Mindfulness is the art of being fully… it’s a game-changer because it flips the script on self-improvement. Instead of chasing some future version of yourself, you learn to tap into the richness of the present moment. It’s about finding the extraordinary in your ordinary, right-now experience.
Share Image Quote:The core message is that true presence isn’t about getting somewhere else, but about waking up to the reality you’re already in.
Look, we spend so much of our lives on autopilot, physically in one place but mentally in the past or future. This quote cuts through that. The “art” Goleman mentions—that’s the practice. It’s the deliberate, gentle effort to notice the feel of this coffee cup in your hands, the sound in this room, without judgment. You’re not trying to change anything. You’re just learning to inhabit your own life, fully. And that’s where the real shift happens.
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3669) |
| Category | Life (320) |
| Topics | awareness (126), mindfulness (31), presence (80) |
| Literary Style | minimalist (442) |
| Emotion / Mood | calm (491) |
| Overall Quote Score | 88 (131) |
This comes straight from Daniel Goleman’s 1988 book, The Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience. It’s a key text from before he blew up with Emotional Intelligence. You sometimes see this quote misattributed to random spiritual teachers, but its home is firmly in Goleman’s early, rigorous work mapping different meditation practices.
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Daniel Goleman (125) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | The Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience (60) |
| Origin Timeperiod | Modern (528) |
| Original Language | English (3669) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
Daniel Goleman is a psychologist and bestselling author whose journalism at The New York Times brought brain and behavior science to a wide audience. He earned a BA from Amherst and a PhD in psychology from Harvard, and studied in India on a Harvard fellowship. Goleman’s research and writing helped mainstream emotional intelligence, leadership competencies, attention, and contemplative science. He co-founded CASEL and a leading research consortium on EI at work. The Daniel Goleman book list includes Emotional Intelligence, Working with Emotional Intelligence, Primal Leadership, Social Intelligence, Focus, and Altered Traits.
| Official Website
| Quotation | Mindfulness is the art of being fully where you already are |
| Book Details | Publication Year/Date: 1977 (originally as The Varieties of Meditative Experience, revised 1988 as The Meditative Mind); ISBN: 9780874778335; Last Edition: Tarcher/Putnam 1988; Number of pages: 320. |
| Where is it? | Approximate page from 1988 edition, Chapter 3: Concentrative Meditation |
In the book, Goleman is dissecting various meditation traditions, from Buddhist Vipassana to Christian contemplative prayer. He’s making a crucial distinction here: mindfulness isn’t about achieving a blissed-out trance or escaping reality. It’s the fundamental skill of clear seeing—of perceiving what’s actually happening in your mind and body, right here, right now, as a foundation for any deeper work.
I use this all the time. For the overwhelmed executive I coach, it’s a tool to stop mentally time-traveling between past mistakes and future anxieties during a meeting. For the creative stuck in writer’s block, it’s about dropping the pressure to be brilliant and just noticing the sensory details around them—the keyboard clicks, the light from the window—which often unlocks the flow. Honestly, for anyone feeling like life is passing them by, this is the anchor.
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Theme | Wisdom (1754) |
| Audiences | coaches (1277), professionals (752), students (3112), teachers (1125) |
| Usage Context/Scenario | daily affirmations (39), mindfulness training (27), motivational quotes (57), stress management courses (4) |
Question: Isn’t this just about stopping your thoughts?
Answer: Not at all. That’s the biggest misconception. It’s about changing your relationship to your thoughts—observing them like clouds passing in the sky, instead of getting swept away by the storm.
Question: How is this different from just relaxing?
Answer: Relaxation can be a side effect, but the goal is awareness, which is often active and alert. Sometimes being fully present with a difficult emotion is anything but relaxing, but it’s still incredibly valuable.
Question: Do I need to sit on a cushion for hours?
Answer: You can start right now. Just feel your feet flat on the floor. Notice your breath. That’s it. You’ve just practiced the art. The formal sitting just builds that muscle.
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