A quote I heard somewhere always sticks with me, "obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off your goal". Maybe it's easier said than done not to look around a little, however if we practice, we can strengthen our focus both physical and mentally. Patanjali refers to these life hindrances as vikshepas and enumerates nine of them: illness, listlessness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, cravings, delusion, inability to progress, and instability in maintaining progress.
What might help us stay on track towards more satisfaction in life, whatever the goal? Sufficient sleep, a whole-food emphasized diet, and minimal stimulants/depressants is a good start in my view. Even several drinks a week or too much coffee can sway the delicate and complex biochemical balance and leave us sluggish or strung out. Once we address the physical, how could we help out our mind in our journey towards joy? Music is not a bad start to consider. Einstein was considered "stupid" as a very young man and subsequently benefited greatly from taking up the violin around age 5-6. It is said that some of his great mental contemplations were aided by listening to Mozart and Bach. These masterpieces that tend to move 60-80 beats per minute help us channel our right brain, while the left brain connects. Here is an interesting link to some ideas about music, memory, mind, and learning.
http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n15/mente/musica.html
Namaste,
Kat
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