The Art of Taking Action: Lessons from Japanese Psychology

Morita’s work provides great relief as we begin to see these thoughts as happening to us, similar to the way rain falls or a gust of wind blows across the yard.

But we shouldn’t confuse deciding with acting. If you were to watch me making decisions, mostly you would see me JUST SITTING THERE.

Arugamama allows us to move forward, because we are “consumed” by the heat, consumed by “things as they are.”

Most procrastination is caused by a tendency to make a decision, in the present moment, based on what we feel like doing at that moment. And if we don’t feel like doing something NOW, then we’re not likely to feel like doing it later, because (are you following this?) later will just be another NOW. If you don’t feel like doing your taxes NOW, just

A second benefit of moving from a focus on goals to a focus on effort, is that it naturally moves us from focusing on the future to focusing on the present.

This puts you in touch with the reality of your situation. It shifts your attention from your feeling state (boredom, anxiety, confusion) to the concrete reality of the circumstances surrounding your work.

When we are hot, we just let ourselves be hot. When we are anxious, we just let ourselves feel anxiety. When we are depressed, we just allow ourselves to feel depressed and hopeless. The state of arugamama is one in which we do not try to escape from our emotional experience.

Paying attention to the world around you is a priceless skill – a skill that is elegantly connected to taking action. If you use it and develop it you will notice more and more. And the more you notice, the more you will be clear about what needs doing. So the problem you will face, or may already be facing, is how to know what needs to be done NOW

But the action principles that come from the East are different from those in the West. They emphasize a value system grounded in principles such as non-attachment, purpose, gratitude, interdependence, and coexisting with fear. Such principles are prominent in martial arts (Aikido, Kyudo), psychology (Morita therapy, Kaizen) and even religion (enga