20 Quotes by Ellen J. Langer

Our life is what our thoughts make it. – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations.

It is not primarily our physical selves that limit us but rather our mindset about our physical limits.

Mindfulness lets us see things in a new light and believe in the possibility of change. When we feel locked into strict work procedures and rules, we can recognize that these were once decisions made by certain individuals. These people lived at a particular point in history, with particular biases and needs. If we realized this, more of us would consider redesigning our work to fit our skills and lives.

This ability to transcend context is the essence of mindfulness and central to creativity in any field.

Mindfulness can encourage creativity when the focus is on the process and not the product.

Regardless of how we get there, either through meditation or more directly by paying attention to novelty and questioning assumptions, to be mindful is to be in the present, noticing all the wonders that we didn’t realize were right in front of us.

Second-order mindfulness recognizes that there is no right answer. Decision making is independent of data gathering.

If something is presented as an accepted truth, alternative ways of thinking do not even come up for consideration.

It may be in our best interest to proceed as though these and other abilities might be improved upon, so that at least we will not be deterred by false limits.