Stillness Is The Key
Stillness Is The Key by Ryan Holiday
My coffee cup rating 4/5:
☕️☕️☕️☕️
“The struggle is great, the task divine- to gain mastery, freedom, happiness, and tranquility. ”
This quote is the epigraph from Ryan Holiday’s book Stillness Is The Key. While many of Ryan's books deal with the practice of stoicism, this book casts a wider net into other religions and practices.
Stillness is not something new, but an ancient idea going back centuries. Almost every religion has teachings around stillness, and although they may call it by different names, the message is the same. Stillness, Ryan argues, is the key to just about everything and at the core of mastering one’s life. When stillness is present, you are better at whatever you do. These are bold claims and explain why most of the book is devoted to backing them up.
The book is separated into three main parts, Mind, Spirit, and Body. From there, Holiday breaks ideas into chapters, all of which are relatively short and easily digestible. I treated this book more like a devotional, taking it slow, and reading a chapter a day- which was easy to accomplish thanks to small and concise chapter sizes. Here are some of the ideas that stuck with me.
Don’t Forget to Journal
“Keep a notebook. Travel with it, eat with it, sleep with it. Slap into it every stray thought that flutters up into your brain.” -Jack London
Journaling has played big roles in many individuals, famous or otherwise. Holiday lists many well-known figures who journaled including, Oscar Wilde, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Leonardo da Vinci, and Ben Franklin. Journaling is an excellent thought release mechanism helping to organize and evaluate thoughts in a tangible way. I have heard of these benefits echoed from multiple sources, not just this book, and am looking forward to integrating more journaling into my routine.
Take Walks
"It is only ideas gained from walking that have any worth." -Friedrich Nietzsche
Walking is an excellent way to relieve stress, and as Ryan argues, time for finding some of our best ideas. He cites many well-known figures who integrated walking into their daily routines including, Charles Darwin and Steve Jobs. Nikola Tesla also famously discovered the rotating magnetic field on a walk in Budapest. Although running is my preferred way to relieve stress and wrangle my thoughts, I have started incorporating walks in as well. I truly enjoy slowing down and taking in everything around me. I would recommend everyone to walk, not just for your health, but sanity as well.
Build a Routine
“If a person puts even one measure of effort into following ritual and the standards of righteousness, he will get back twice as much.” -Xunzi
Routines bring order to the chaos of our lives. They ease indecision and open the mind to focus on the bigger picture. Almost every high performing individual has one, especially in creative fields like writing and sports. Ryan gives many examples of individuals like Fred Rogers, Russell Westbrook, and poet John Milton who had strict routines they followed every day. For some, scheduling out every second of their day seems monotonous, to which I would agree. Every person has a different threshold for routines in their lives. For me, I fall in the middle of the road when it comes to routines. I don’t like it when there's no structure to my day, but I can’t stand having things timed out to the minute. That said, I think just about everyone can benefit from routines in life, especially if you want to cultivate stillness in your life.
Sleep, Sleep, Sleep
“Even a soul submerged in sleep is hard at work and helps make something of the world.” ― Heraclitus
Sleep is one of those activities we don’t pay a lot of attention to but is remarkably important to our health and well-being. Ryan cites the example of American Apparel’s CEO, Dov Charney, who ran himself and this company into the ground through overwork and sleep deprivation. This chapter is short and only scratches the surface of the importance of sleep. If you are looking for a deep dive into the science and health benefits of sleep, I highly recommend Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. It helped me understand that sleeping is the most important activity I do every day.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading Stillness is the key, and will likely refer back to it for years to come. It’s one of those books that gets you climbing up to life’s diving board. Whether you walk to the edge and jump off into a deeper and more meaningful existence, well…that’s your decision.