💎 Friday Gems (Tame the Inner Critic, Observe Mindfully, Practicing Serendipity, and much more!)
Make your opinion, your condition, and your situation disappear, then a difficult situation is OK; noise is OK; your mind will be unmoving. - Zen Master Seung Sahn
You know those moments at work when someone says something that gets under your skin, or things just don’t go the way you hoped? The little annoyances that add up and leave you feeling worked up.
What if, instead of resisting and pushing back, we simply acknowledged them for what they are and focused on what we can control?
I’ve been thinking about this quote from Zen Master Seung Sahn:
“Make your opinion, your condition, and your situation disappear, then a difficult situation is OK; noise is OK; your mind will be unmoving.”
By accepting reality as it is, we can show up more effectively without wasting energy resisting what is beyond our control.
When we loosen our grip on fixed opinions, desires, and attachments to specific outcomes, something shifts.
The moment opens up and possibilities appear.
In stillness, find your next step.✊🏽
Today's Gems 👀
Mindfulness: The Dog That Howls Inside Your Head: Learning to Tame the Inner Critic
Mindfulness: How to Observe Mindfully (And Not Lose Your Mind)
The Mindful Designer: Practicing Serendipity
Wisdom: On Authenticity
Mindfulness
The Dog That Howls Inside Your Head: Learning to Tame the Inner Critic
“The meanest dog you'll ever meet
He ain't the hound dog in the street
He bares some teeth and tears some skin
But, brother, that's the worst of him
The dog you really got to dread
Is the one that howls inside your head
It's him whose howling drives men mad
And a mind to its undoing.”
That dog. That howling. That’s the inner critic.
I know this inner critic all too well. He shows up at exactly the moment I need to get out of my comfort zone, whispering doubt, indecision, and fear into me. Keeping me imprisoned in a story of my own making. The more I give in to him, the stronger he gets. The more I listen to him, the louder he gets.
But there is a way out!
Mindfulness is the key!
Mindfulness is the practice of noticing what’s here with curiosity and kindness. It gives us just enough distance from our thoughts to see them for what they are. Thoughts. When we’re mindful, we begin to recognize the inner critic as thoughts that follow a pattern and represent a narrow perception. They do not reflect the truth and are not a prophecy.
When we can catch our thoughts before they snowball into stories we fall into, we can create space for our true selves. We can breathe and not fall into unwanted thoughts and behaviors.
But just for today, consider this:
What if that voice wasn’t telling the truth?
🔗 Dr. Susan Beesley in MindfulGrowthAK.com
Mindfulness
How to Observe Mindfully (And Not Lose Your Mind)
To observe mindfully you intentionally pay attention to the present moment, without trying to control, change, or judge what’s happening.
As we rush through the day from one task to the next and fall into the distraction traps along the way while our runaway thoughts throw us into stories of our own making, we can slow down and pause to bring intentional, nonjudgmental awareness to the present moment.
Observe the moment mindfully is a practice in which we can use all our senses, our breath, and our bodies to start to connect and get back to ourselves, within our bodies and with our true selves.
I love all the ways listed in this article to help us bring curiosity and wonder into the smallest and simplest things we do by:
Observing with our eyes
Observing with our sense of touch
Observing with our ears
Observing with our nose
Observing taste
Observing our urges
Observing our full sensory experience
Observing our breath
Observing our thoughts
and expanding our overall awareness
Every moment is another chance to notice what’s real!
🔗 Fundamentalgrowth.com
Mindset
Practicing Serendipity
Serendipity is more than a moment. It’s more than luck, and it’s more than chance.
It’s a practice of seeking, encountering, connecting, and activating—and it can unlock new ideas you wouldn’t have expected, innovations you never dreamt of, and clarity you didn’t expect.
It’s a practice.
A way of existing in the world.
And anyone can do it.
We can either go through life hoping for good luck or we can be intentional by adopting the right mindset and behaviors to enable new, favorable, and unexpected scenarios to arise, which creates serendipity.
As a mindful designer, you are also a practicing serendipitist because you approach life with an open mind. You are in the moment and open to all of life’s possibilities. You seek out your curiosities because of your innate desire to learn, grow, and share with others.
Check out and subscribe to the
newsletter by to learn how others have created value by practicing serendipity.
Inspiration
💡 On Authenticity
That’s it for this week’s Friday Gems.
In stillness, find your next step.✊🏽
Low Fidelity explores the inner game of creativity through mindsets, mindfulness, and personal growth, drawing on honest stories and lessons from lived experience. Inspired by a Zen approach, it invites presence, patience, and simplicity into the creative process.
Founded and led by Rizwan Javaid, Low Fidelity offers reflections and insights to help readers navigate their own creative and personal journeys with clarity, intention, and a sense of calm focus.