Thomas M. Sterner > Quotes

“The problem with patience and discipline is that it requires both of them to develop each of them.”
― Thomas M. Sterner

“Progress is a natural result of staying focused on the process of doing anything.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline and Focus into Your Life

“Everything in life worth achieving requires practice. In fact, life itself is nothing more than one long practice session, an endless effort of refining our motions. When the proper mechanics of practice are understood, the task of learning something new becomes a stress-free experience of joy and calmness, a process which settles all areas in your life and promotes proper perspective on all of life’s difficulties.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“Habits are learned. Choose them wisely.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“So few people are really aware of their thoughts. Their minds run all over the place without their permission, and they go along for the ride unknowingly and without making a choice.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“If you are not in control of your thoughts then you are not in control of yourself. Without self-control, you have no real power, regardless of whatever else you accomplish. If you are not aware of the thoughts that you are thinking in each moment, then you are the rider with no reins, with no power over where you are going. You cannot control what you are not aware of. Awareness must come first.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline and Focus into Your Life

“Habits and practice are very interrelated. What we practice will become a habit.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“When, instead, your goal is to focus on the process and stay in the present, then there are no mistakes and no judging. You are just learning and doing. You are executing the activity, observing the outcome, and adjusting yourself and your practice energy to produce the desired result. There are no bad emotions, because you are not judging anything.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“You are going to find that buying the car is much less satisfying than working for it.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline and Focus into Your Life

“The feeling "I'll be happy when X happens" will never bring you anything but discontentment.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life

“We think too many thoughts at once, most of them the same thoughts we had yesterday and the day before. We are impatient with life, and anxious.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“The problem with patience and discipline is that developing each of them requires both of them.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“Rushing had become so much of a habit that I was amazed at the amount of concentration it took to work slowly on purpose.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“creating the practicing mind comes down to a few simple rules:        •  Keep yourself process-oriented.        •  Stay in the present.        •  Make the process the goal and use the overall goal as a rudder to steer your efforts.        •  Be deliberate, have an intention about what you want to accomplish, and remain aware of that intention.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“When we subtly shift toward both focusing on and finding joy in the process of achieving instead of having the goal, we have gained a new skill. And once mastered, it is magical and incredibly empowering.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“One study states that repeating a particular motion sixty times a day over twenty-one days will form a new habit that will become ingrained in your mind.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline and Focus into Your Life

“The first step toward patience is to become aware of when your internal dialogue is running wild and dragging you with it.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline and Focus into Your Life

“Consider a sailor trying to reach the horizon. It is unreachable. If the sailor sees the horizon as the point he must reach to achieve happiness, he is destined to experience eternal frustration”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline and Focus into Your Life

“Why would I need someone to make sure I do my job correctly?” answered the Japanese worker. “That’s my job.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“The second step in creating patience is understanding and accepting that there is no such thing as reaching a point of perfection in anything.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline and Focus into Your Life

“When you notice yourself fretting over something, you have accomplished the do portion. Now observe the behavior that you want to change. In your observation of yourself worrying, you separate yourself from the act of worrying. Now realize that the emotions you are experiencing have no effect on the problem over which you’re fretting. Release yourself from the emotions as best as you can — that is the correction portion — and try to look at the problem as an Observer.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“Progress is a natural result of staying focused on the process of doing anything. When you stay on purpose, focused in the present moment, the goal comes toward you with frictionless ease.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“Getting the goal and achieving it are worlds apart.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“So, as an adult, try to notice the carefree nature that comes naturally to a child, who lives for and in the present. Try to help children to not lose that nature as they grow up in a world that constantly tries to push it out of them. To”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“Most of us spend very little time in the present moment. We usually are either thinking about something that has not yet happened (and may never happen) or reliving something that already has. We waste each moment’s opportunity to experience what”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“You cannot master difficult situations without practice. You cannot practice mastery without being in the situation. When you know this, difficulty becomes an opportunity to push past your thresholds.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, Fully Engaged: Using the Practicing Mind in Daily Life

“As we attempt to understand ourselves
and our struggles with life’s endeavors,
we may find peace in the observation
of a flower. Ask yourself:
At what point in a flower’s life,
from seed to full bloom,
does it reach perfection?”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“Change equals growth.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, Fully Engaged: Using the Practicing Mind in Daily Life

“all the thoughts of what had to get done tomorrow. It”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process

“Without this, your life is incomplete.” Automobile commercials are particularly amusing in their overemphasis on these messages. They present ownership of their particular car as some sort of euphoric experience. In reality, we all know that cars are terrible investments that depreciate faster than anything else, and that when we purchase a new one, we spend most of our mental energy worrying that it will be stolen or damaged in the local mall parking lot.”
― Thomas M. Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline and Focus into Your Life