Equanimity - POB-WOTW #007

Equanimity basically means having an even-minded emotional approach to things. What is Equanimity? So, if you see chocolate, because you're a chocolate addict, "I want this!" is one side of it, and the other side is, if somebody gets it before you do, "That's not fair!" Equanimity sort of sits between these. Equanimity is part of learning that we don't have to be affected by this ego. So when there's no ego, we're not grasping for the chocolate. We're just saying, "Well there's chocolate here, I wonder if I could have some, no disaster if I can't." The other word for equanimity which is often used in Western psychology is 'catastrophizing,' which came from Jon Kabat-Zinn, who some people might know. This has that same quality, that same effect, that it's a disaster if I don't get what it is that I'm looking for. So equanimity is designed to even that out. I don't have to go overboard if I've got it, I don't have to go overboard if I don't get it.