What does positive power actually mean in Taoism?
In this episode (1-160), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod explains why positivity is not about denying reality or forcing optimism. Instead, it’s about where you place your attention, how you process experience, and how much failure you can tolerate without giving up.
Topics include:
<ul>
<li>
Why negativity often feels justified—but limits your life
</li>
<li>
The difference between motivation and long-term damage
</li>
<li>
How childhood conditioning shapes what you focus on
</li>
<li>
The Taoist idea of fail tolerance and endurance
</li>
<li>
Why most people set goals that guarantee failure
</li>
</ul>
A practical, no-nonsense discussion of positivity as a trainable skill, not a personality trait.
 
🌐 Explore more Taoist teachings: 
<a href='https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com'>https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com</a>
🎧 Listen to more Living the Tao Shorts & full episodes: 
<a href='https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com'>https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com</a>
Access the video form of the episode here: <a href='https://youtu.be/0oLwJE07uXY'>https://youtu.be/0oLwJE07uXY</a>
 
Intro music: “Finding Movement” by Kevin MacLeod — licensed under a <a href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/'>Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>. Source: <a href='http://incompetech.com/'>incompetech.com</a>

What does positive power actually mean in Taoism? In this episode (1-160), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod explains why positivity is not about denying reality or forcing optimism. Instead, it’s about where you place your attention, how you process experience, and how much failure you can tolerate without giving up. Topics include: Why negativity often feels justified—but limits your life The difference between motivation and long-term damage How childhood conditioning shapes what you focus on The Taoist idea of fail tolerance and endurance Why most people set goals that guarantee failure A practical, no-nonsense discussion of positivity as a trainable skill, not a personality trait. 🌐 Explore more Taoist teachings: https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com 🎧 Listen to more Living the Tao Shorts & full episodes: https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com Access the video form of the episode here: https://youtu.be/0oLwJE07uXY Intro music: “Finding Movement” by Kevin MacLeod — licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Source: incompetech.com

What does positive power actually mean in Taoism?
In this episode (1-160), Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod explains why positivity is not about denying reality or forcing optimism. Instead, it’s about where you place your attention, how you process experience, and how much failure you can tolerate without giving up.
Topics include:
<ul>
<li>
Why negativity often feels justified—but limits your life
</li>
<li>
The difference between motivation and long-term damage
</li>
<li>
How childhood conditioning shapes what you focus on
</li>
<li>
The Taoist idea of fail tolerance and endurance
</li>
<li>
Why most people set goals that guarantee failure
</li>
</ul>
A practical, no-nonsense discussion of positivity as a trainable skill, not a personality trait.
&nbsp;
🌐 Explore more Taoist teachings: 
<a href="https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com</a>
🎧 Listen to more Living the Tao Shorts &amp; full episodes: 
<a href="https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com</a>
Access the video form of the episode here: <a href="https://youtu.be/0oLwJE07uXY" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://youtu.be/0oLwJE07uXY</a>
&nbsp;
Intro music: “Finding Movement” by Kevin MacLeod — licensed under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>. Source: <a href="http://incompetech.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">incompetech.com</a>

Positive Power Isn't Optimism

Living the Tao with Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod.   Discover how ancient Taoist training can improve modern life. Living the Tao blends real doctrine, practical instruction, and clear explanation—helping you reduce stress, develop emotional resilience, and cultivate a mind that sees the world as it truly is.
Each episode explores the core practices of Taoism, including meditation, qi cultivation, self-awareness, intuitive clarity, and the philosophy behind living skillfully. Master Steenrod combines classical teachings with modern psychology, everyday examples, and the calm precision that long-time listeners love.
🎧 New full episodes release on the first Friday of each month. ⚡ Living the Tao Shorts arrive biweekly—fast, focused insights to help you reset your mind.
🌐 Deepen your practice with articles, Taoist explanations, and study materials: <a target="_blank" class="decorated-link" href="https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com</a>
🥋 Explore Qi Gong training, videos, and wellness resources: <a target="_blank" class="decorated-link" href="https://www.watermountainvirtual.com" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.watermountainvirtual.com</a>
If you want the complete feed, please put our public RSS in your player or directly use podbean.
The public feed: <a href="https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com/feed.xml" title="https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com/feed.xml">https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com/feed.xml</a>
Want captions?  Use the podbean player.  All new episodes are captioned and the back catalog is being updated.

Religion & Spirituality

Spirituality

Living the Tao with Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod. Discover how ancient Taoist training can improve modern life. Living the Tao blends real doctrine, practical instruction, and clear explanation—helping you reduce stress, develop emotional resilience, and cultivate a mind that sees the world as it truly is. Each episode explores the core practices of Taoism, including meditation, qi cultivation, self-awareness, intuitive clarity, and the philosophy behind living skillfully. Master Steenrod combines classical teachings with modern psychology, everyday examples, and the calm precision that long-time listeners love. 🎧 New full episodes release on the first Friday of each month.⚡ Living the Tao Shorts arrive biweekly—fast, focused insights to help you reset your mind. 🌐 Deepen your practice with articles, Taoist explanations, and study materials:https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com 🥋 Explore Qi Gong training, videos, and wellness resources:https://www.watermountainvirtual.com If you want the complete feed, please put our public RSS in your player or directly use podbean. The public feed: https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com/feed.xml Want captions? Use the podbean player. All new episodes are captioned and the back catalog is being updated.

Living the Tao with Taoist Master Mikel Steenrod.&nbsp;&nbsp; Discover how ancient Taoist training can improve modern life. Living the Tao blends real doctrine, practical instruction, and clear explanation—helping you reduce stress, develop emotional resilience, and cultivate a mind that sees the world as it truly is.
Each episode explores the core practices of Taoism, including meditation, qi cultivation, self-awareness, intuitive clarity, and the philosophy behind living skillfully. Master Steenrod combines classical teachings with modern psychology, everyday examples, and the calm precision that long-time listeners love.
🎧 New full episodes release on the first Friday of each month. ⚡ Living the Tao Shorts arrive biweekly—fast, focused insights to help you reset your mind.
🌐 Deepen your practice with articles, Taoist explanations, and study materials: <a href="https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com</a>
🥋 Explore Qi Gong training, videos, and wellness resources: <a href="https://www.watermountainvirtual.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.watermountainvirtual.com</a>
If you want the complete feed, please put our public RSS in your player or directly use podbean.
The public feed: <a href="https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com/feed.xml" title="https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com/feed.xml" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://podcast.the-taoism-for-modern-world.com/feed.xml</a>
Want captions?&nbsp; Use the podbean player.&nbsp; All new episodes are captioned and the back catalog is being updated.

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Positive Power Isn't Optimism

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