Episode 63 - The Buddhist Way to Reach Goals

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">1,200 years ago, the Buddhist Master Shantideva offered a Buddhist approach to lasting change in his</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life</span></em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">. The four powers of effort can be used as steps to making a specific change reaching a goal.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Four Powers of Effort</span></p> <p> </p> <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Aspiration. A strong wish (aspiration) is a fundamental basis to accomplish an important goal. The most powerful wishes comes when the outcome is meaningful to us and is an expression of our values. Living in accordance with our values is a path toward happiness and is a type of success that can reliably bring us satisfaction. External success may or may not be achieved or even deliver the happiness we believed it would. But acting in accordance with our values will bring us peace. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Steadfastness. What is the smallest, most manageable step you can take in the next 24 hours to move in the direction of your goal? Very clearly identify the first step, according to your capacity. Plan the step for the following day. Try to make one step toward your goal each day. If we diligently put these planned steps into action, from this steadfastness will come a newfound confidence. The Buddha said that “with effort we have all attainments”. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Joy. Try to make the plan for change a joyful one. We won’t do what makes us suffer for very long! Adopting new habits will be challenging, but the experience can’t be</span> <em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">very</span></em> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">unpleasant. The spiritual path should be a joyful one if we are practicing correctly.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rest. Rest