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Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable. - Helen Keller

The Courage to Live Consciously

Tuesday, 03 January 2012 00:00

In our day-to-day lives, the virtue of courage doesn't receive much attention. Courage is a quality reserved for soldiers, firefighters, and activists. Security is what matters most today. Perhaps you were taught to avoid being too bold or too brave. It's too dangerous. Don't take unnecessary risks. Don't draw attention to yourself in public. Follow family traditions. Don't talk to strangers. Keep an eye out for suspicious people. Stay safe.

But a side effect of overemphasizing the importance of personal security in your life is that it can cause you to live reactively. Instead of setting your own goals, making plans to achieve them, and going after them with gusto, you play it safe. Keep working at the stable job, even though it doesn't fulfill you. Remain in the unsatisfying relationship, even though you feel dead inside compared to the passion you once had. Who are you to think that you can buck the system? Accept your lot in life, and make the best of it. Go with the flow, and don't rock the boat. Your only hope is that the currents of life will pull you in a favorable direction.

No doubt there exist real dangers in life you must avoid. But there's a huge gulf between recklessness and courage. I'm not referring to the heroic courage required to risk your life to save someone from a burning building. By courage I mean the ability to face down those imaginary fears and reclaim the far more powerful life that you've denied yourself. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of going broke. Fear of being alone. Fear of humiliation. Fear of public speaking. Fear of being ostracized by family and friends. Fear of physical discomfort. Fear of regret. Fear of success.

How many of these fears are holding you back? How would you live if you had no fear at all? You'd still have your intelligence and common sense to safely navigate around any real dangers, but without feeling the emotion of fear, would you be more willing to take risks, especially when the worst case wouldn't actually hurt you at all? Would you speak up more often, talk to more strangers, ask for more sales, dive headlong into those ambitious projects you've been dreaming about? What if you even learned to enjoy the things you currently fear? What kind of difference would that make in your life?

Have you previously convinced yourself that you aren't really afraid of anything... that there are always good and logical reasons why you don't do certain things? It would be rude to introduce yourself to a stranger. You shouldn't attempt public speaking because you don't have anything to say. Asking for a raise would be improper because you're supposed to wait until the next formal review. They're just rationalizations though - think about how your life would change if you could confidently and courageously do these things with no fear at all.

Anpe Sivam

Sunday, 01 January 2012 07:23

Tiruvalluvar Anpe Shivam (Love is God)

Anpaka Pesu............... ... Speak with love
Inimayaka Pesu................ Speak sweetly
Unmaye Pesu................... Speak truth
Nanmaye Pesu.................. Speak goodness
Methuvaka Pesu................ Speak softly
Chinthichu Pesu............... Speak after thinking
Samayamarinthu Pesu........... Speak for the occasion
Sabhayarinthu Pesu............ Speak for the audience
Pesathirunthum Pazhaku........ Should practice not to speak also

Work with Passion

Wednesday, 28 December 2011 06:47

Martin Luther King Jr.,, once said "If a man is called to be a street-sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street-sweeper who did his job well.'"

Do we love our job? Do we even like it? Or do we find our work about as interesting as spending eight hours a day watching paint dry?

How many of us feel happy that its Monday? Do you look forward to Monday morning? Are you raring to go back to work? Or are you a TGIF (Thank God it's Friday) kind of person who can't wait to get away from the job for a couple of days? You spend at least 8-9 hours a day at the job. That is almost 25-30% of your week. If you are a TGIF person you are missing something really important in your work life - passion.

Unfortunately, many people don't enjoy their work. What's worse is that they have no expectation that they should. Work is often seen as the means to an end. Work your job, so you can pay your bills.

Being passionate about your job is more than the old adage "do what you love". It's looking forward to going to work. It's time flying by when you're there. It's working past quitting time, not because you're swamped with work, but because you were so intent you didn't notice the time.

How does one get passionate about their job:
1. Putting passion in work: The trick is not just to feel passionately about your job, but to act passionately too. If you act passionately, you won't sit passively through another boring meeting. You can't. You will share that passion with the others in the meeting. Your energy can lift all of them. Even if it doesn't, you will feel better knowing you are doing something to advance the cause in which you believe passionately.

2. Be innovative: To be so involved with your work that once you have determined your goal, be prepared to try different approaches. The method of choice is the method, which will work best, not necessarily the usual method. If the common sense approach does not work, invent a new one. Be adapting and modifying whatever is at hand to solve the problem and to achieve the objective.

3. Self driven and motivated: Its not necessary that we need the organizational environment or the boss’ attitude to drive us or put us down. A person passionate at job can be consistent in his job by his own drive and when situations are bad he continues to work with the same vigor or maybe more. There is no need to search for means of motivation, the work itself is a cause to enjoy it.

4. Sharpen the axe: Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter asks for a job from a timber merchant, and he got it. The pay was really good and so were the work conditions. For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.
His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work.
The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees down.
"Congratulations," the boss said. "Go on that way!"
Very motivated by the boss’ words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he only could bring down 5 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he only could bring down 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing down less and less trees.

"I must be losing my strength", the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.
"When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" the boss asked.
"Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees..."

To get optimal results we need to sharpen our skills consistently. Being adept at our job can help us achieve our targets.

Let me summarize the points as to how we can be passionate at our job:
First: Putting passion at work, don’t just feel passionate about your job– act passionately too
Second: Be innovative, Try new and different approaches
Third: Be self driven and motivated: You don’t need to depend on external sources for motivation
Fourth: Sharpen the axe - Keep sharpening your skills more often.

Life is short. Don't waste your life waiting for the weekends. Find something that ignites your passion and go for it. In the words of author H. Jackson Browne, "Find a job you like and you add five days to every week."