Bamboo In The Wind

It is tempting to do what pleases you. Spending the time the way you please gives you the sense of entitlement that you are in complete control of outcomes that come from it. You must realize that a random schedule and ensuing actions provide instant gratification. It creates the busyness that creates triggers. But in the process, the randomness makes you lose focus on the importance of non-impulsive, slow, and steady actions. Non-reactionary actions are thoughtful and are cognizant of their adverse implications. While the short-term outlook is pleasing and provides instant gratification - these outcomes mean little in the longer horizon. What helps is making a conscious change in how you think and act. The more you know about your need for instant gratification, the more you circumvent that in favor of long-term satisfaction by planting thoughts that focus on minor improvements with doing what is critical and has no immediate gain. Thinking and acting for no visible immediate gain is ...

There are set norms that govern our surroundings. Things are expected to work in an established way. Societal structure expects it to be so. We call it compliance. When interacting with someone or doing something individually or in a group setting, we are expected to comply with such expected behavioral patterns. The way to do that is by demonstrating actions consistent with such practices.  There are many ways we are told to illustrate our behavior. For example -  Be humble, greet when you meet someone, help strangers, and act for the betterment of those socially deprived, be truthful. While these are generally good traits to demonstrate, they are often clouded by the environment and experiences we encounter. Our core thoughts typically create experiences that make us proud of our actions. But when mixed with world affairs, it may cloud our judgment. This is precisely where we break the norm expected by the surrounding environment.  If we feel confused, act confused. If ...

Self-deceit is a deception that leads you to believe you can do no wrong. You end up covering the weakness in your belief system with a wrapper that develops a facade.  The underlying cracks in your belief system still need to be addressed. The worst part is you are unaware of them. Self-deceit is a menace that bluffs you to think you are on a solid foundation. You need to recognize that the foundation is due to the support system around you, which relentlessly worked in the interest of the larger good while dealing with its shortcomings. The short-term behavior coupled with over-emphasis on success and fame leads to misguiding principles that promote places self-interest over the welling being of the surrounding. While leading life entails navigating the path with your own bearing to pursue wellness in self-interest, you must always remember the gracious and unconditional extension of support on the offer along your journey! Self-deceit yields short-lived deceptive notions of succ...

There are instances where you constantly grapple with the nature of decisions made. You feel unhappy about having made them. On the surface, everything you decide on will yield a good outcome. You desire that there was something more to be done. That is a sign of not making the decision that resonates with you. While making decisions, you often think about the decision's impact as it would be considered from others' perspectives. While in usual times it makes a lot of sense, it is usually not kind to you. You waste so much energy to please others and do everything to keep others happy. You have to ignore self-interest and do what makes you feel unsettled.  This is the worst form of decision-making. Where, despite being in command, you end up making yourself miserable. Healthy decisions watch self-interest and those of others. They are the ones where you are prepared to know that you may only make some people happy. But you must feel good about those yourself. Whole-heartedly. W...

It is hard to do succession planning because, at the outset, it requires openness to thinking that you are indispensable and someone else might make a good choice for what you have and are involved in. The strange thing about succession is that you do not think someone else deserves to be in your spot - having what we have and doing what we do. You think you had special abilities that got you where you are. You are here because of the trust placed by someone around you.  Unquestionably. They had a gracious mindset.  They were open to conceding their position and saw their new role as vital to progress, even when someone else took over what they had.  That is an uncannily secure and decisive self on display!

Often you buy things that come with an inclusion list of what is available out of the box. You may step into a restaurant with an unlimited lunch offer. It is paid for; you better eat even if your food diet does not permit food grains.  You may buy a feature-rich TV set with an OTT subscription and unlimited movie plan. That comes built-in, so use it. No matter if you need digital detox!  Your travel packages with a whole-day sightseeing plan are packed with a growing list of destinations. You better visit, even if we want to take it easy and feel tired on a given visit day. The trouble with the inclusions is we end up doing something unwanted because it is free. Saying no to undesirable things is a much better option. It is always better than going for free! Same for our careers! Don't force unwanted on yourself if it does not resonate with you. Say no!

How we make progress is often unobvious. We are working heads down, making small moves here and there. The results we get force us to make adjustments and alter the direction of our efforts.  In that sense, forward motion means the right direction for what we do. We are creating a path of lesser friction.  As we go along, the right way shows that the factors contributing toward completing our intended job are falling in the right places, and the friction-causing factors are diminishing. The implicit part here is how we make adjustments and alter the direction. The intricate part about changing the course is the decisions we make.  Decision-making is a complex process that aggregates our emotions arising out of a dynamic assessment of the situation we are dealing with. It is then followed by overcoming emotional factors that create chaos and confusion, driving us into a false sense of fear that we might have a fall.  Good decisions help us create physical actions to p...

Assembling thought builders is a constructive way to solve many problems we think only we can solve.  The reason for it is more straightforward to get more brains to think about what is broken.  When the elephant is in the room, everyone sees the same object differently and describes it differently. The same notion can be applied to solving significant problems. Often our views are unilateral., insufficient, and incomplete in detail.  When we can articulate the importance of what we have on our mind and assemble thought builders around it, we build a community that generates the collective will to solve the problem.  The willingness of people to join the community stems from their acceptance of the problem being worthy enough to solve. Often we want to solve futuristic problems, game changers. But more often, it's best to look at the area that has been around for a long time.  The one that has yet to evolve much and creates bothers too many. Building a community...

There is so much emphasis on leadership, mentoring, coaching, etc. Simply put, these fields of study and practice focus on developing personalities where we learn to make clear decisions in self and broader interest. We draw upon role models from the present day or the past. We are looking for an inspiring decision pattern because they face situations before we face similar problems in present times and have made great strides to progress from places of difficulty and have done so repeatedly. What is interesting about role models is it makes see them and their thinking and their work independent of our own. Once we discern their ways it is easier for us to see our own to be similar! When we do, our fears disappear, and our actions exude confidence. But before that, see, we must!

Yes, it is difficult being good! Am I doing the right thing? It is a dharma question. It has answers that suit us and hurt us. The reason is that the question makes us ponder how we think and apply the most substantial biases to everyday situations. When self-interest overpowers and clouds our judgment, the actions we take may be colored morally right, but the basis for them is shaky. Such actions are not in the significant interest of anyone. When generosity takes precedence, it clarifies how our actions affect those we are touched by. Then the steps draw up a comforting bridge of honesty, inclusiveness, and truthfulness that others find walking easy on. And the sincerity is reflected in our dealings. Regardless of how we decide to go, the thunders after we act tell us the reality. The best situation is that what we think and do can be without an explanation. So, we must perceive our place on a scale the self-interest and generosity very well.