“Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own” – Bruce Lee
My favourite ever quote by a man who lived a short, but highly productive and successful, life by just about any standards. Amongst many other things, he was a brilliant philosopher/thinker.
So, what can we learn from this simple but powerful one liner and how can it help us?
Absorb What Is Useful
Simple right, skim off the useful stuff! In this day and age we are constantly bombarded with messages, emails, advertising, tweets (for the Twitter crowd) and general demands on our time. With such busy flows coming our way we need to be selective about what we let in and how much notice we take of what is coming in.
Discard What Is Useless
This is the next logical step. Quite simply, if it’s not useful to us or doesn’t help us then maybe we should be throwing it out.
Apply this to everything in your life. If it’s not useful to you or it doesn’t give you joy or support your goals in some way then maybe you don’t need it. Get it out!
Add What Is Specifically Your Own
The challenging but fun part! This is where you add your own twist. Adding in your own experience/expertise/likes/drivers/wants to ensure whatever you end up with serves you best. After all you have to live your own life, no one else can live it for you.
Ponder the quote and see how you can apply it to your own life. If you do, you’ll start to see many positive changes and it will give you a clearer, more focused outlook.