This is Optimal Living Daily Episode 1196, how to master the art of living by Leo Babata of Zen Habits

Donnet, and I'm just a mall like the guy who's been reading articles, book excerpts, essays,

sometimes stories, everyday including holidays for over three years, even when I'm sick as I am

today, so let's keep this intro nice and short and start optimizing your life.

How to master the art of living by Leo Babata of Zen Habits Donnet

Imagine you at a gorgeous blueberry sitting on the otherwise empty plate in front of you.

You pick it up gently, place it on your tongue, and begin to taste it.

You already know how a blueberry tastes, and so when this one is a bit riper than you like,

you make a face, feel the disappointment, and swallow it with this pleasure, or perhaps it

tastes exactly as you'd expected, no big deal. You swallow and move on with your day.

In the first case, the blueberry was disappointing because it didn't meet expectations.

In the second, it was boring because it met expectations.

Now try this. Have no expectations of how the blueberry will taste. You don't know because you

haven't tried it yet. You're curious open to a variety of tastes. You taste it, and really pay

attention. You notice the tanginess, the firmness of the skin, the sweet mushyness of the center,

the complex flavors that emerge as you eat it. You didn't know how it would taste, but this is

brilliant. It's new because you've never tasted anything quite like it. This is sometimes called

the beginner's mind, but I think of it as a mind-free of expectations. The blueberry, of course,

can be anything in life, any experience, any person you meet, any cup of tea, any task before

you, any interaction with a loved one, any thought that enters your head, any moment of the day.

If you approach any of these with expectations, they will often disappoint or frustrate you,

or be bland, blah, usual. And you move on to the next disappointing or frustrating or

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