Stay in Your Lane

Ever find yourself completely caught up in what someone else is doing or working on? So, how do we stay focused on what we can control + lose the distraction?

“By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness.” – Yoga Sutra 1.33

Despite being thousands of years old, this wisdom is still highly relevant + applicable in our modern world. The above is one of my favorite verses from the ancient text, The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali. I also think it’s the tent pole for developing a “mindful workstyle.”

The principle is this: everyone we encounter in our work falls into one of four categories at any given moment: happy, unhappy, virtuous or wicked.

This verse gives us the response that will minimize our mind fluctuations (i.e. less distraction which translates to increased clarity.)

For example, the wisdom suggests that if someone is happy, we should be happy for them, too. Then, we move on with our day. The time we spend thinking about whether they deserve their good fortune or circumstances is exactly what disturbs the mind and depletes our mental bandwidth. And, if we decide this person is undeserving of the thing that’s making them happy, does that change the situation? Chances are, they remain happy, but we are affected.

Team Mindfresh is putting this wisdom to work in our life + business. When we catch ourselves lingering or marinating on someone else’s circumstances, we’re picking the appropriate response and doing our best to move onward. #joinus

It’s said that if we can live this wisdom, the mind will “retain its undisturbed calmness”. A calm mind is strategic, accurate + swift – we want that.

To less distraction,

Jen