Life is not a race to be won but a journey to be savoured. We forget that the path has no value when you arrive. It is the journey that counts. When we enjoy the ride and we are relaxed, we see the signs around us. In the frenzy of life we miss the signs. Also, when you are calm you get insightful ideas from within.
I used to drop my children to school every morning. It was a big job getting them both aboard and in time for school. It was a struggle and stressful. Driving fast in the rush hour while changing lanes was not the best way to start the morning for me or the kids. It was a humbling experience, especially for a guy who teaches others how to be calm and collected under pressure.
I decided that I would do my best to get the kids in the car and once we were in the car, I would not look at the watch. Instead, we would start our journey by saying our morning prayers together followed by a game I played with my son, who is the younger of my two children. The game included teaching him quotes from different philosophers and authors ranging from Shakespeare to Rumi. The number of quotes we would learn or discuss would coincide with the date of the month. By age 14, my son knew at least 50 quotes by heart and came up with his own quotes. Whilst praying and playing en route to school, I had no time to change lanes or compete with fellow drivers. In fact, I was gentle enough to let others overtake me. Guess what? We were hardly ever late to school and even when we were late the odd time, we enjoyed the ride and had a great start to the morning!
Stay focussed
Being attentive and focussed makes you connect to your deep power, which gives you signs that you follow sometimes unconsciously!
When JK Rowling first had a sudden idea in 1990 of Harry Potter and the wizard school, she was so excited and sure from within that she never let that idea slip away despite going through abuse, miscarriage, the death of her mother who was only 45, divorce, being fired from her occupation—all after she began writing her book. She kept the idea and never let go of it even though it took her more than four years to complete her first book. Today, she is the richest author in the world. She followed and acted upon the ‘sign’ that came from within!
In a corporate setting, employees are most alert and provide the best service when they are wholly present. You are more tuned to all your faculties when you are fully present, being 100 per cent focussed gets you the best results. Think of a basketball player going for a three pointer with a second left on the buzzer. The crowd is shouting, the players are shouting, the coach is shouting. What is the basketball player going to do? Think of dinner at night? Or what his spouse said three years ago? Of course not! His mind, body and soul are all going to be 100 per cent present for him to get the three points to win the game. Imagine being present like the basketball player with your body, mind and spirit completely attentive. Can you imagine the power we can create with that kind of attention and energy? Most people have their thoughts so engrossed with their past and future, scattering energy and losing focus and power.
Invite positive results
What you give attention and energy to, you invite in your life. If you put your attention towards things you want, you invite ‘signs’ that lead you to what you want. If you put your attention and energy towards things you do not want, you invite ‘signs’ that lead you to what you do not want.
To invite positive results and get the ‘signs’ that lead you to these results, focus on what you want. The less the doubt, the quicker the results!
There are 24 hours in a day which make it a level playing field for all of us. You can probably do anything in life, but not everything! Try preparing an ideal budget of 168 hours for one week. Record where your time goes and evaluate your productivity from a quantitative and qualitative standpoint. Do this once every three or four months. This will be very helpful in making important adjustments to how you manage your time.
Life is not a race. It is the quality of your time that matters, not the quantity!
This was first published in the May 2014 issue of Complete Wellbeing.