8 Key Lessons From the Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle
This is one of the books that has had the most significant impact on my life.
I don’t think I could ever forget I read it and how much my life has changed ever since. I highly recommend you check it out!
8 Key Lessons From the Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle
1. The present moment is all you ever have. Wherever you are, be there totally.
One of the greatest lessons that stuck with me from this book is, of course, the main idea: whatever is happening right now is everything you have.
Living in peace has everything to do with embracing the power of the present moment, the power of the now.
Before reading this book, I hadn’t thought about this before.
I had never realized how much the mind wanders to the past and the future.
2. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it.
One of the key steps toward a peaceful life is to stop playing the victim.
Sure, some bad things may happen to you, and you’re not the one to blame.
But, if you find a way to accept your current situation as something you had chosen for yourself, you’ll start feeling more in control of your life.
And there’s no other way to find true freedom.
3. So do not be concerned with the fruit of the action; just give attention to the action itself.
Remember this every second of your day, and you’ll find yourself savoring every little activity, no matter how trivial or ordinary it is.
4. Leave the situation, change it if you can, or accept it. All else is madness.
If you can change a situation that’s bothering you, then go above and beyond to make that happen.
If you can’t change the situation, but you can leave it, go ahead and leave.
But, if you can’t do either of those, you’ll have to accept the situation just as it is.
Trying to fight a situation you can’t change or leave is pure madness and will eventually drive you completely crazy.
5. Stress is caused by being ‘here’ but wanting to be ‘there.’
As simple as that.
Have you ever caught yourself thinking about dinner while having lunch?
It used to happen to me all the time. Now it rarely does.
I love food, and before I read The Power of Now, I used to plan for amazing meals to find myself thinking about the future while eating them.
Not anymore.
Now I enjoy food (and everything else) without thinking about what I will do next. And I love that.
6. If you reduce the present moment to a means to an end, the now will never be good enough.
I’ve learned to enjoy every moment of every process thanks to this lesson in particular.
Now that I’ve read this excellent book, I’m mindful of how I see activities.
Are they a means to an end only? Or am I giving my all to this moment?
It’s wonderful how I find myself enjoying things that were so trivial before, like doing the dishes or taking a shower.
And, what’s more mesmerizing, is that things tend to turn out better when I do that.
7. Waiting is a state of mind.
… A state of mind that people seem to crave.
Have you ever felt the need to purchase something online just to have something to look forward to?
Give up to that state of mind.
Give up the need to be waiting for something so you can feel excited about life and live in the now instead.
8. Gratitude for the present moment is true prosperity.
Finally, there’s this excellent lesson about gratitude.
When you cultivate gratitude in your life, you find true, everlasting prosperity.
The Bottom Line
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle is a fantastic book.
If you don’t consider yourself spiritual, don’t worry, this book is for you too.
I carry these lessons with me all the time, written on the cover of my journal.
I read them constantly, and that’s why I’ve managed to put them into practice so well they’re part of who I am now.
I highly recommend it.