*Disclaimer: The following is a summary and/or review based on the authors understanding of the book. Also, any possible references should be by default cited to the book under discussion.
In today’s era of infinite scroll and short videos, we are not only lost amidst a plethora of content but also consumed by bite sized content, leading to mental energy drain. Although easier said than done, I have myself encountered this dilemma of whether to tune in to YouTube or Instagram after or go for a run and write a blog after a long stressful day at work. The former is perhaps the easier and widely chosen option; and occasionally I have also taken the bait, while rest of the days, being self-aware of the situation, I hold myself with the following prep-talk:
the EXTRA in extra-ordinary comes from doing the extra!
And just as things were getting difficult for me, I came across this book. Though I had merely focused on the sub title ‘Master any skill or challenge by learning to love the process’ – I quickly realized that this book has more to do with life rather than just focusing on the process. And the first few chapters have been quite a deja vu as I have been able to asses why certain phases in my life felt like zen-state flow, while the others felt like freedom struggle. Bottom line is that this book will impart you with self awareness – not only to master a skill – but also to lead a peaceful life.
Lately I had lost interest in my favourite hobbies such as reading and running; as my focus seemed ever fixated on the ‘to-be’ state or ultimate achievement rather than cherishing the process. For the former, I just wanted to skip to clearing my CFA exams and for the later, I just wanted to skip over to the half marathon finish line. As these events seemed to take forever, I had started losing interest in the activities. This book made me realise that I was losing my process mindset and getting drifted away into the goal that is yet to be achieved.
This hit hard, as I was able to comprehend the reason why the activities that seemed euphoric until just a few weeks ago, had started to feel like drudgery. previously, I had enjoyed running so much that I would look forward to the 4k run every morning and never miss a chance for a 10k run. Similarly, my curiosity seemed to have been overridden by my quest to attain a certain certification rather than grasping new concepts. In fact, this reminded me of a quote from a professors:
Exam is just an unfortunate event in your quest for Knowledge!
late Prof. Anshuman Tripathy
And this is where the narrative escalates to present state awareness! Being immersed in process is just a part of being present in the present. But we often drift away; either judging or assessing our past and trying to pull off a Sherlock Holmes by imagining various versions of future. A future that is yet to occur and probabilistically speaking, the probabilities of our imagined versions are also statistically insignificant. However, our absence from the present is definitely eliminating certain versions of the future! – a future that could have been attained through complete involvement in present moment leading to a different series of decisions!
Past is what is recorded in your perception, Future is restricted by bounds of your imagination; but Present is the only Truth
As the title suggests, this book does suggest a remedy to our chronic problem. Part of the solution is to use the goal merely as a guide like polestar while focusing on immediate action. But for the rest, you should definitely read this book. The exercise itself is a part of the remedy as you will experience joy in the process. And as far as the effectiveness is concerned, it has been about a week and now I look forward to my evening runs. Leaving you with a clue:
Detached – Presence
This book has more to offer than what I have mentioned here. Since this is short book, I am refraining to mention more extracts from the narrative to create any expectations prior to reading. The narrative is simple and authentic, making it feel like a dialogue at times. And this is one of the non-bestseller-under-the-radar type gems that offers bite sized yet effective wisdom.
This is definitely a one-domestic-flight book. However, I would suggest you to be patient and take an entire week to allow time to imbibe and assess. Furthermore, as the book also highlights that our wisdom gets lost in the hamster wheel of routine humdrum. It is worthwhile to purchase a copy as it is necessary to revisit our learnings for course correction.
Feature Image Photo by Lena Taranenko on Unsplash
Savvy Munshi 
1 Comment
Comments are closed.