The Practicing Mind

The Practicing Mind Plot Summary

Introduction

In our fast-paced, achievement-oriented world, we often find ourselves caught in a paradoxical trap: we desperately want to master new skills, reach our goals, and find fulfillment, yet we struggle with the very process that would take us there. We become impatient, distracted, and frustrated when results don't come quickly enough. Have you ever noticed how children seem naturally able to immerse themselves completely in whatever they're doing, while adults constantly rush from one task to another, never fully present in any of them? The solution to this modern dilemma lies not in trying harder to reach our goals, but in fundamentally shifting how we approach the journey itself. When we learn to develop a practicing mind—focusing on the process rather than fixating on the outcome—we discover an unexpected gift: the path itself becomes enjoyable, stress diminishes, and ironically, we achieve our aims more efficiently. This present-moment awareness isn't just about productivity; it's about rediscovering a more peaceful, centered way of living that has been largely forgotten in our results-obsessed culture.

Chapter 1: Shift from Product to Process Thinking

At the heart of the practicing mind is a fundamental shift from product-oriented thinking to process-oriented thinking. This means changing our focus from the end result we're trying to achieve to the actual journey of getting there. When we become overly attached to outcomes, we create unnecessary suffering for ourselves, constantly measuring where we are against where we want to be and feeling perpetually dissatisfied. Consider the author's experience with golf lessons. In a six-week group class, he observed a stark contrast between his approach and that of his classmates. While most participants skipped practice sessions and complained about the difficulty, he developed a methodical routine: staying after class to practice what was taught, keeping detailed notes, and working consistently on specific aspects of his swing. His classmates viewed practice as a bothersome requirement, wondering when they would finally "be good enough" to enjoy the game. They were trapped in product-oriented thinking. For the author, however, practice sessions became a welcome retreat from life's pressures. "When given my present-moment attention," he writes, "the practice sessions were very calming, not bothersome. I didn't have to be anywhere but 'here,' and I didn't have to accomplish anything but exactly what I was doing 'right now.'" This mental shift transformed what others found tedious into something refreshing and enjoyable. The paradox is that when we focus on the process, the desired product takes care of itself with much greater ease. When we fixate on the outcome, we fight against ourselves, experiencing frustration, boredom, and impatience. Our energy gets scattered instead of channeled into the task at hand. In the golf example, those focused on "becoming good players" never found time to practice, while the author, focused solely on the process of improving, steadily advanced. To make this shift in your own life, start by redefining your goal. Instead of setting the goal as "mastering the piano" or "becoming a good golfer," make your goal "practicing the piano with full attention for 30 minutes" or "working mindfully on my golf swing today." When your goal becomes simply to engage fully in the process, you achieve success in every moment of proper practice, rather than postponing satisfaction until some distant achievement. Remember that this perspective runs contrary to most of what our culture teaches. Schools grade final results rather than effort, businesses focus on quarterly numbers rather than processes, and advertising constantly tells us happiness lies in the next purchase. Swimming against this current requires awareness and persistence, but the peace and effectiveness it brings make it well worth the effort.

Chapter 2: Embrace the Present Moment Awareness

Present moment awareness is the practice of keeping your attention fully engaged with whatever you're doing right now. When you're completely present, there's no room for anxiety about the future or regrets about the past. You experience a profound sense of calm and clarity that transforms even mundane activities into sources of satisfaction. Thomas Sterner illustrates this with a powerful personal experience from his piano technician career. Facing an overwhelmingly busy day preparing concert pianos and servicing clients across two states, he decided to experiment with deliberate slowness. "I put all my effort into deliberately working slowly," he writes. Instead of rushing from task to task as usual, he methodically unpacked each tool one by one, focused intently on each adjustment, and moved with careful attention. His internal dialogue initially protested: "We'll never get this done! You are wasting time!" But he persisted, refusing to even wear his watch. The results were astonishing. Despite his intention to work slowly, he completed the concert preparations 40% faster than usual. What's more, the nervous stomach, tight shoulder muscles, and anticipatory stress he typically experienced were entirely absent. Instead, he felt a peaceful, almost blissful calm. "Anything you can do in a rushed state is surprisingly easy when you deliberately slow it down," he observed. This counterintuitive approach carried him through the entire day, allowing him time for a proper meal instead of his usual rushed sandwich or skipped lunch. To practice present moment awareness in your own life, start with a simple daily activity like brushing your teeth. Focus completely on the sensation, the movements, and the process. When your mind wanders to your to-do list or yesterday's conversation, gently bring it back to the brushing. This seemingly trivial exercise builds the mental muscle needed for presence. For more complex tasks, try the "four S" approach: Simplify (break tasks into smaller components), Small (focus on manageable sections), Short (work in brief intervals), and Slow (move at a pace that allows full attention). The primary challenge is overcoming our cultural conditioning that equates speed with productivity. We've been trained to multitask, to constantly anticipate what's next, and to judge our progress against arbitrary timelines. Breaking free requires deliberate practice and patience with yourself when you inevitably slip back into old patterns. Remember that present moment awareness isn't just about effectiveness—though that's a welcome benefit. It's about reclaiming your life from the constant mental chatter that pulls you away from what's happening right now. As you develop this skill, you'll discover that life becomes richer, less stressful, and paradoxically more productive.

Chapter 3: Create Habits of Discipline and Focus

Developing the practicing mind ultimately requires creating new habits of discipline and focus. Everything we do is a habit—how we think, how we talk, how we react to criticism, and even how we approach learning new skills. The good news is that all habits can be intentionally shaped and replaced once we understand how they form. Sterner shares insights from sports psychology research showing that repeating a particular motion sixty times a day over twenty-one days will form a new habit that becomes ingrained in your mind. As a target archer, he experienced this firsthand. "The way in which you draw the bow to full tension, and when and how you breathe, is part of good form," he explains. "Practicing the proper motions many times a day over many days creates a habit of motion that feels right and natural and is done without conscious thought." When Sterner identified something in his behavior that was holding him back, he approached change systematically: first becoming aware of the issue, then objectively deciding where he wanted to end up, and finally working through those motions repeatedly without emotional judgment. "I would just stay with it and know that I was where I should be right 'now' and that I was becoming what I wanted to be," he writes. This methodical approach removed the anxiety and struggle that often accompany personal change. For breaking entrenched habits, Sterner recommends using "triggers"—specific cues that alert you when you're about to fall into an unwanted pattern. For example, if you're trying to react more positively to a difficult coworker, use their very presence as your trigger to engage your new response. When you feel that first twinge of irritation, let that become your signal to shift into your practiced, more productive reaction. The key to successful habit formation is understanding that it requires three elements: awareness of what you want to achieve, knowledge of the specific actions needed, and consistent execution without emotional judgment. The emotional component is particularly important—if you berate yourself for slipping back into old patterns, you'll create resistance that makes change harder. Start with something manageable, like replacing 30 minutes of evening television with reading. Create a specific trigger (reaching for the remote becomes your cue to pick up a book instead), and practice your new response consistently. Don't expect perfection; instead, celebrate each time you successfully implement the new habit, knowing that each repetition strengthens the neural pathway. Remember that habit formation is not about willpower or moral strength—it's simply about repeated practice until the new behavior becomes your default. As Sterner puts it, "Habits are learned. Choose them wisely."

Chapter 4: Apply the Four S Principles

The Four S Principles—Simplify, Small, Short, and Slow—form a powerful framework for mastering any skill or challenge with minimal frustration and maximum effectiveness. These interconnected concepts reinforce each other to create a sustainable practice system that keeps you engaged in the present moment. Sterner's piano technician work provides a perfect illustration of these principles in action. Faced with an overwhelming schedule that included preparing concert pianos for symphony performances and handling service calls across multiple states, he applied the Four S approach to transform what would typically be an exhausting, stressful day into a calm, efficient experience. The first S, Simplify, means breaking complex tasks into their component parts. Rather than thinking about the entire overwhelming day ahead, Sterner focused only on the immediate task: "I am going to start in this corner over here and clean just to the window. That's all." This eliminated the mental fatigue that comes from trying to hold too many details in mind simultaneously. Small builds on simplification by focusing on manageable sections of work. Instead of seeing the entire piano that needed tuning, Sterner concentrated on just one section at a time. This approach makes success repeatable and progress visible, generating motivation that propels you forward. Short refers to working in limited time intervals: "I'm going to work at cleaning the garage for forty-five minutes a day over the next few days until it is completely clean." This prevents burnout and makes even the most daunting tasks approachable. As Sterner notes, "You can survive just about anything for forty-five minutes." The final S, Slow, might seem counterproductive but proves remarkably effective. By deliberately slowing down, Sterner found he could pay complete attention to each adjustment on the piano. The paradox of slowness is that it often leads to greater efficiency—by eliminating wasted motion and scattered attention, he completed his concert preparations 40% faster than usual while feeling completely calm. To implement the Four S Principles in your life, start with a simple daily activity like brushing your teeth. Practice doing it slowly and with complete attention. This seemingly trivial exercise builds the mental muscle needed for presence in more complex situations. For larger projects, divide them into small sections, commit to short work periods, and resist the urge to rush through them. When applying these principles, you'll likely encounter resistance from your habitual patterns of rushing and multitasking. This is normal—our culture celebrates busy-ness and immediate results. But with practice, you'll discover that the Four S approach not only makes your work more enjoyable but also more effective. As Sterner experienced with his piano work, "I got so far ahead of schedule that I was afforded the luxury of a civilized meal in a nice restaurant, instead of my usual sandwich in the truck or no lunch at all."

Chapter 5: Develop Equanimity and Non-Judgment

Equanimity—the quality of mental calmness and even-temperedness—is essential to mastering focus in our distracted world. People who possess this virtue seem undisturbed by life's constant ups and downs. Their secret? They've mastered the art of non-judgment, which quiets the incessant internal dialogue of the mind. Sterner explains how we unconsciously judge everything in our lives, from the moment we wake up ("I slept terribly") to every experience throughout the day. These judgments require emotional energy and create unnecessary stress. "Judgments are necessary for us to function in life," he writes, "but they have a downside: They are not executed with a detached nature. There is usually some emotion involved, and the amount of emotion is proportional to the perceived importance of the judgment." He shares a revealing story from his career about losing a significant piano restoration project at the last minute. After months of planning and scheduling, a client canceled just days before work was to begin, creating a two-week gap in his schedule and a substantial financial loss. Immediately, his ego "kicked into high gear, turning on the anxiety machine and protesting the injustice of it all." Instead of getting swept away by these emotions, Sterner applied what he calls the DOC process—Do, Observe, Correct. He observed his internal reaction with detachment, recognizing that his ego's sense of unfairness was just a judgment made out of fear. He then corrected by choosing to see the situation as "merely part of the ebb and flow of financial energy" in his life. When the anxiety returned, he repeated the process, refusing to judge his performance as good or bad. The result was remarkable. The periods of anxiety steadily decreased and became less intense. By the following week, they were virtually gone, and he had filled the schedule gap with new work. Looking back, he realized the cancellation had actually simplified his previously overburdened schedule. "The experience increased my knowledge of the value of DOC and how it truly does make life more of an adventure," he reflects. To develop equanimity in your own life, start by becoming aware of when you're making judgments. Practice separating yourself from your thoughts by recognizing that there are two entities within you: the ego that judges and reacts, and the Observer that calmly watches without emotional attachment. When someone acts inappropriately toward you, instead of getting pulled into an emotional reaction, simply observe their behavior with detachment. This separation doesn't happen overnight. Like any skill, it requires practice. Begin with small, low-stakes situations, gradually building up to more challenging circumstances. When you catch yourself in judgment, don't judge yourself for judging—that only creates another layer of emotional reaction. Instead, simply notice, and gently bring yourself back to the perspective of the Observer. Remember that the goal isn't perfect detachment but rather increased awareness of your thought patterns. As Sterner puts it, "When you are aligned with your true self, the Observer, you find yourself just watching that person's ego rant and rave while you listen quietly and unaffected." This is the essence of equanimity—not the absence of challenges, but a peaceful, balanced response to whatever life presents.

Chapter 6: Learn from Life's Unfolding Journey

Life itself is an endless practice session, a continuous journey of growth and discovery that unfolds moment by moment. By embracing this perspective, we can find joy in the process of becoming rather than fixating on destinations we may never reach. Sterner shares a pivotal experience from his early twenties that transformed his understanding of mastery and fulfillment. As a passionate young musician, he had created a five-year plan listing all the musical skills he wanted to achieve. Three years later, he accidentally rediscovered this forgotten list and was astonished to find he had accomplished everything on it—and more. Yet surprisingly, he didn't feel any different or more fulfilled as a musician. "I became aware that there was no point of musical excellence out there that would free me from the feeling that I needed to get better," he writes. "I understood that there was no point I could reach where I would feel that I had finally done it, that I was as good as I needed to be." This realization was initially depressing, but quickly transformed into profound liberation. He saw that the true joy wasn't in reaching some imaginary summit, but in the process of growth itself. This insight applies to every aspect of life, not just artistic pursuits. Whether you're building a career, raising children, or developing a personal skill, there is no final destination—only the journey. Sterner compares it to swimming across a lake toward a distant tree. If you constantly lift your head to check your progress, you waste energy and create frustration. Instead, focus on each stroke, occasionally glancing up only to maintain your direction. When we shift our perspective this way, patience emerges naturally. "When you let go of your attachment to the object you desire and make your desire the experience of staying focused on working toward that object, you fulfill that desire in every minute that you remain patient with your circumstances," Sterner explains. The horizon will always move away from us, but by finding fulfillment in each step of the journey, we create a life of continuous satisfaction rather than perpetual striving. To apply this wisdom, examine your current goals and notice whether you've defined success as a destination or as engagement in the process. If you're learning a language, for instance, shift from "I'll be happy when I'm fluent" to "I'm enjoying discovering new words and expressions today." This doesn't mean abandoning your direction—the goal still serves as your rudder—but your satisfaction comes from the journey itself. Also consider what you truly value in life. Sterner notes that during personal crises, our priorities suddenly clarify: health, relationships, and spiritual growth take precedence over the material acquisitions and achievements that normally consume our attention. Why wait for a crisis to align your life with what truly matters? Remember that everything material is temporary, while your inner growth endures. As Sterner eloquently states, "You come into this world with only your true self, and you leave in the same way. Everything that you spiritually acquire expands your true self and becomes part of you forever."

Summary

The practicing mind offers us a radical but simple path to mastery in any endeavor: shift your focus from the product to the process, stay present in each moment, and find joy in the journey itself rather than postponing happiness until some future achievement. By breaking free from our culture's obsession with results and embracing the natural, step-by-step unfolding of skill development, we discover that true fulfillment lies not in what we achieve but in how we approach the achievement. As Thomas Sterner reminds us, "The real thrill of acquiring anything, whether it is an object or a personal goal, is your anticipation of the moment of receiving it. The real joy lies in creating and sustaining the stamina and patience needed to work for something over a period of time." When we make this perspective shift, everything changes—frustration gives way to patience, anxiety to calm, and scattered efforts to focused mastery. The path itself becomes the reward. Begin today by choosing one activity—whether learning a new skill, completing a project, or simply washing dishes—and approach it with complete present-moment awareness. Break it into small parts, work in short intervals, move deliberately, and observe without judgment. Notice how this changes your experience. This simple practice, consistently applied, will gradually transform not just how you accomplish things, but how you experience your entire life. The practicing mind is already within you, waiting to be awakened.

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Thomas M. Sterner

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