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5 Japanese Mindsets To Change The Way You Think
Sometimes we just don’t have the words
Japanese philosophy has had a huge impact on my life.
I find the calm balances out the mayhem of the modern mind.
When I first walked into a karate dojo aged 13, I had terrible self-confidence. Eight years later, I was on the UK National Squad and could happily teach weekly classes of over 40 students.
Yet I still only had a superficial understanding of zen mindsets. I focused on the cool flashy high kicks rather than understanding the way I thought. A trip to train with karate masters in the beautiful southern Japanese islands of Okinawa changed me for the better.
I came to realize how much of true progress in life was down to the way you think rather than being good at following instructions. If you strengthen your mind, you become better at everything.
Make no mistake, the five mindsets I learned aren’t mystic tools to solve all your problems. The real value is in becoming more aware of what state your mind is in so you can adjust it to suit your needs. I want to trigger you to think about the way you think more often.
Mushin no shin — Mind without Mind
Transcendence.
That’s how I can best describe the feeling of Mushin no shin.
Maybe you’ve felt it when you’re doing something you love. Your inner voice goes silent and your instinct takes over. You run on autopilot and you trust yourself to do exactly what you want to do.
Think of it as training mode vs performance mode. When you’re learning then your mind needs to be switched on because you need to think about what you’re doing so you do it right. Yet when it comes to performance time then you shouldn’t be thinking. You’ve done the hard work, empty your mind and let your subconscious free.
If you’ve felt it, you’ll know how amazing it feels.
It doesn’t need to be physical activity, I know people who describe the same feeling when in the zone in any activity. Gamers, painters, writers, anyone can create without consciously thinking. I hope you’re reading this and you’ve already identified what activity…
