latikapag
You have hit the nail on the head by using the word content- is satisfaction a necessity or a luxury?
In the context of artists, it is not uncommon to come across quotations such as:-
Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.
— Henry Ward Beecher (1813 - 1887),
Now, management consultants have started using the same language:-
According to American consultant Lance Secretan . “Finding joy in our work depends on the relationship between our soul and our work and on the degree to which our work engages and nourishes our soul. Whether or not you have found your calling determines the level of soulfulness in your work. We all experience soulful moments in our lives — when we are at the symphony, when we watch a sunset, when we gaze into the eyes of a baby, when we play with a puppy, when we are deeply appreciated or practicing our highest mastery or when we are connected to the divine. We all want to feel the same way at work throughout our lives. There is no reason why this should not be so.”
In our shastras, one’s life’s work is called Svadharma. Among Indian organizations, I have seen it only in about statement of shradhahrd.com.
Let’s see what the man who started it all himself has to say. While explaining the hierarchy of needs, this is what Mr Maslow has to say:-
Peak experiences are profound moments of love, understanding, happiness, or rapture, when a person feels more whole, alive, self-sufficient and yet a part of the world, more aware of truth, justice, harmony, goodness, and so on. Self-actualizing people have many such peak experiences. Not only are these his happiest and most thrilling moments, but they are also moments of greatest maturity, individuation, fulfillment - in a word, his healthiest moments. He becomes in these episodes more truly himself, more perfectly actualizing his potentialities, closer to the core of his Being, more fully human. A musician must make music, an artist must paint, and a poet must write." If these needs are not met, the person feels restlessness, on edge, tense, and lacking something. It is not always clear what a person wants when there is a need for self-actualization.
So, as long as the degree of mismatch with work is not too high, you can be content. In some other cases, forced contentment may have adverse long term health implications because being in continuous conflict with yourself is not easy. We can also say that why go for economic liberalization and hope for a higher rate of growth?. Why not be satisfied with the hindu rate of growth? We have a “spiritual legacy” after all? I am not digressing from the issue- contentment could be a misinterpretation here or we force ourselves to be content because career transition is tough and we have to support our families. The issue is not of “self praise”- your views are relevant for yourself and those who approximately match your profile but everybody is not the same which is why HRD is there.
As for getting everything sooner or later if you apply 100% is a misplaced statement in my view. If that were so the Bhagvad Gita would not have to say that do your action without bothering about the fruits which depend upon the forces of demand and supply. There are plenty of examples of posthumous successes.
I have heard this 80% dialogue many times-80% of the people are like that. If 80% of the people are miserable 80% of the times, that would be a strange life , isn’t it? Dale Carnegie also called people who hate their jobs the biggest wastages of Industrial society.
Are soulful experiences a necessity or a luxury-especially in the light of what Maslow has said and what many American consultants are saying.? The United states has plenty to be content about- why go after the soul?
From India, New Delhi
8You have hit the nail on the head by using the word content- is satisfaction a necessity or a luxury?
In the context of artists, it is not uncommon to come across quotations such as:-
Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.
— Henry Ward Beecher (1813 - 1887),
Now, management consultants have started using the same language:-
According to American consultant Lance Secretan . “Finding joy in our work depends on the relationship between our soul and our work and on the degree to which our work engages and nourishes our soul. Whether or not you have found your calling determines the level of soulfulness in your work. We all experience soulful moments in our lives — when we are at the symphony, when we watch a sunset, when we gaze into the eyes of a baby, when we play with a puppy, when we are deeply appreciated or practicing our highest mastery or when we are connected to the divine. We all want to feel the same way at work throughout our lives. There is no reason why this should not be so.”
In our shastras, one’s life’s work is called Svadharma. Among Indian organizations, I have seen it only in about statement of shradhahrd.com.
Let’s see what the man who started it all himself has to say. While explaining the hierarchy of needs, this is what Mr Maslow has to say:-
Peak experiences are profound moments of love, understanding, happiness, or rapture, when a person feels more whole, alive, self-sufficient and yet a part of the world, more aware of truth, justice, harmony, goodness, and so on. Self-actualizing people have many such peak experiences. Not only are these his happiest and most thrilling moments, but they are also moments of greatest maturity, individuation, fulfillment - in a word, his healthiest moments. He becomes in these episodes more truly himself, more perfectly actualizing his potentialities, closer to the core of his Being, more fully human. A musician must make music, an artist must paint, and a poet must write." If these needs are not met, the person feels restlessness, on edge, tense, and lacking something. It is not always clear what a person wants when there is a need for self-actualization.
So, as long as the degree of mismatch with work is not too high, you can be content. In some other cases, forced contentment may have adverse long term health implications because being in continuous conflict with yourself is not easy. We can also say that why go for economic liberalization and hope for a higher rate of growth?. Why not be satisfied with the hindu rate of growth? We have a “spiritual legacy” after all? I am not digressing from the issue- contentment could be a misinterpretation here or we force ourselves to be content because career transition is tough and we have to support our families. The issue is not of “self praise”- your views are relevant for yourself and those who approximately match your profile but everybody is not the same which is why HRD is there.
As for getting everything sooner or later if you apply 100% is a misplaced statement in my view. If that were so the Bhagvad Gita would not have to say that do your action without bothering about the fruits which depend upon the forces of demand and supply. There are plenty of examples of posthumous successes.
I have heard this 80% dialogue many times-80% of the people are like that. If 80% of the people are miserable 80% of the times, that would be a strange life , isn’t it? Dale Carnegie also called people who hate their jobs the biggest wastages of Industrial society.
Are soulful experiences a necessity or a luxury-especially in the light of what Maslow has said and what many American consultants are saying.? The United states has plenty to be content about- why go after the soul?
From India, New Delhi
I absolutely agree with you. I believe 95% of people spend their lives doing what other want, something what others will cherish and appreciate. This results in killing your desire....this results in you being not you but someone others wanted to see you as......
Regards,
Tumul Singh
From India, Delhi
Regards,
Tumul Singh
From India, Delhi
hey Hiren,
That was really wonderful, normally I do not like reading long articles, but this really was very thought provoking and now not only will I see the movie but also try to be support for people who want to live their life with what they love, whether its work or people.
Thanks again for such a wonderful insight into life!!!
Regards
Seema
From India, Delhi
That was really wonderful, normally I do not like reading long articles, but this really was very thought provoking and now not only will I see the movie but also try to be support for people who want to live their life with what they love, whether its work or people.
Thanks again for such a wonderful insight into life!!!
Regards
Seema
From India, Delhi
Thanks everybody. It is a coincidence that in today's sunday times Timeslife noted filmmaker Muzaffar Ali says the same thing. This may sound like old wine in new bottles but sometimes the expression is so unique that it is worth the effort. Creativity has also been defined as the rearrangement of the old.
Mr Muzaffar ali in the article "From "I" to nothing:-
"Buzurg tareen Tafreesh Kaar ast" ( The greatest recreation is your work. It is the greatest source of happiness)If you follow your heart, you are on a perpetual holiday." This reminds me of what Veteran actor Dev Anand while commenting on the secret of his endless energy even in old age said " Nothing can give you a high as your own work" . (Cheeni zyaada). There have been quotes by people on how hobbies are more a measure of people than their jobs and the luckiest person is the one whose hobby and profession is the same. I even read a quote which said "Work is not part of life but life itself". How true. We spend a majority of hours at work-what can be more important than work and harmonious work relationships?
Since we are management people, a management example would not be out of place. The great inventor Thomas Edison who is also one of the greatest scientist entrepreneur is famous for his remark "One percent inspiration, ninety nine percent perspiration". Nearly all Entrepreneurs have worked very very hard while establishing their empires. According to Dale Carnegie, Thomas Edison also said "I never ever worked in my life.It was all fun". This from a man who worked eighteen hours a day and sleeping in his laboratory. One wonders wether it is hard work or long enjoyment. Is so much perspiration possible without a lot of inspiration. From the examples of Balraj Sahni and what our respected President have said, I doubt it.
In management it is said that, many times, one has to go southwards to go northwards so a negative example would also not be out of place. I remember reading about a Japanese grandfather while admonishing his drug addict grandson saying " After world war II, we had to build a whole nation from scratch. You have everything; then why all this? " Everything can mean different things to different people. In the words of Mr Edison again " “As a cure for worrying work is better than whisky”. Absence of the right work can also have the whisky effect- Budhdhi khisky:-
“ Work banishes those three great evils, boredom, vice and poverty.”- -Voltaire
From India, New Delhi
Mr Muzaffar ali in the article "From "I" to nothing:-
"Buzurg tareen Tafreesh Kaar ast" ( The greatest recreation is your work. It is the greatest source of happiness)If you follow your heart, you are on a perpetual holiday." This reminds me of what Veteran actor Dev Anand while commenting on the secret of his endless energy even in old age said " Nothing can give you a high as your own work" . (Cheeni zyaada). There have been quotes by people on how hobbies are more a measure of people than their jobs and the luckiest person is the one whose hobby and profession is the same. I even read a quote which said "Work is not part of life but life itself". How true. We spend a majority of hours at work-what can be more important than work and harmonious work relationships?
Since we are management people, a management example would not be out of place. The great inventor Thomas Edison who is also one of the greatest scientist entrepreneur is famous for his remark "One percent inspiration, ninety nine percent perspiration". Nearly all Entrepreneurs have worked very very hard while establishing their empires. According to Dale Carnegie, Thomas Edison also said "I never ever worked in my life.It was all fun". This from a man who worked eighteen hours a day and sleeping in his laboratory. One wonders wether it is hard work or long enjoyment. Is so much perspiration possible without a lot of inspiration. From the examples of Balraj Sahni and what our respected President have said, I doubt it.
In management it is said that, many times, one has to go southwards to go northwards so a negative example would also not be out of place. I remember reading about a Japanese grandfather while admonishing his drug addict grandson saying " After world war II, we had to build a whole nation from scratch. You have everything; then why all this? " Everything can mean different things to different people. In the words of Mr Edison again " “As a cure for worrying work is better than whisky”. Absence of the right work can also have the whisky effect- Budhdhi khisky:-
“ Work banishes those three great evils, boredom, vice and poverty.”- -Voltaire
From India, New Delhi
Hi Hiren
You mentioned the following :
I wonder if you have read the book "How to be Idle" by Tom Hodgkinson. Its a very interesting and fascinating concept, which among other things, speaks about the ideas which are generated when one is in a relaxed state of mind, in a state of physical inactivity. Being idle, it is said, gives time to ruminate on a problem, or new knowledge, and thus find better and more uses / solutions.
If I were to draw a parallel, the inventor of fire probably didn't foresee all the uses that it could be put to. The most immediate use would be to generate warmth. It is said that man learnt to use fire for cooking when a piece of meat fell into the flames and gave off a good aroma. The rest is history, as they say. :) :wink:
Just a thought as far as poverty is concerned, I recall my uncle telling me that the bestselling authors have written their best works early in their careers; very few write good stuff once they are famous. When I asked why, he said "their first book and the second were written when the author was hungry", and thus the author had "intrinsic motivation 8).
Regards
Ryan
From India, Mumbai
You mentioned the following :
I wonder if you have read the book "How to be Idle" by Tom Hodgkinson. Its a very interesting and fascinating concept, which among other things, speaks about the ideas which are generated when one is in a relaxed state of mind, in a state of physical inactivity. Being idle, it is said, gives time to ruminate on a problem, or new knowledge, and thus find better and more uses / solutions.
If I were to draw a parallel, the inventor of fire probably didn't foresee all the uses that it could be put to. The most immediate use would be to generate warmth. It is said that man learnt to use fire for cooking when a piece of meat fell into the flames and gave off a good aroma. The rest is history, as they say. :) :wink:
Just a thought as far as poverty is concerned, I recall my uncle telling me that the bestselling authors have written their best works early in their careers; very few write good stuff once they are famous. When I asked why, he said "their first book and the second were written when the author was hungry", and thus the author had "intrinsic motivation 8).
Regards
Ryan
From India, Mumbai
hi mr hiren, that was really very nice of you to share this thought. i havenot seen the movie. it is not the movie but is applicable everywhere in all walks of life. thanks. lalatendu kanungo
Hi!! Great messg. well smart eloboration ...seems u r creative mind.. think good.... wow i liked ur thought.. gr8 Would like to talk ever u want... Mili 9971677577
From India, New Delhi
From India, New Delhi
nice to see someone thinking just like me.
i saw the movie over the weekend, and while watching it i was thinking "people who love perfection never make compromises, HR professionals should be perfectionists....the organization will never have to make compromises"
liked ur article
Jenice Bhatia
From India, Bangalore
i saw the movie over the weekend, and while watching it i was thinking "people who love perfection never make compromises, HR professionals should be perfectionists....the organization will never have to make compromises"
liked ur article
Jenice Bhatia
From India, Bangalore
Hi Jenice,
You made an interesting statement Some thoughts on this :-
1) How would you define perfection?
2) Who would agree with this definition? Would you be able to get everyone (i.e. all human beings) to agree to the definition?
3) People create organizations, which create other things, including organizations.
4) What is the cost of perfection?
5) Why should HR professionals only be perfectionists? Aren't others capable? If others aren't capable, then the organization would still have to make compromises.
6) Is a perfectionist ever completely happy?? My thought is that he/she would become bored because there would be nothing to work for - it would all come about perfectly :)
7) What is so "bad" about a compromise?
These questions are the basis on which a lot of human systems of education, business, R&D, etc are based.
I would like to have yours as well as other members views on perfection.
Hiren - thanks again for starting this topic.
Regards
Ryan
From India, Mumbai
You made an interesting statement Some thoughts on this :-
1) How would you define perfection?
2) Who would agree with this definition? Would you be able to get everyone (i.e. all human beings) to agree to the definition?
3) People create organizations, which create other things, including organizations.
4) What is the cost of perfection?
5) Why should HR professionals only be perfectionists? Aren't others capable? If others aren't capable, then the organization would still have to make compromises.
6) Is a perfectionist ever completely happy?? My thought is that he/she would become bored because there would be nothing to work for - it would all come about perfectly :)
7) What is so "bad" about a compromise?
These questions are the basis on which a lot of human systems of education, business, R&D, etc are based.
I would like to have yours as well as other members views on perfection.
Hiren - thanks again for starting this topic.
Regards
Ryan
From India, Mumbai
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