Podcasts by Zen Habits Favorites
Each episode of Zen Habits Favorites features a select blog post written by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits, read by Chris Calabro. Zen Habits is about finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness.
Further podcasts by Leo Babauta and Chris Calabro
Podcast on the topic Mentale Gesundheit
All episodes
Creating the Habit of Not Being Busy from 2020-10-11T09:30:39
One of the most common problems among people I work with and coach is the feeling of always being busy.And then it becomes a rationalization: I can’t honor my commitments because I’m too busy! I ca...
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The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For from 2019-07-28T09:30:08
Our lives are spent building up to more important moments, later, the moments when we’ll be happy. But when those moments come, we’re not happier. In fact, we’re already looking ahead.
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The Magic of Seeing Everything as Sacred from 2018-07-01T09:30:02
For the most part, everything is normal. We’re managing. On good days, things go pretty well. On bad days, frustration and stress get to us. But what if we could shift everything in a magical way?
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Mental Resiliency: Letting Go of the Guilt of Not Getting Things Done from 2018-05-06T09:30:28
It happens to all of us: we don’t get done what we hoped to get done, then we feel stressed or guilty about it. It’s time to let that go, because it’s not helping us. We can build resiliency around...
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Why I’m Always in a Hurry,&What I’m Doing About It from 2018-01-14T10:30:11
When I write these articles, they’re as much a reminder to myself about what I’ve found to work as they are a reminder to all of you. I’ve found them to work, but that doesn’t mean I always remembe...
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A Guide to Dealing with Dissatisfaction with Ourselves from 2017-10-29T09:30:01
I used to think, as many people do, that if we’re unhappy with ourselves, we’ll be driven to get better. And if we were all of a sudden content with ourselves, we’d stop doing anything. I no longer...
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A Mindful Shift of Focus from 2017-09-03T09:30:40
The next time you experience frustration, just notice it. Just be mindful that you’re unhappy with something or someone, that you’re feeling frustration in your body somehow. Now notice what it is ...
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Let Everything Breathe from 2017-04-02T09:30:45
As you sit here reading these words, you are breathing … stop for a moment and notice this breath. You could control the breath, and make it behave as you like … or you can simply let yourself brea...
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What’s the Most Loving Thing You Can Do? from 2017-03-26T09:30:03
The question I’ve been asking myself lately, before I do anything, is a deceptively simple one: “What’s the most loving thing you can do in this situation?“
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Removing Ourselves From the Center of Everything from 2017-01-29T10:30:04
When I remember to do this — and I very, very often don’t — it lifts the difficulty that I’ve been facing internally and shift my focus to understanding and empathizing with other people, seeing ho...
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Your Internet Habits Create Your Reality from 2016-08-07T09:30:38
If you’re on Facebook looking at your friends’ food pictures or vacation photos, that will shape your reality. If you’re on porn sites, that’s what your reality is. If you follow people on Twitter ...
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How to Want Very Little from 2016-07-31T09:30:30
There’s a part of today’s consumerist world that drives us to want more, buy more, act on our impulses, hoard, spend to solve our problems, create comfort through shopping, seek thrills through tra...
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My Most Important Productivity Method from 2016-07-24T09:30:12
You can read entire books on productivity, dozens of blog posts, and implement half a dozen different productivity systems. But at the end of the day, you’d have gotten nothing important done. The ...
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Why We Struggle with Change from 2016-07-17T09:30:14
We think we need to improve ourselves and our current situation, because we’re dissatisfied (at least a little bit) with how things are. So we strive for change — exercise more, eat better, read mo...
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The Miracle of Suspending Mis-Belief from 2016-07-10T09:30:48
When we feel difficult emotions in real life, we can stop believing in the story, and start to see the reality of what’s happening: there’s just physical objects around us, moving. There are atoms ...
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This Moment is Enough from 2016-07-03T09:30:49
We feel the moment isn’t enough unless we talk about it, share it, somehow solidify it. The moment is ephemeral, and we want solidity and permanence. This kind of groundlessness can scare us.
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A Mini-Guide to Not Being Frustrated All the Time from 2016-06-12T09:30:52
Pretty much all of us experience frustration on a daily (or even hourly) basis. We get frustrated by other people, by ourselves, by technology, by work situations, by small crises that come up all...
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Opt Out: A Simplicity Manifesto from 2016-04-10T09:30:38
Think about how busy our lives have become. Think about how distracted we’ve become. Think about how many things needlessly pull on our attention, our time, our money, our sanity. The point isn’t t...
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Our Everloving Quest to Control Our Lives from 2016-03-13T09:30:19
The basic nature of life is that it is everchanging, uncontrollable. When we think we have stability in life, something comes up to remind us that no, we don’t. There is no stability, no matter how...
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Constantly Worried About How Others Perceive Us from 2016-02-07T10:30:50
Everyone is trying to look good in the eyes of others. Everyone stresses out about how they look, how they’re perceived, whether people think they’re awesome or good people. It’s why Instagram, Fac...
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Practicing Non-Judgment from 2016-01-31T10:30:07
What I’ve noticed, when I experience anger, frustration, disappointment … is that I am judging my experiences based on whether they are good for me or not. But why am I at the center of the universe?
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How to Deal with Your Family’s Bad Habits from 2015-12-06T10:30:50
Have you created healthy habits for you, but haven’t gotten your kids or spouse on board? You’re not alone — lots of people get frustrated when their loved ones don’t want to create healthy habits.
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The Time When We’ll Be Present&Content from 2015-11-22T10:30:55
We are frustrated with ourselves, with others, with our situation, with the way the world is, and we can’t let go of wishing they were different.
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The Most Important Moment from 2015-11-15T10:30:13
Something I forget a lot, and have to remind myself about a lot: I’m not on my way somewhere. Each moment rushes by, because we’re on our way somewhere else.
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The Place Where You Are from 2015-06-21T09:30:42
Pause for a moment, right now, to notice where you are. What is it like? What is the light like? What about the sounds, the smells, the feelings your body is feeling, the people around you? What is...
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The Elements of Living Lightly from 2015-06-14T09:30:39
Hamlet said, ‘There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.’ He was right. Without the human mind, things just happen, and they are not good or bad. It’s only when we apply the fil...
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Practicing Slowness&Being Present from 2015-04-19T09:30:59
If you don’t practice being present, slowing down, enjoying the moment right now, when will you practice? What are you practicing now instead?
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7 Strategies for Facing Your Internet/TV Addiction from 2015-04-05T09:30:06
How do you beat something so addictive as the Internet, or TV — things most of us find ourselves increasingly immersed in, all day long? I’m going to give you strategies I’ve found effective, becau...
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The Anti-Bucket List from 2015-03-22T09:30
Why put pressure on ourselves to achieve a huge list of things that aren’t that meaningful? Why feel guilty if we’re not pursuing them? Why not let them go?
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How to Find Your Life Purpose: An Unconventional Approach from 2014-10-05T09:30:51
Let’s say you’re feeling unmotivated, unsure of yourself, aimless, can’t find your passion, directionless, not clear on what your purpose in life is. There about a million things online telling you...
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The Heartbreaking Cruelty of Comparing Yourself to Others from 2014-09-21T09:30:25
We all do it: we look at what others are doing and wish we were doing that too. Or, alternatively, we scoff at what they’re doing and judge them, and see ourselves as better. One makes us feel bad,...
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How to Be Prepared for Anything from 2014-08-31T09:30:41
One way is to get everything ready for anything that’s likely to come: get all your survival equipment, prepare your skills, plan for your work projects, get your affairs in order, think through yo...
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Constant Task Switching from 2014-07-13T09:30:08
The practice of simplifying, clearing things away and staying with what I’m doing is incredibly useful, and something I haven’t mastered yet.
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The Fear of Being Found a Fraud from 2014-06-20T09:30:47
I try to be myself, which is really the best I can do. If I’m authentic, I can’t be a fraud, because I’m just being who I am. Of course, I’m always trying to figure out who that self is, and the se...
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The Frustratingly Slow Pace of Making Changes from 2014-06-15T09:30:54
When we start a change, we have an idea of how that will turn out — a fantasy in our heads, perhaps with a short timeline and a perfect result and an increase in happiness. But it never happens as ...
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The Incredible Importance of Sleep for Habits&Motivation from 2014-06-08T09:30:24
I could cite a bunch of studies and numbers, but here’s the honest truth: based on my own self-experiments, and working with thousands of people on habits, sleep is one of the most important but le...
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The Reality of This Moment from 2014-05-04T09:30:28
The combination of sounds and colors and shapes and smells around you will never exist in this particular combination ever again.
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Procrastination is a Mindfulness Problem from 2014-03-02T10:30
We all procrastinate, and by and large, we all know the solutions to our procrastination. But they don’t work unless you’re aware of what you’re doing.
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The 7 Habits of Calmness from 2014-02-23T10:30:08
High stress, constant anxiety over tasks and work and life, social anxiety … this is all a part of the modern way of life. Most people just don’t feel a sense of peace, of calm, of serenity, throug...
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Zen Productivity from 2014-02-16T10:30:49
So what do you do when you’re overwhelmed and have a crapload of work to do? Here are the practices that work for me. I offer them to you in hopes that they’ll help you.
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Letting Go of Judging People from 2014-02-02T10:30:52
Now, I’m not going to pretend I don’t ever judge other people. But one of the best changes I’ve made to help me be happier is learning to see judging other people as a red flag.
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A Method to Find Balance from 2014-01-26T10:30:48
A friend recently asked me how I balance my personal lives and all my projects, and it made me pause and think. And that pause, and the thinking, is really the key to it all, I discovered.
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Make It Your Job from 2013-12-22T10:30:31
When you’re feeling resentful or angry about something, it’s worth stopping to consider why.
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Toss Your Expectations Into the Ocean from 2013-11-24T10:30:50
How much of your stress, frustration, disappointment, anger, comes from one little thing? Almost all of it comes from your expectations. We build these expectations in our heads of what other peopl...
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how to be less busy in a busy busy world from 2013-11-03T10:30:14
Most of us are pretty busy, just about every day. Some like it that way — being busy is almost a status symbol, as it shows you’re important and productive and a go-getter and achiever. I say we sh...
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Simplify: Let Go of Your Crutches from 2013-09-15T09:30:24
Many people are super busy, and distracted, because busy-ness and distraction feels productive, and isn’t boring. Smokers don’t want to quit smoking, because it helps them deal with stress. What do...
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Living the Quiet Life from 2013-09-01T09:30:43
When I first started simplifying my life, about 8 years ago, I remember my life being much busier. I would say yes to everything, and go to lots of social stuff, and drive everywhere doing a crazy ...
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Why Fear of Discomfort Might Be Ruining Your Life from 2013-08-11T09:30:06
Think about the major problems in your life — from anxiety to lack of regular exercise to a bad diet to procrastination and more. Pretty much every one of these problems is caused by a fear of disc...
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The Worry That You’re Doing the Wrong Thing Right Now from 2013-07-14T09:30:34
When we were kids, most of us had someone to tell us what to do. Then came adulthood, where things became not-so-clear.
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9 Rules for a Simpler Day from 2013-06-30T09:30:36
Our days fill up so fast, and are so rushed and filled with distractions, that they seem to be bursting. It’s a huge source of stress for most people, and stress is perhaps the most important facto...
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Achieving Without Goals from 2013-05-26T09:30:38
Instead of working with a fixed outcome (goal), work from moment to moment, using principles that work for you. Each moment, don’t ask “am I doing something to move me to my goal?” but instead ask,...
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Expanding the Envelope: A Method for Beating Anger from 2013-05-12T09:30:33
Let’s say we’re working and someone interrupts us: bam, so pissed off! Life is suddenly a boiling rage. OK, maybe we’re just annoyed. Why are we so annoyed/Hulk-enraged? Simply because we wanted to...
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There’s No Task Easier Than No Task from 2013-04-07T10:30:23
What’s the fastest way to get a task off your to-do list? Just delete it … or don’t put it there in the first place.
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The Habits That Crush Us from 2013-03-17T10:30:10
Why is it that we cannot break the bad habits that stand in our way, crushing our desires to live a healthy life, be fit, simplify, be happier? How is it that our best intentions are nearly always ...
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10 Simple Ways to Live a Less Stressful Life from 2013-03-03T10:30:37
If your life is full of stress, like mine once was, there are some simle things you can do to get your life to a more manageable level. Your life will probably never be stress-free — but when stres...
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It’s Not Too Late to Change Your Habits from 2013-01-20T10:30:18
It’s not that changing bad habits is impossible. But if we are so discouraged we don’t try, we will never change them. To try and to fail is of little consequence, but to never start at all is fata...
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The Five Things You Need to Know About Finding the Work You Love from 2012-12-30T09:30:37
One of the keys to happiness — as well as productivity and effectiveness at work — is finding work you love, that you’re passionate about. Work you want to do, instead of just have to do.
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25 Ways to Help a Fellow Human Being Today from 2012-12-16T09:30:52
Too often the trend in our society is for people to be separated from either other, to be cut off from the great mass of humanity. Strike back against the selfishness and greed of our modern world,...
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15 Ways to Create an Hour a Day of Extra Time … for Solitude from 2012-11-11T09:30:41
One problem with our complicated lives these days is that many of us never find time to spend alone, in peace, without being bombarded with noise and information. Find time each day to be alone, fo...
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A Guide to Cutting Back When You Feel Overwhelmed from 2012-09-23T09:30:53
There are days in everyone’s life when they feel overwhelmed by the stresses and tasks and projects and phone calls and emails that weigh upon them. Yes, even the minimalists like me get overwhelme...
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5 Powerful Reasons to Make Reflection a Daily Habit, and How to Do It from 2012-09-02T09:30:14
I highly recommend that, if you haven’t yet, you develop the daily habit of reflection, in your own way. It could have profound changes on your life.
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Why You Should Celebrate Your Mistakes from 2012-08-26T09:30:56
Most of us feel bad when we make mistakes, beat ourselves up about it, feel like failures, get mad at ourselves. Yet mistakes make walking possible for the smallest toddler, make speech possible, m...
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How to Be Childlike from 2012-08-19T09:30:38
As grown ups, we’ve lost this childlike sense of life. And that’s actually a sad thing. It’s not just about happiness and innocence either — being more childlike also helps us to be more creative, ...
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The Comparison Trap from 2012-08-12T09:30:56
We’re endlessly looking at how others do things, for inspiration and ideas … but we end up wanting to try those things too. That sounds harmless until you realize that you’ll buy almost anything be...
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The Art of Handling Criticism Gracefully from 2012-08-05T09:30:12
If you’re going to do anything interesting in the world, criticism is an unavoidable fact. The trick to navigating the icebergs of criticism is to figure out which are helpful, and steer clear of t...
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Quashing the Self-Improvement Urge from 2012-07-29T09:30:43
One of the driving forces of my life for many years was the need to improve myself. So what’s the problem? You could say it’s great that people are constantly trying to improve themselves, but wher...
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the lost art of solitude from 2012-07-22T09:30:46
You don’t need to be a monk to find solitude, nor do you need to be a hermit to enjoy it. Some of my favorite activities include sitting in front of the ocean, still, contemplating … walking, alone...
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