yourself.

When you return to the present moment, it becomes very precious and extraordinary. This is awareness. You are not somewhere in the past or in the future, but here. You are open to the world.

So we gain a little more inner strength, and therefore peace. If everyone is a little calmer, kinder, more generous and more attentive, then the world will change for the better. A little is a lot.

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