Life is at times, a rat race and an arms race. Rat race
because people see it as a zero sum game and often play the game without
knowing why they do it, and arms race because they feel compelled to
participate in a race to the bottom just to maintain parity with the other
person. This might play havoc with work life balance, contentment and hobbies,
making the person unidimensional. After all, it is the rare person who can put
in 12hr+ work days consistently, and still have the energy and passion to
pursue hobbies and give the necessary time/attention to sustain professional
development, or relationships with family
and friends. And this can make them unidimensional, and unsuited to anything
else other than what they do at present.
In my view, people
are the most happy when they feel that their results are yielding fruit, and
that they are being recognized for this. When this happens, they might be
willing to accept compromises in their personal life also. But the worse part can be putting in umpteen hours
but not getting the desired results/outcome. Though the Bhagvad Gita cites Lord
Krishna as advising to put the efforts without stressing too much on the
outcome which is not in one’s control,that is easier said that done.
Its quite disappointing when efforts do not yield results.
In these times, we would do well to remember the Indian Vedanta philosophy and
keep working tirelessly. To aid this, some actions that could help snap out of
the black mood could be
- Reading inspiring Q&A on Quora or other self improvement sites like Lifehacker
- · Working out/physical activity preferably with friends
- · Spending time with family and children
- · Writing for yourself only-Be it a diary/blog/notebook, do this on a forum where you are not afraid of being judged-this is also therapeutic when you can vent out your feelings and often understand what is causing the issue
- · Diversification-Excel in one/more spheres beyond work. This can help financially and emotionally. Maybe you can moonlight elsewhere for extra income, write a best selling novel/code a killer app, or build your sales/creativity/leadership skills at a non profit, to take up a challenge in your present job
The above activities (except reading and writing) are not
meant to be solo acts, but need loved ones. From personal experience, I can
endorse the power of this. Some months ago, I had to make an important career
decision with significant personal ramifications. In true MBA style, I had made
the list of pros and cons, but it was leading nowhere. To complicate, there
were organization changes happening around me, and it was possible that my plan
would lead nowhere. That decision period saw me quite stressed, and with no one
to vent it on except closely family and significant other. With nothing working, I took a trip home and
discussed individually. They unanimously advised me to do what was best for my
long term objectives, since what was best for me was also best for them. I was
touched by this tremendous show of faith in me, and it helped make the decision
of moving from Gurgaon to Chennai. What also helped, was not bringing the
office laptop, so that I would not be tempted to turn it on and give in more
hours to the never ending work wheel. Weeks of spreadsheet analysis paralysis,
bowed to 3 days quality time and discussions.That convinced me of the power of
personal interactions.
The new housing.com rebranding exercise also focusses on the
personal touch, especially in the ‘Look Up’ campaign, which is extended in the ‘Together’
positioning. For more, do refer their website below https://housing.com/ Their startup story of a few IITians creating
the world’s best property intermediary( and this is understatement, not
hyperbole) is indeed an example of the power realized by the startup team
through being together. But more so, their campaign achieves even more by
pushing the optimism wave.
