What a Zen proverb tells us about self-improvement
There’s an old Zen Buddhist saying that goes something like this: You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day, unless you’re too busy. In that case, you should meditate for an hour a day.
Now, on a literal level, this is decent-but-not-great advice. I think meditation is a great habit to get into, although I’ve gone on record recommending people start with two minutes a day.
So is this old saying wrong? I’ve seen many people suggest that it is. You might think I’m one of those people, since I literally wrote an article suggesting people meditate for only two minutes.
But here’s the thing: this proverb isn’t about meditation. Not really. Like many Buddhist aphorisms, it’s not meant to be taken completely literally.
I’m a fitness coach. At least once a month, I get a comment from a reader that says something like this: Work out more? That’s easy for you to say. You’re in great shape; it’s easy for you. But I’m a hundred pounds overweight and can’t even do a push-up, working out is too hard for me!
They’re not wrong- working out is a lot easier for me than it is for them. But does that mean I should exercise more, and they shouldn’t?
Consider what more exercise would mean for each of us. If I exercise more, I can get sixpack abs. If they exercise more, it could literally save their life.
In other words, the fact that exercising is easy for me just means that I’ve hit the point of diminishing returns. Which means I need to work on other things that aren’t easy for me, like networking, writing, and talking about my feelings.
The guy in the photo gets it. He’s already great at meditation, so he’s working on his photography instead.
Here’s the proverb behind the proverb: If something is easy for you, work on it a little. If it’s hard for you, work on it a lot.
You can have an easy life, or you can grow, but you can’t do both. Growth comes from challenging yourself and overcoming your weaknesses. Learn to embrace difficulty.
On the other hand, feel free to meditate for just two minutes a day.
And before you go…
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