Having a more fulfilling work life - Behave like a monk!

In an ideal world, there would be no negative emotions amongst people for anyone. Competition would be unheard of, and everybody would engage themselves in helping each other. Love and compassion would be prevalent everywhere and jealousy would cease to exist. Everyone would be fully immersed in their field of work and never talk ill of anyone. Everyone would benefit from the good karma that they generated, because all they would ever pay attention to would be the immediate task that is assigned to them. Essentially, that perhaps sums up all you ever need to know about climbing up the corporate ladder. People may say all sorts of things about star achievers being ruthless and selfish, putting personal interests before others’ interests, but success built on such a weak foundation is usually short-lived and temporary. Personally, I feel the ultimate winner in work politics is the person who works intelligently and honestly in a conscientious manner. When we are totally focused on the immediate task that has been assigned to us – when the world ceases to exist beyond the work in front of us – that degree of concentration, even if it is only for one hour in a day – can make all the difference between being outstanding and just about average. When there is a strong desire to excel in the immediate task assigned to us, to make ourselves disappear and to immerse our heart, mind, body and soul in our work, beyond the realms of space and time – when a whole day seems to have passed by without even noticing anything else – it is then that a masterpiece is created! That is the time when we push our limits to go that one extra mile – and perhaps discover something new and innovative, that nobody in the whole world could even imagine. It is in this moment of rapture that we experience a spark of timelessness and connect synchronously with the infinite intelligence, a cosmic wave which wants to reach out to help us fulfill our deep driving desires, dreams and aspirations and to help us connect the dots and put together the jigsaw puzzle, so that the universe may conspire to help us fulfill our unique mission in life and to express our pure potential. Take any great leader’s personality – Amitabh Bachchan, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi – or any other name that comes to your mind. What is the spark that separates them from any other ordinary individual? Perhaps the fact that they committed themselves to a cause – and took one step at a time. Nothing that they did was half-hearted. Each action or performance they had to face – they put in their best and forgot the rest. Even the Bhagvad Gita says that we must be attached to action alone, and not to the fruits of our actions. We must have renunciation in action and not renunciation of action. There is no better time to test the character of a person than at the time of annual appraisals. It is at this time that we express our innermost desires and what drives us in our field of work. It is very common and easy to crib about our salary and feel dejected at not being offered a promotion and blame the entire world for our misfortunes. Consequently, we neglect our work for a few days and consistently wonder why exactly senior bosses get paid such astronomically high salaries when in fact we are the ones doing all the groundwork and cleaning up everyone’s mess. However, we tend to forget that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Anyone who got to a position of power and consistently continues to be there obviously has worked his way up and is there for a reason. At the end of the day, management is not blind and true solid honest performance is always appreciated. Perhaps the only thing that ever counts is the immediate task at hand, which can change our destiny forever!

The universe unfolds itself before us according to our thoughts, intentions and desires. The quality of our experiences is directly proportional to the quality of our conscious thoughts, desires and needs. No matter what we may desire – a better house, a bigger car,  a larger bank balance, fame and recognition in society, to be surrounded by our loved ones, to excel in our creative pursuits – there is only one thing in common – our soul’s longing for greater freedom and better expression. When we open the doors of our heart and align or connect with the field of infinite possibilities that lie before us, waiting to be explored – the only answer is a better life than the one we are currently living or merely existing in, i.e.,  a more sophisticated version of ourselves.

Many times, we ourselves are not sure of what exactly we want in life. The universe is waiting to fulfil our innermost desires, provided we express ourselves clearly and work consistently towards the goals we set for ourselves. If we do not have a vision in life, we will not be able to differentiate ourselves from others and we will just be another cog in the wheel. One of the most striking examples of the power of virtuous thoughts in modern times is the struggle of Anna Hazare, who has created history because he dedicated himself whole-heartedly to a lofty vision and a cause that is close to his heart. His endeavour of getting into the root cause of corruption and his tireless efforts to get the Lokpal Bill passed to curtail corruption have touched the heartstrings of the common man and millions of Indians across the globe have joined him in his crusade to fight against corrupt politicians and bureaucracy, using the power of the Internet and mass media. The essence here is the beautiful selfless thought that Mr. Anna Hazare had, that he could dedicate his life and actions in the service of the common man, and act as a medium to change the systems of the Government, and usher in an era of transparency and harmony. Essentially, he echoes the message of the Bhagvad Gita – Karma Yoga – which states that righteous actions done with dedication lead easily to self-realisation. There are various divine qualities which act as a precursor for righteous actions – these are emotions of compassion, humility, faith, understanding, benevolence, altruism, kindness and the feeling of giving for charity.

Wherever a person performs his duties in accordance with these qualities, his actions will always give astonishing results. Our actions then become the means of expressing our latent potential divinity, whether it may be mastery of scriptures, expertise of any science, creating and deiivering world-class real estate solutions or developing high business acumen. It is important that we perform our duties based on righteous inclinations, despite the challenges and difficulties that we may face. Once we have surrendered ourselves to the universe, then the entire cosmos orchestrates its dance into our feet.

A few inspirational words by Mary Morrissey I would like to share with you:

Passion makes all the difference between a job and a career,

Between an actor and a star,

Between a song and a symphony,

Between a painting and a work of art,

Between caring and intimacy,

Between romance and rapture,

Between intelligence and genius,

Between living and being alive.

When heaven is not a place to go, but a place to be,

When success is not a thing but a feeling,

When love is not an offer, but an acceptance,

When music is not a sound, but a resonance,

When life is not an existence, but a celebration.