There is an anecdote with the martial artist Bruce Lee where he is training with one of his students (the actor James Coburn).
Coburn is trying to kick a certain target, but keeps having trouble hitting his mark. After a few tries, Bruce finally tells him to relax mentally – to not worry about where to land his foot, how to move his body, or when to raise his leg. Just kick.
Heeding Bruce’s advice, Coburn just kicks – hitting his mark right on. Bruce then tells him:
When you ease the burden of your mind, you just do it.
This is really the essence of strategic living – getting out of your own way. When you ease the burden of your mind, when you stop worrying about doing things the right way, but just doing – that is the goal you’re shooting for.
The strategizing, the hard thinking – that’s just to keep you from burdening yourself. The idea is to ask yourself: What must I do to stop worrying – to just do and know it’ll be fine?
Always seek to unburden your mind. Then you can actually start living.