Separate Yourself from Your Mind

In an interview with Jay Shetty, a few years ago, Kobe Bryant shared his perspective on navigating difficult emotions during his time as a basketball player. He emphasized the importance of separating oneself from these internal feelings and recognizing them for what they are: transient emotions that come and go.

Kobe believed that resisting or suppressing these emotions would only make the situation worse, causing them to resurface repeatedly. Instead, he practiced acknowledging these emotions as temporary and allowing oneself to fully experience them before letting them naturally fade away. Embracing and feeling them. That's what will help us effectively navigate through them, whether they bring us joy or not.

"Emotions come and go," he said, "the important thing is to accept them all and then you can choose what to do with them." The important thing here is to remember that we don’t have to hold on to any emotions.

How can we separate ourselves from our own selves? This perspective seems contradictory and illogical. And it will seem illogical if we think that we are our minds, but if we understand that we are not, as the ancient Yogis explain, then it becomes easier.

The more we comprehend this concept, the better equipped we become to navigate through our constantly changing emotions. We can choose to use them to our advantage when they serve us and let them go when they no longer align with our goals. Just like Kobe did. And what an example he was. A kind, composed, determined and overall good human being.

I wrote a short ebook about the parts that make us human according to the Yogis. Click the image below to download it for free.