By Leo Babauta We’re entering the last month of the year, and for many of us, it’s a darker and quieter season. It’s the perfect time for reflection. I like to use December to deepen into reflection, and in my ​Fearless Living Academy​, we do a yearly ritual that I call “Sacred Bow” (as in […] The post A Month of Reflection appeared first on zen habits ..read more

By Leo Babauta When I was younger, I had a hard time doing some basic things like: I always knew that I “should” do these things, but they felt like too much back then. Avoiding taking care of things always left me feeling like my life was a mess. These days … I’m not at […] The post The Joy of Taking Care of My Life appeared first on zen habits ..read more

By Leo Babauta Eating healthy is something I’ve been a bit obsessed with for the last couple of decades, and I’ve transformed my eating in some really fundamental ways: These are huge transformations for me, and they’ve changed my health and my mindset towards health. At 51 years old, I feel incredibly healthy — and […] The post Thoughts on Healthy Eating appeared first on zen habits ..read more

By Leo Babauta I believe in finding powerful practices for transformation wherever we can find them. And the Stoic philosophers Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca are huge inspirations for me. I’ve found there to be a huge overlap between Stoicism and Zen Buddhism, even if there are also some key differences. The overlap between Zen & […] The post 5 Stoic & Zen Practices That I Believe In appeared first on zen habits ..read more

By Leo Babauta Last year, I turned 50 years old … and I found myself thinking about aging more than I ever had before. To be clear, 50 years old is still pretty young, but there’s something about the number that had me realizing that my 60s and 70s aren’t very far away, and it […] The post Overcoming the Fear of Aging appeared first on zen habits ..read more

By Leo Babauta Sometimes we decide not to do something because it feels like there’s not enough time to do the task — it will take me 2 hours to work on that task, and I only have 20 minutes, so why bother starting? We do this kind of thing more than we realize — […] The post There’s Not Enough Time appeared first on zen habits ..read more

By Leo Babauta Each day, I try to get outside for a walk or run (or other sport like cycling or basketball), and my debate with myself is often whether to bring my phone and earbuds to listen to music, a podcast, an audiobook … or to go tech-free. Tech-free is my favorite option — and […] The post What Happens When You Walk or Run Daily, Without Tech appeared first on zen habits ..read more

By Leo Babauta When we’re looking to grow, what we’re really trying to do is step into a new, expanded view of ourselves. For example, if you want to be more mindful, or live more simply, or be more compassionate with yourself or others, or be more disciplined about your meaningful work … these are […] The post Expanding Beyond Our Old Self-View appeared first on zen habits ..read more

By Leo Babauta Most of our stresses and frustrations come from our unwillingness to let go. Hear me out: think about something you’re stressing about, or someone you’re frustrated about. What thought do you have about that person or situation that causes the frustration? It’s often an invisible thought, that we don’t realize we have, […] The post The Practice of Letting Go appeared first on zen habits ..read more

By Leo Babauta Let’s imagine that there’s a big task you’ve been avoiding for weeks (or maybe a bunch of them!) … it just becomes this ball of dread that you don’t want to think about, but that you feel really bad that you’ve been putting off. Sound familiar? Everyone has something like this, whether […] The post Turning Towards a Task You’ve Been Avoiding for Weeks appeared first on zen habits ..read more