Category: Leadership

Photo by Federico Morndo

At the turn of the 1970s, sociologists were concerned that with enhanced technology and increased productivity, we will soon have so much leisure time that we would not know what to do with it.

I knew something was seriously wrong when I recently noticed myself taking my mobile phone yet again to the bathroom, so I could respond to some messages while in there. Having successfully kicked the habit, some years ago, to switch-on my blackberry the first thing in the morning and switch-off the last thing at night, I was certainly falling prey to the old instincts.

Sometimes rationalized as being productive, sociologists have a new term for this phenomenon of being ‘switched on’ all the time – Everydaython – the idea that many of us are trying to run a marathon every day. Between emails, Facebook, apps, chats, videos, and games, this online busyness is an addiction – something we are unable to let go of, despite being aware of its harmful effects.

As Nassim Taleb, the author of Fooled By Randomness, put it, ‘The difference between technology and slavery is that slaves are fully aware that they are not free.’

What is behind this addiction?

Several factors contribute to our belief that being perpetually connected is the only way to be in our modern society.

1. Online activity defines our self-identity

Being busy is not only seen as a necessity, but also considered almost a reflection of our importance. It’s as if attending to emails, or posting Facebook updates and waiting for the response, provides a key purpose to our existence. The sight of numerous notifications energizes us; and receiving too few emails overnight is dissatisfying.

As we get more and more invested in being this way, we begin to subliminally let it define our self-identity. We start to associate our self-worth with the number of emails we receive every day, the number of friends…

This is the season for resolutions. I reckon you have considered one or two yourself. Unfortunately, as the year progresses, most New Year resolutions tend to fall by the wayside and end up as mere intents. Here’s an insightful approach towards creating a life that’s not only happier and more fulfilling, but one that also automatically responds to your most meaningful resolutions.

We complicate life
Driven sometimes by ambition and other times by a sense of inner incompleteness, we instinctively immerse ourselves in a myriad of pursuits. We often act out of the fear of losing out, compared to our peers or our social network.

We would rather be overwhelmed than miss out on the slightest chance to please the boss, make more money, enhance our status, accumulate more clothes or gadgets, or go to the extra social event. We also find it hard to let up on instantly responding to text messages, checking our e-mails or facebook accounts multiple times a day or randomly watching television.

What suffers in the process is our attention to our most important priorities – the ones that actually make us feel fulfilled and happier. No wonder then we are unable to see through many of our resolutions, the New Year ones being no exception.

First, the familiar lesson
“A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2” in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was. So, the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The students laughed. 

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled everything else. “Now,” said the professor, “I want you…

In one of my earlier posts (Are you following your calling), I had talked about the difference between pursuing a job, career or your calling and the impact pursuing your calling has on your level of happiness at work.

Now, following your calling is understandably easier said than done. How do you even go about the crucial step of discovering your calling? If you are not one of the lucky few, who somehow landed themselves in what they truly love, what can you consciously do about it?

Here are some steps that can support you in that discovery.

Set aside time for reflection
I believe each one of us is uniquely gifted and has a special purpose on earth. However, we get so caught up in the treadmill of our fast-paced lives that we fail to discover this purpose. Slowing down is essential for developing deeper clarity.

You need to create time and space to reflect on what is most important for you – do you want to be more successful or make a significant contribution; do you want more money or be happier; do you value social recognition or inner fulfillment; what role does family and community have for you and so forth.

Plan for those reflective moments, maybe 10-15 minutes every day or at least some every week.

Create a powerful vision
As is said, “If you can see it and believe in it, it will happen.”

We all have fleeting ideas, from time to time, of what we would like our life to be about. The idea of a vision is about articulating them cogently.

Write a note, describing in vivid detail, what you envision your ideal life to be like – not just work life, but your entire life. What kind of work would you be engaged in, what would you like most about it, what would your typical work day look like, what would you be busy with outside of work,…

“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well” – The Olympic Creed

The underlying emphasis in the above message seems to be based on a human being’s journey towards overcoming one’s own limitations and achieving personal peak performance – in a way, somehow transcending oneself. Watching the Olympics over the last few days has brought to fore the ability of certain individuals to do this with uncanny consistency. While Michael Phelps, Tiger Woods, and Roger Federer are great recent examples of this in sports, various individuals like Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, and Neil Armstrong have achieved this state at the very highest levels, in other fields as well.

In this post, I have attempted to capture what I believe are some of the most critical ingredients for achieving this level of peak performance in any type of profession or vocation we maybe engaged in.

Is it your calling?

For starters, is it a job or a career or your calling that you are pursuing? A detailed study of attitudes and general orientation towards work, done in 1997 by Dr. Amy Wrzesniewski, a professor of business at the New York University, showed workers broadly divided into three groups – those who saw their work as a job, those as a career, and those as their calling. The people in the first group are in employment because they really need the monthly paycheck and may be willing to move to another organization for higher salary. The second group is focused on building a career – for them it’s more about the position, growth, and the prestige. However, they may get disenchanted when the string of promotions stop. Finally, there is a small percentage of people engaged in what is their true calling…