One of the greatest samurai that ever lived, Miyamoto Musashi, created a bunch of rules to live by. Born in 1584, he was a gifted swordsman and a famous warrior, his teachings are still being applied to this day. Take a look at these 15 rules for a happy and fulfilled life, according to his text, “The Way of Walking Alone”.
1. Accept life as it comes
Learn to accept the life you’re given, it will definitely make you stronger. If you accept even the most difficult parts of your life, you will find freedom within. It’s natural for stress, anxiety or despair to creep into our soul. But they shouldn’t be held liable for the burden that is life.
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2. Drop the obsession to gain pleasure
Stop chasing down pleasure, you should enjoy it when it comes naturally. Musashi argues that we all should get by with the little we have and simply enjoy the moment. If we live life in the moment, we forget about the things we don’t own or the things we obsess over.
3. Never live in regret
It was this samurai’s belief that everything in life happens for a reason so it’s not good to dwell on the forgotten. The past is part of your journey, but it will never change.
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4. Don’t rely on impulse
We live in a society where we are taught to follow our heart and intuition, but the great samurai didn’t feel the same. In his opinion, sometimes it’s just better to stick to what you know for sure.
5. Don’t be infatuated with yourself
We have become so obsessed with our image, we now have all the resources at hand to turn into the biggest narcissists there are. Musashi warns us to not miss out on what’s important because of our ego.
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6. Complaining is out of the picture
Musashi claims that complaining should have no place in our life. When complaining, you allow the past to give you a hard time in the present. We must learn to let go of the things gone wrong.
7. Don’t let lust rule your life
We shouldn’t waste our time on this planet on lustful thoughts. Instead, we must all strive only for love and lasting relationships.
8. Don’t believe something just because you’re told to
Don’t follow the crowd, form your own opinions. Question everything around you, you will feed your curiosity and thus, your knowledge will take shape.
9. By all means, protect your honor
The Samurai claimed that the only way to live an honest and fulfilled life is to be true to yourself and live life as fairly as you know how to.
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10. Have no fear of dying
If you have fear of dying, you simply skip living life to the fullest. We should live each day like there’s no tomorrow and never be scared of the consequences of our actions.
11. Money doesn’t buy happiness
Well, we know that already. We don’t really need a samurai calling out the money problem. We should never chase happiness in the form of possessions but instead embrace minimalism.
12. Stop seeking desire
Desire only makes us want things we may never lay a finger on. Good things come when you live not wanting for more. Naturally.
13. Never allow jealousy to take hold of your life
Musashi thought jealousy was only a form of hatred and getting stuck in its grasp will damage you. The only way out is to be thankful for what you have.
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14. Don’t linger on a sad separation
Learn to let go. Lingering on a sad separation holds you back from moving on with your life.
15. Keep your options wide open
If you keep your options wide open, you’ll allow any new opportunities to worm their way into your life.
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