What you need to ask yourself is;

What would the Dalai Lama do …if he were a Navy seal.

Once upon a time there was a programmer called Sisyphus and he trudged into work and toiled all day, back and forth, back and forth. No matter where he went, people did one crazy thing after another and it really got to him, ‘cos he cared y’know. If only people would do things properly and not run around like headless chickens as soon as the project got put under any pressure. Oh and thinking things through a bit more, that would be good to.

So anyway Sisyphus is waiting for the build to complete and reading a few blogs, picking up a few tips, that kind of thing. When he comes across a couple of articles:

The Path to Happiness

The first article was about the Dalai Lama and how the Chinese totally fell out with him ‘cos he wouldn’t go work for them, and then they moved in and wouldn’t give him any space to breathe, and there was all this unpleasantness and now he can’t go home anymore.

And this is really bad ‘cos, he is the spiritual leader of his people and they need him, especially with the Chinese an’ all. But is he glum, is he downcast, no he is one of the happiest people around and very mellow, but sharp too.

And so people ask him, how is it that even when life sucks your always happy?

So he says, In identifying one’s mental state as the prime factor in achieving happiness: “We don’t need more money, we don’t need greater success or fame, we don’t need the perfect body or even the perfect mate – right now, at this very moment, we have a mind, which is all the basic equipment we need to achieve complete happiness.” Human happiness and human satisfaction must ultimately come from within oneself. It is wrong to expect some final satisfaction to come from money or from a computer.

Your happiness is a product of your mind not the universe around it. Changing your mind can be difficult, but with effort it can be done. Strive sincerely and you can be happy independently of your situation.

Order out of Chaos

The second quote is from the Navy Seals mantra when training for close quarters combat (an unexpected source), somewhat different than the first. “Fast is slow. Slow is fast.” Watch your fields of fire, pick your targets, aim centre mass, squeeze the trigger. The faster you go, the more mistakes you make. The more mistakes you make, the deeper in the shit you will be. Go slow. Try not to make mistakes. Be one with the battle yet transcend it. Float above the action, survey the scene, target immediate threats, and dispatch them with ruthless efficiency. Basically it says that if things are going very fast, slow it down. Concentrate on the immediate issues and deal with them with ruthless efficiency in a calm and precise nature. Don’t try to do everything at once, you’ll can’t, you will fail.

So…

If you wish to keep your head, while all around you are losing theirs, then follow the Dalai Lama and the Navy Seals: Slow down, float above the situation and move serenely through the chaos with a happy smile on your face.

See also Follow Steph – Life Quotes

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