In these bleak times, when the future seems grim and uncertain, we may stand to gain by cultivating “learned hopefulness”. Instead of falling prey to negativity and its concomitant emotions, we may nurture hope so that the present pandemic is not followed by an epidemic of psychological issues.

Making hope a habit

According to psychologist, Dan Tomasulo, we can intentionally promote our wellbeing by practising certain habits. In his book, Learned Hopefulness: The Power of Positivity to Overcome Depression, he provides seven strategies for enhancing our hope after surveying the psychological literature. As there is no unifying theory of hope, Tomasulo provides different tools to inject more hope into our lives.

He argues that people with high levels of hope believe they are in the driver’s seat of their lives, and are filled with zest to accomplish goals they have chalked out for themselves.  When they encounter obstacles, they exhibit resilience and resourcefulness by seeking out alternative paths. So, instead of waiting for hope to knock at your door, you can bring hope into your life, however stark and stormy it may seem in the moment. When you make hope a habit and don’t let yourself succumb to the doomsayer in your head, you have acquired learned hopefulness.

The 7 strategies of learned hopefulness

1. Look for possibilities

The first habit of hopefulness entails seeing possibilities even in the face of roadblocks. Instead of being stymied by setbacks, how can you maneuver around them? Develop what psychologist Carol Dweck calls a “growth mindset” wherein you believe that abilities, talents, skills, habits and personalities are not set in stone but amenable to change. Whereas a fixed mindset compels you to dwell on deficiencies and limitations, a growth mindset impels you to focus on possibilities and progress. Failure is not the end of the road but a reminder that you may have to course correct.

2. Focus on your blessings

Next, Tomasulo coaxes you to look out for “beauty, benefits, and blessings.” Cultivating a habit of gratitude can help you notice flecks of light even in the dimmest of days. Though the times are tough right now, list three things you can be thankful for. Most people admit that the pandemic has made them realise how much we used to take for granted before Covid catapulted our lives. Inculcate gratitude into your daily or weekly routine so that you appreciate all that is going right for you.

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve been asking my gurus/teachers only one question: “What is happiness?” After what seemed like an awfully long search for an answer, I derived my understanding of happiness: For me happiness revolves around four aspects of life.

Health

Imagine a day when everything is going right for you but you are experiencing a splitting headache, would you feel happy? The answer is a definite NO. Our body is an extremely intelligent machine. It keeps giving us signals when something needs to be addressed. If the body is not healthy, we cannot function optimally. Life could become a burden for someone who constantly falls sick. Just like a machine that works all day, so does our body; so it is important to make sure that this machine gets high quality fuel, enough downtime and regular repair and maintenance i.e. good food, enough sleep and regular exercise.

I firmly believe that “Yoga is the only form of exercise that leaves you energised yet calm”. Even after doing 50 suryanamaskars [if done correctly], there is a sense of balance and calmness in the body and mind. So to me, physical wellbeing and freedom from illness is the foundation of happiness.

Relationships

Sharing great relationships with your loved ones is a beautiful space to be in. As humans we need to have connection in our lives, people we love and people who love us back. We are after all social animals. Have you noticed how an argument with someone can be so draining for us? It can change our mental state immediately and make us uncomfortable. On the other hand, healthy and peaceful relationships are so comforting. If the relationships that matter most are healthy, we experience happiness within.

Sense of purpose

We all need a sense of purpose to drive us. Having something to look forward to every morning is a great motivation. It should just be something that you love doing and wish to do more of. This need not be categorised as right or wrong or something lofty that will change the world; as long as it makes you feel good, it fits the bill.

Don’t you feel drained when you do things just because you have to do them? Take a moment and think of your favorite activity, and remember that day when you didn’t have to push yourself even to wake up at 4am to do what you love doing.

Journey

If the journey is not interesting, it doesn’t matter how good the destination is. Life becomes boring unknowingly. Let’s assume you are on a long plane journey to an exotic destination with your loved one, and you get into an argument on the flight. What a bummer! It can ruin the whole vacation no matter how exciting the destination may seem. Similarly in life, if we focus on enjoying our present moment, life can be a lot simpler and enjoyable. If you enjoy every moment of your journey, life is rocking.

In my opinion, striking a balance between these four pillars is what brings happiness. When all of these are in place, we don’t need to chase happiness. We just have to live our life and these work as magnets that will attract happiness to you.

Would love to hear from you. Do write to me your thoughts on what brings you happiness.

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Fun? Yes… but also time, joy, and energy suckers. Not only that, but we typically beat ourselves up for ‘wasting’ time, and feel anxious about the ever growing to-do list.

So Why Do We Get So Easily Distracted?

Well, we are human. We have five senses, and all the bells and whistles go off when we see, smell, hear, touch, or taste something exciting.

So instead of beating ourselves up for our lack of focus, let’s compassionately observe, and learn more about ourselves.

Anything we do is to either create a feeling we want to feel, or avoid a feeling we do not want to feel.

Ask yourself—what are my true reasons for allowing myself to get distracted?

Perhaps you crave rest, but do not give yourself permission. Perhaps you desire more fun, more connection, more passion, but you define your worth through how busy you are. Perhaps you are going through heartache, loss, or a challenging time, and you want to zone out. Or maybe you are not writing that book because you are afraid of being judged.

Are you avoiding something, or are you craving something?

If you are not sure, don’t get stuck in the ‘why you do what you do’. Move on to the ‘what you can do about it’. Take action. The why will be revealed to you in time. Of course, it is helpful to understand ourselves, but we do not need to psychoanalyze ourselves to death in order to be able to make changes. That too becomes a huge distraction.

Being fully present and able to hold our attention on what matters most is like a muscle that has to be exercised, stretched, rested, and well fed.

First, we must get clear on what we want and why. What are your priorities in life? How do you want to feel? What makes you come alive? What is truly important to you in life, and what are your priorities? What do you really want to spend your time on?

A lack of clarity results in a lack of direction. I am not talking about having clear head-based goals here… I am talking about what your soul is really hungry for. What is your vision for your life? Are you creating it? If not, distractions might just be your way to avoid your soul’s painful yearning for more meaning in life.

Perhaps you don’t know what you really want. Then start with how you want to feel, and start doing things that make you feel really good. Your purpose will come to you. Knowing what you do not want may also spark a light in you. Create a NOT-TO-DO-LIST and get clear on what kind of things you eventually want to stop doing, delegate those things to somebody who loves it, or outsource them.

Set yourself up for focused, inspired action. As much as you are able, make your workspace a creation station. Clear the clutter, bring on some flowers, and other objects that bring you peace, joy, and remind you of why you are there.

You are your time

Take back your power. You can choose what you spend your time and energy on. Is the three-hour Facebook adventure really making you feel the way you want to feel? Once you reconnect to your deepest desires, you know what you really want to focus on.

Make self-care a priority

Instead of checking emails, pounding coffee, or hitting the ground running first thing in the morning, take some time to ground and center yourself. Meditation is the greatest exercise for the focus ‘muscle’. It is impossible to get things done while having fun, when we are moving and thinking a million miles an hour. Yoga, meditation, journaling, reading, dance parties, art, or do anything else that brings you back into alignment with your most joyful self. Do that first thing in the morning, and sprinkle some of that yumminess throughout your day. Slowing ourselves allows for more creativity, more joy, and more focus.

Create a fierce and flexible schedule

Especially if you are an entrepreneur like me, being in total charge of your schedule can seem overwhelming. I really love using the 60-60-30 method for productivity.

Be flexible in your approach, always checking in with your north star; your purpose and passions.

Set boundaries

I have three cats, a dog, and my husband coming through my office every day. My phone rings, emails pile up, laundry needs to be done, and the house has to be cleaned. I am my time. When I write, coach, or work on projects, I make the decision to silence all my gadgets. We do not have to be available 24/7. I dedicate a time to check email, and to return phone calls/texts. I let my hubby know that I love him and want to be fully present for him, but right now I really want to stay with this project, I am on a roll. He feels acknowledged, and my boundary is set. My tip for you: do not apologize or get into lengthy explanations that you ‘have’ to finish something. Take charge, declare that you really want to finish this, and agree on another time that works. If you have an office, put a sign on the door. Own your desire and gently create those boundaries. You will inspire others to do the same.

Replace expectation with trust

Our worth is not measured by our productivity. Setting hard expectations for each day sets us up for failure. We are human beings, not robots. Has it ever worked for you to put pressure on yourself? Perhaps you got it done, but how did you feel in the process? We are here to feel good. Trusting yourself, your abilities, and the divine timing of all things is the key for living in the flow.

Above all else, be gentle with yourself. Beating yourself up about choosing to browse the web for hours does not really help you to get focused. Be a compassionate observer of your choices, notice where you spend your energy, and fiercely realign yourself with your purpose and passions again and again.

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In this video, he offers five simple “rules” that will help you on your way to finding your calling and living happily. Using personal examples and observations, he helps you understand what makes you click.

About Simon Sinek

Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Sinek teaches leaders and organizations how to inspire people. With a bold goal to help build a world in which the vast majority of people go home everyday feeling fulfilled by their work, Sinek is leading a movement to inspire people to do the things that inspire them.

Sinek is the author of three best selling books: The global best seller, Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action; The New York Times and Wall Street Journal best seller, Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t and And his latest book, launched September 2016, is the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best seller, Together is Better: A Little Book of Inspiration.

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Published by: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 3^rd edition
ASIN: B01KIYAEXU
Pages: 288
Price: INR 967
Format: Kindle Edition

Viktor Frankl’s classic Man’s Search for Meaning has inspired, and continues to inspire, people around the world with his fascinating insights into human behaviour under intense duress. As an inmate of one of Hitler’s concentration camps, Frankl experienced the extreme torture of the holocaust firsthand. Being a neurologist and a psychiatrist, he felt inclined to study the behaviour of his fellow inmates suffering with him. In the three years that Frankl spent inside the horrendous camps, he concluded that no matter what challenges you face, you have the ultimate freedom to choose your attitude and your response to what is happening to you.

This, at heart, is the foundation of Prisoners of Our Thoughts.

That Viktor Frankl himself encouraged Dr Pattakos to write this book makes it all the more fascinating. And once you go through it, you realise that the insights this book contains are exactly what the doctor has ordered for humanity, which ails from a serious lack of meaning. But, it’s not the meaning of life that we need to find, say the authors. “It is the search for meaning in your own life that is important. Meaning is different for everyone—there is no one right answer; there is only the answer that is right for you. However, the search for meaning in our own lives often seems like such a large undertaking,” they write.

Do you want to find your own “right answer”? This book tells you how to look for it. The seven core principles that Alex and Elaine introduce in the book contain the essence of Viktor Frankl’s entire teachings and wisdom, with the added bonus of having a contemporary context.

What makes this book immensely readable is that throughout it, the authors use reflections from their own lives as well as examples of real people to drive home the message of each principle. Plus, the many exercises scattered across the book will make it easier for you to bring about the necessary shift as you go about looking for meaning in your own life.

Towards the end of each chapter, you will find a Meaning Moment Exercise followed by a few questions—both designed to bring greater clarity of the meaning principles to your unique life situation. Finally, every chapter has a Meaning Affirmation that will help reinforce the key message of that chapter. To strengthen your understanding, you can keep coming back to the exercise, questions and affirmations much after you’ve finished reading the book.

Prisoners of Our Thoughts is not a self-help book. Think of it as a friend, philosopher and guide who helps you look beyond the limits of your ordinary, everyday conditioned patterns while gently nudging you towards what really matters to you. To get the most out of this book, don’t approach it casually; read it earnestly. That’s because it carries within it the seeds of authentic transformation.

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It is quite possible you have yet to identify your particular ability, but be sure the Universe did not leave you out. It sent you here at this specific time for a good reason, and you cannot leave this earth without fulfilling that purpose. What a waste of a glorious life that would be!

Share your gift

Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him, writes Paulo Coelho in his book, The Alchemist. Each of us, including you, has a unique mission [Coelho calls it ‘personal legend’], and it is the one obligation you are required to fulfil in life. Having been assigned a purpose, you are blessed with individual gifts to aid you in accomplishing it. Let those gifts not go to waste. Every step of the way, the Universe sends you indicators that guide you towards your personal legend. Do not overlook them.

Having been assigned a purpose, you are blessed with individual gifts to aid you in accomplishing it

The journey may be far from easy. However, nothing great is achieved without a struggle. There will be times when you will be convinced it is impossible to go on, but ignore anyone who tells you that—including yourself!

Once you discover your precious power, it would be a grievous injustice not to share it with the rest of the world. Leaving behind no meaningful legacy for future generations contradicts the greater scheme of the Universe. Instead, alignment with the design of the Universe will manifest in prosperity, success and victory for you and those you love. Life flows perfectly when you follow your bliss. So find it and fulfil it.

Invest in your bliss

My experience with the desire to become “a writer” taught me valuable lessons. While I appreciated the skill bestowed upon me, I made the constant excuse of not having enough time to write. I had a full-time job, was a busy mother of two. I allowed a host of other grievances to get in my way. For the longest time I was in love with the idea of quitting my full-time job to focus on my writing. I believed that my job was getting in the way of my heart’s deepest desire and what I perceived to be my life’s purpose. But as time went by and no one stepped forward to pay me to stay home and write, I became disheartened. I went through a phase when I could not write anything. I had committed to blogging twice a week, and since I had subscribers on my website and Facebook page, I felt obligated to keep going, regardless of my mental state. My disappointment reflected in my writing and the usual zest and passion I wrote with were noticeably lacking.

While I appreciated the skill bestowed upon me, I made the constant excuse of not having enough time to write

I truly believed that if I followed my heart, money and success would automatically come. But my beliefs did not seem to be reflected in the reality of my life. Eventually, after conversations with a couple of artists, I began to let go of the notion that the only way for me to express myself was to write full time.

Similarly, you may feel you should be able to live your passion day and night and not have to worry about going to work in an office or wherever your livelihood comes from. My intention here is not to discourage you. Instead, I urge you to keep following your bliss, tuning in to your heart and giving full expression to the creativity within you, whether you are paid for it or not. Do not let a single day pass without investing at least an hour in your bliss.

You have been called

Possessing a special gift or skill means you have to keep polishing it. Because a special gift has been bestowed upon you, you have the responsibility of using it effectively to bring joy to the lives of people around you.

You have been called. Know that. Understand that. Imprint it deep in your heart and set out on your mission in whatever way you can, here and now! The world is waiting for you.

Excerpted with permission from Passion, Perseverance and Prayer By Pooja Ruprell; Body & Soul Books, Leadstart Publishing

This was first published in the March 2015 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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Just before Buddha died somebody asked him: When a Buddha dies where does he go? Does he survive or simply disappear into nothingness? This is not a new question, it is one of the oldest, many times repeated and asked. Buddha is reported to have said: Just like a white cloud disappearing…

This very morning there were white clouds in the sky. Now they are there no more. Where have they gone? From where do they come? How do they evolve, and how do they dissolve again? A white cloud is a mystery, the coming, the going, the very being of it. That’s the first reason why I call my way The Way of the White Clouds.

But there are many reasons, and it is good to ponder, to meditate upon them. A white cloud exists without any roots. It is an unrooted phenomenon, grounded nowhere or grounded in the nowhere. But still it exists. The whole of existence is like a white cloud: without any roots, without any causality, without any ultimate cause, it exists. It exists as a mystery. A white cloud really has no way of its own. It drifts. It has nowhere to reach, no destination, no destiny to be fulfilled, no end. You cannot frustrate a white cloud because wherever it reaches is the goal.

If you have a goal you are bound to get frustrated. The more goal-oriented a mind is, the more anguish, anxiety and frustration there will be, because once you have a goal you are moving with a fixed destination. And the whole exists without any destiny. The whole is not moving anywhere; there is no goal to it, no purpose.

And once you have a purpose, you are against the whole—remember this—then you will get frustrated. You cannot win against the whole. Your existence is so tiny—you cannot fight, you cannot conquer. It is impossible to conceive how an individual unit can conquer the whole. And if the whole is purposeless and you are with purpose you are going to be defeated.

A white cloud drifts wherever the wind leads—it doesn’t resist, it doesn’t fight. A white cloud is not a conqueror, and still it hovers over everything. You cannot conquer it, you cannot defeat it. It has no mind to conquer—that’s why you cannot defeat it.

Once you are fixed to a goal, purpose, destiny, meaning, once you have got that madness of reaching somewhere, then problems will arise. And you will be defeated, that is certain. Your defeat is in the very nature of existence itself.

A white cloud has nowhere to go. It moves, it moves everywhere. All dimensions belong to it, all directions belong to it. Nothing is rejected. Everything is, exists, in a total acceptability. Hence I call my way The Way of the White Clouds.

The white clouds have no way of their own—they drift. A way means reaching somewhere. The White Clouds’ Way means a pathless path, a wayless way. Moving, but not with a fixed mind—moving without a mind.

This has to be understood, because purpose is synonymous with mind. That’s why you cannot conceive how to live without purpose, because the mind cannot exist without purpose. And people are so absurd—they even come to me and ask: What is the purpose of meditation? Meditation cannot have any purpose because meditation basically means a state of no-mind: it is where you are, not going anywhere; where just being, just to be, is the goal.

The goal is here and now. Once the goal is somewhere else, mind starts its journey. Then mind starts thinking, then mind starts a process. If future is there then mind can flow, then mind can have its course, then mind has space to move. With purpose comes future, with future comes time.

A white cloud hovers in the sky, timeless—because there is no future and no mind to it. It is here and now. Each moment is total eternity.

But the mind cannot exist without purpose, so mind goes on creating purposes. If the so-called worldly purposes are lost, then mind creates religious purposes, otherworldly purposes. If money has become useless, then meditation becomes useful.

If the so-called world of competition, politics, has become useless, then another world of new competition, of religion, achievement, becomes meaningful. But mind always hankers for some meaning, some purpose. And to me, only that mind is religious which is purposeless. But that means that mind is no more a mind at all. Think of yourself just like a white cloud, with no mind.

The post What the white cloud teaches us appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

There is a certain aura that surrounds him. You cannot escape his piercing eyes, his glowing face, his energetic demeanour and his 1000 watt smile. His responses are spontaneous and unpretentious and yet there’s a charm about him that makes him endearing. Meet Robin Sharma, the man who lives on his own terms, and shows you how you too can do the same…

Manoj khatri: Let’s start with The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. What inspired you to write such a book? Just like the protagonist, you too were a practising lawyer. So it seems to be an autobiographical account… are you the monk?

Robin Sharma: Yes, a lot of Julian Mantle’s story is my story. So you’re right. I was a litigation lawyer by profession. The challenge I faced was that I was living someone else’s life. I was living the life that society had sold me on the true meaning of success. I was well educated, I had a lovely office, I had two law degrees… and yet when I’d wake up in the morning, I’d feel completely empty and frustrated and disconnected with my purpose and my true values. So yes, Julian Mantle is me in many ways. Thankfully, I didn’t have a heart attack. But I went on my own odyssey and started searching—I wanted to understand what are the tools and what a life well lived is all about. And I made a profound transformation with what I learnt… about rewiring your mindset, rewiring your values and rewiring your behaviours. That’s what inspired me to write The Monk…

And it started as nothing more than a dream, I was laughed at. I think if you’re not being laughed at a lot, you’re not doing very much. I had a vision, and all I had going for me was my instinct, my gut. And I knew that people will be inspired by this book, they will connect with it and it will help transform them and help them become what they want to be. So I just went out there, step-by-step, sharing the message of the book with one person at a time. Soon the book started travelling around the world through word-of-mouth and it became what it is now.

Manoj khatri: Where did you learn the ‘rewiring’ part?

Robin Sharma: Well, you can say that I’m the product of every book I’ve ever read, every conversation I’ve ever had and every place I’ve ever been to. So everything has been my teacher. Suffering has been my teacher. Success has been my teacher. My kids have been my teacher. The taxi driver in Mumbai who told me that guests are God and that’s why he treats every single person as the most important in the world… he has been my teacher. So for The Monk… I got my inspiration from books, experiences and conversations and a lot of time just spent in solitude, in self-reflection.

Manoj khatri: It’s evident that The Monk… came about as a result of a transformation within you. And so did all the success afterwards. What does success mean to you?

Robin Sharma: I think that as we go more out into the world, it becomes even more important to stay alone. So what I try to do is spend most of my time with my family, my close friends, my team, my books, my journal… and in nature with my thoughts. I don’t watch a lot of TV. I don’t spend a lot of my time in restaurants. This way I stay connected with my core values and my core mission so that it doesn’t get diluted by the world around me. I think once you’re successful, what you want to do is protect your vision, conserve your energy and safeguard your values.

Manoj khatri: You seem to be absolutely clear about your priorities in life. But that’s what most people struggle with. They know that it’s important for them to give time to their families, their friends, their health and yet they seem to always put these lower in the list of priorities… many fear that they may not be able to fulfil their role as a good parent/spouse and so on unless they work hard and long. What advice do you have for those who are faced with such a dilemma?

Robin Sharma: Well, I say this with great respect, but most people haven’t made the time to think about what they want. And let’s go to the neurobiology behind this. It’s because we have a neurobiological instinct to follow what everyone else is doing. So, hundreds of years ago, when there was a threat of leaving the herd and being eaten by a cheetah, that instinct served us. But now we’re in Mumbai, Calcutta, or Chennai and we haven’t taken the time to think of what’s most important to us. We don’t know our own priorities; we don’t know our own values; we don’t have a vision. A lot of people say to me, “I’m too busy to do my vision.” But actually their busyness is just an addiction to mask the fact that they are really bored. If you don’t know what’s important to you then you’re going to have to fill the hours with too much TV and too much busyness. So how do you to avoid that? Number one, you do something as simple as planning. Take the time to write a one-page plan and ask yourself [I talk about it in my books] what five things must happen between now and the end of this year for this to be the best year you’ve ever had in your life. I call it my ‘big five.’ Every morning you look at your big five priorities and then you commit to them.

Number two, you look at your goals. How many people set goals for each quarter of the year and then build a schedule around advancing these goals? It’s all about the execution. People say, “Well, these ideas in The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari and The Leader Who Had No Title don’t work. But no idea works unless you do the work. So you’ve got to execute. Each day you’ve got to advance your priorities versus living the priorities of the world. You’ve got to turn off the TV or say no to every social engagement. You have to find a vision that burns inside you so much that you are willing to say NO to the entertainment, in order to manifest your vision. Study any great master and you’ll find that they didn’t spend the best hours of their days in distraction; instead they spent all their time pursuing their craft and their dream.

Manoj khatri: What is the biggest challenge to pursue your dream?

Robin Sharma: I think it is to leave the herd—it is one of the biggest challenges we face. We spend the best hours of our best days following the herd around us. And we think that just because most people spend their best hours watching TV, or sending text messages, we think this is how you live a life. And just because most people complain and give away their power, we think this is how you live. Yet, all masters and all leaders have one thing in common: they have the guts to leave the herd and live their life on their own terms—without any regard to what anyone else was doing.

Manoj khatri: Talking about leadership… how do you define it? And how can a leader strike a balance between her commercial goals and the human development aspect?

Robin Sharma: No matter what you do—run a company, make films or clean toilets—you can still show leadership. The number one way we give away our power is that we think we don’t have any. How many people say: I’m not the Managing Director or I’m not the boss so I can’t make a difference. I met a woman in South Africa, who washed people’s toilets and she thought hers was the most important job in the world. And she worked like Picasso painted. A job is only a job if we choose to see it as a job. All work has dignity, all work is noble. Whether you cook, you clean toilets, sweep streets, see it as a craft and see it as honourable. Make it better everyday. Inspire people by your mastery. So my message is: no matter what you do in your own work, see it as your craft and pursue mastering it everyday—because all work is a chance to express your creativity. All work is a chance for you to meet your fears and transcend them. All work is a chance for you to inspire other human beings. Therefore all work is chance for you to change the world.

Coming to your question… you asked how should leaders align the competing objectives business goals and the human responsibility. Well, I actually think they are not competing. The job of a leader is to grow more leaders. If you’re not inspiring the people around you and helping them do their best work, you’re not leading. But here’s my point. If you spend your days in inspiring and developing talent, encouraging the discouraged, helping them do what they never thought was possible… they are going to wow their customers, they’re going to be more productive, they’re going to meet their vision, they’re going to give their heart and soul to your business. What’s that going to do to the profitability?

Manoj khatri: I have not a single doubt that this is absolutely correct. But any transformation takes time—there is a lag between when you begin to do this and when it begins to show results. How does one develop faith?

Robin Sharma: Yeah, you’ve got to have the guts to believe in yourself when no one else believes in you. India is the land of the great Mahatma Gandhi. When he started the salt march, he was an army of one. All he had going for him was his conviction. And where does that come from? Sometimes you just don’t know. You just have to have a dream for your job, a dream for your life. And have the guts to connect with that. How do you stay true to that? Well, you write about it in your journal, which actually deepens your commitment. You get up early and you pray, meditate, visualise. Read great business books and autobiographies and stay inspired and block out negativity. When the critic says, “This will never work,” dismiss the critic. And if you get knocked down because you fail, you just get back up. And the more you do that, the stronger you get. And if you start advancing towards your vision everyday, you start to get some traction. You get some momentum. Like Gandhi… everybody who started following Gandhi empowered him and his vision. Right now, when I look at the global movement around The Monk… and The Leader… on social media, I get inspired to keep going. I could retire right now. So what’s keeping me going is that I’m starting to get more traction. More than ever before, people are saying to me they are making the transformation. So, step-by-step, when you start to get the results—which you eventually will, because success is a numbers game—you start to believe in your vision.

Manoj khatri: What are the five most important things you do to stay inspired and focused on your vision?

Robin Sharma: The first thing is just an idea: I’m not a victim. I show leadership. I don’t play victim and I own the results of my life. I take absolute responsibility. I’m not a cat or a dog. Victims make excuses. Leaders deliver results. If you look for excuses you’ll find them.

If you say, “I read The monk… but I can’t do it because I’m too busy paying my mortgage,” you will get to live out that excuse for the rest of your life. So it’s an idea but the more you think about it, the more it becomes a belief. Do not be a victim, show leadership and get big things done.

Second thing I do: I live in a bubble. I don’t want to live in a real world and I don’t live in a real world. Who wants to live in a real world? Because there, most people are victims, most people are negative. In the real world, most people gossip, and spend their best hours SMSing… I live in a bubble, a pristine bubble of absolute focus around positivity and getting my dreams done. What does that mean in practice? It means that I don’t really watch the NEWS. If someone’s negative, I walk away politely; my friends are positive; my home is inspiring; I love great books; I don’t read cheesy magazines; I don’t pollute my mind with toxic thoughts or influences because those will affect my inspiration, my ideas, my focus and my results.

Number three: Ideas without execution are a delusion. I plan, I schedule every morning. I’m meticulous about where my hours go. This is not just inspiration, this is tactical. I have a one-year plan and I have a five-year plan; I look at my plan every morning and I set a weekly plan. In that way, I execute, nearly flawlessly, all my goals for every quarter. Like a great business is all about strategic plans and execution, I have dreams but dreams without plans and sequencing don’t get done. So, become a master of planning, sequencing, execution and time management. The hours that ordinary people waste, excellent performers use. People say, I’m too busy.” Well, how many hours do you spend on SMS or on your smart phone?

Number four: I learn. The world belongs to learners. You look at Picasso, Jack Welch, Richard Branson, Lady Gaga… these people are students of their crafts. So if you look at any genius, they have one thing in common: they know more about their craft more than anyone in their field in the history of the world. I spend a lot of time listening to audio books, watching videos, reading, learning.

Number five: I love to journal. Journaling is when I reconnect with my vision, my values. I record the highlights of my day, so I pour gratitude via dopamine into my brain so I feel better. How do I stay inspired? Being inspired isn’t lucky. You ‘make’ inspired. You don’t discover success, you create success. My journal allows me to record my awareness so I stay very clear on what’s important. My journal allows me to notice the miracles of my day and allows me to learn and download the benefits and miracles that each day presents.

Manoj khatri: So what’s your typical day like?

Robin Sharma: The most consistent thing that I do is that I get up at 5am and I journal. That is the most consistent thing ever. I love having a cup of coffee… you know that its nature’s number one antioxidant and it boosts brain function? And with coffee, I write. I write about my victories, my gratitude, reconnect with my goals and how I’m feeling. And I always exercise first thing in the morning to kick-start my day. And then sometimes I do some meditation, but not consistently. The only consistent thing is the journaling, the exercising, and the reading.

Manoj khatri: Finally, what is your idea about the purpose of life?

Robin Sharma: I think on the last hour of our last day, when we look back and survey our life, what would have defined our life will not be the watch on our wrist, our social standing, the title on our business card and our net worth.

I suggest only two things will matter.

Number one: Who did you become? Were you fearless? Did you achieve a level of self mastery? Did you think great thoughts? Were you positive? Did you have excellent, strong character?

Number two: How many people did you help? How many lives did you touch? What value did you create through your creativity and productivity? In other words, did you leave the world better than you found it? My dad used to recite the words of the great Indian poet, Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. He said to me, “Son, when you were born you cried while the world rejoiced. Well Robin, live your life in such a way that when you die, the world cries while you rejoice.”

So purpose is about remembering that before you know it, it will all be dust. It’s time to step up and do great work that will change the world. It’s time to use your life not just for your own selfish needs but to inspire other people and to create value for other people and to build A FANTASTIC WORLD. And just because other people don’t think like this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t, if you want to become the Picasso of your life.

Manoj khatri: That’s a beautiful thought. Thank you so much Robin, for sharing your inspiring ideas with us.

Robin Sharma: Thanks for the opportunity, Manoj.

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Meaning comes alive

Published by: BenBella Books

ISBN: 978-0525954187

Pages: 255

Price: INR 1350

A couple of months ago, on the occasion of our 8th anniversary issue, we wanted to choose a topic that would connect deeply with everyone alive. So we settled on ‘finding meaning in everyday life’. We then started looking for someone to write the cover story on such a profound and universally relevant topic. As providence would have it, we found Alex and Elaine, who had just finished writing their new book on that very subject. We invited them to write and they accepted, and wrote one of the most significant cover stories in Complete Wellbeing.

Their new book The OPA! Way is now in stores. The book expands on the ideas presented in the cover story. But it’s not a run-of-the-mill self-help book. Far from it, The OPA! Way is an insightful odyssey that takes you back to the basics in a delightfully non-preachy style and tells you how you can weave joy and meaning into every single day.

The book is based on the authors’ travels to Greece, the land of philosophers, where they learned the secrets of living a life filled with joy and meaning. What makes the book come alive is the narration—every chapter starts, and is interspersed, with personal anecdotes of the authors’ experiences and encounters with Greek folk. As they share their stories, we accompany them to the narrow lanes of Greek villages, visit Greek kafenios [cafés], spend time at the village plateia [public squares] and meet a variety of ordinary Greek folk who, through their words and actions, teach us that living joyfully each day is far easier than the struggles that most of us have become used to.

Every chapter of The OPA! Way is sprinkled with generous doses of wisdom that strike a deep chord with our fundamental humanity. As an example, when you meet someone for the first time, the conversations are about making you comfortable and establishing a human connection before asking about work and accomplishments. So, instead of asking, “What do you do?” which is the common introductory question in the west, they might ask, “Which village are you from?” Throughout their travels within the country, Alex and Elaine were recipients of kindness from total strangers—people they would meet on the streets, or in cafés—they encountered gestures that reinforce the basic goodness of humans, despite how hopeless it seems to those of us living in large cities.

Even though the book flows like water in the river, it has a basic structure. Divided into five sections that include an introduction to lay the foundation of the book, followed by the three main sections—connecting meaningfully with others, engaging with deeper purpose and embracing life with attitude—and finally concluding with a summary of the key OPA! lessons. To emphasise the ideas and insights that they gained, the authors extensively use quotes of Greek thinkers and philosophers including Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Heraclitus, Epictetus, Pythagoras, Hippocrates and many more.

Another endearing aspect of the book is the Aesop’s fables that spring up every now and then, making a point that is at once simple and yet intense. The tales, although familiar, seem fresh and different in the context of the ideas presented in the book, leaving you to contemplate on the meaning in the little things in life. The chapters end with a short OPA! affirmation to help us remember the essence of the ideas contained in them.

Indian readers may find a striking similarity in many aspects of the Greece and India—and may also recognise, albeit somewhat unhappily as I did, that we have been fast losing the heritage that makes our culture and tradition so rich and fulfilling. In blindly following the west in its mindless pursuit of wealth and possessions, we are paying a heavy price. But the good news is, we can all return to sanity.

The OPA! Way is a reminder for all of us stop and reflect on why and how we are doing what we are doing. It tells us how we can bring greater joy and fulfilment into our daily lives by following the timeless and universal values that put us back in touch with our glorious humanness and our innate potential for bliss. Read this book if you feel empty or incomplete—or just to enjoy the many heartwarming stories that bring a smile on the lips.

Buy The OPA! Way

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“Man, a being in search of meaning.”
—Plato

On our travels around the world, we’ve encountered many people who have told us that they felt something was missing in their lives and that they felt overwhelmed, lonely and unfulfilled. A pessimistic air seems to have engulfed our world, with increased levels of stress due to unemployment or job insecurity, financial hardship, health and relationship issues. Today, we see that despite being in an increasingly networked and connected world via technology, too many people feel disconnected from and untrusting of others—neighbours, co-workers, leaders—and, perhaps most importantly, from themselves.

Unsure of where to turn for solutions, many seek to ‘escape’ through addictions: television, sex, food, alcohol, drugs, shopping, gambling, the Internet, etc. Left unchecked, these pursuits can turn into a vicious, downward cycle and manifest themselves as an endless and joyless undertaking—much like the one experienced by the Greek hero Sisyphus, who was ordered by the gods to push a big rock uphill, only to see it slip out of his hands at the very last moment and roll down the hill once more.

Is happiness the answer?

Some say the solution is to seek happiness. “Just find something that will make you happy” is the advice we hear often. But what does this really mean? Does it mean a person should find something to make them happy in the moment, perhaps distracting themselves from the reality of their life? Although this approach might provide temporary reprieve, we believe that life is not about the pursuit of happiness. Happiness is not the ultimate goal of life. Happiness is an emotion that is linked to pleasure but it is fleeting; it doesn’t last.

We can share a happy moment when we are enjoying a good meal or a good laugh with a friend, but this emotion only lasts a short time. Believing that happiness will relieve us from our anxiety and stress is misguided. What happens when life throws us a curve, when things don’t go well, when we face suffering, illness, or death? What happens when our ability to make sense of life is challenged? The pursuit of happiness will not necessarily help us in these difficult times, nor will it bring us the deep sense of fulfillment we are all looking for in life.

Christopher Reeve, known all over the world for his leading role in Superman, had a bright acting career and a life filled with unlimited possibilities ahead of him. He was thrown from a horse in a tragic accident that broke his neck, and he was challenged to make new sense of his life as a quadriplegic. An inspirational role model for others, Reeve proved to be a real Superman after his accident, not because he chose to pursue happiness as his ultimate goal, but because he searched for something much deeper—the “strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” Moreover, in spite of having been thrown a curve by life, Reeve not only survived but also thrived in his remaining years by fighting for himself, for his family, and for thousands of people with spinal cord injuries around the world. By engaging with a deeper purpose and extending beyond himself, this real-life Superman found happiness not by pursuing it but by allowing it to ensue as the unintended side-effect of his dedication to a cause greater than himself.

Is it power we want?

Some believe the solution is to seek power over our lives and the lives of others. Power is about being strong and dominant, having [or trying to have] control over other people, events, or things in our environment. Ultimately, though, the pursuit of power leads to emptiness because power over others, and even most of our personal circumstances, is actually an illusion. Power is an exhausting game to play and, like pleasure, it is fleeting and always subject to unforeseen forces. In this connection, the search for power also becomes an endless and joyless undertaking.

The search for power in our lives is parallel to our search for happiness and pleasure. For the most part, it too is ‘out there.’ Power over our employees, our bosses, our customers, our shareholders, our kids, the waiter in a restaurant, or a clerk in a retail store is illusory at best and terribly destructive at worst. We think we have power, but we never know for sure. Even if we do, in the power game there’s always an opponent; the ground is always shifting. Just ask the parents of teenagers who, even with the best of intentions, find that parental guidance is much easier said than done! Indeed, with parenting comes the realisation that the search for ‘power’ over children is an exhausting, ever-shifting game!

Power is an exhausting game to play and, like pleasure, it is fleeting and always subject to unforeseen forces

What about money?

The pursuit of power through monetary wealth is also an illusion, one that often leads to unintended consequences. We have all heard people express the idea that more wealth will bring them meaning and fulfillment. “If only I had more money.” “If only I had a bigger house.” “If only I had a first class ticket.” We’ve been conditioned to believe that these are authentic symbols of success—the more the better. Having money and material things has become the end goal for many people because they can count it, keep score, and use it to compare themselves to others. Living the ‘good life’ seems to be just one thing away.

But when we don’t look the way we think we should or if we don’t have the same [or greater] amount of wealth or abundance of things as others do, we trap ourselves into thinking that it is we who are not enough. In other words, we become “prisoners of our thoughts.” Unfortunately, such feelings of inadequacy and the relentless pursuit of trying to overcome them typically lead to increased stress, and often depression.

The costs, whether intended or unintended, obvious or hidden, of the hunt for more power and money, which effectively is a primitive form of the search for power, are staggering. We postpone finding and experiencing deep meaning in our lives when we are so busy seeking and trying to get ‘more’. We ignore our relationships while we focus on accumulating more; we overlook our health in our chase for more. Interestingly, the results of many research studies have shown that once we achieve a certain level of wealth, enough to cover the basics of life, any increase in new wealth does not necessarily result in a lot more satisfaction, especially lasting satisfaction. In other words, doubling our money won’t bring about a doubling of meaning in our lives.

It’s not about happiness or power, it’s about meaning

We strongly believe that the overall goal of our lives is to live a meaningful life, which is really what the ancient Greek philosophers referred to as the ‘good life’. In this context, world-renowned psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, author of the classic bestseller, Man’s Search for Meaning, famously espoused that the search for meaning is the primary, intrinsic motivation of human beings. Importantly, Dr Frankl also advised that we don’t really create meaning—we find it. And we can’t find it if we don’t look for it.

Many people refer to Aristotle as one of the first to say that the goal of life is happiness because of his reference to the Greek word ‘evdemonia’. Unfortunately, they are making an error in the translation and interpretation of this important Greek word and concept believing that it means ‘happiness’ in English ^[1]. “Evdemonia demands not only complete goodness but a complete life,” professed Aristotle. He believed that evdemonia could be achieved through the proper development of our highest potential as human beings, which involves knowing ourselves, developing virtue and character, taking right action, and going beyond ourselves to help others. True evdemonia—being deeply fulfilled by living a meaningful life—is measured not at the surface of our being but deep within our soul. So you can see, meaning is much deeper, expansive, and transformative than just the pursuit of happiness, power, or money/wealth!

Applying meaning to everyday life

Only the search for meaning holds the potential to bring the kind of authentic enrichment and fulfillment that most people desire in their personal and work lives. So how do we apply the concept of meaning in our everyday lives and work?

FIRST, we should underscore that it’s not about the big existential question, “what is the meaning of life”. Rather, it is the search for meaning in your own life that is most important. Meaning comes in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it looms big in our life; sometimes it slips in almost unobserved. In short, meaning is different for everyone—there is no one right answer—there is only the answer that is right for you.

We cannot answer the big question unless we discover answers to the smaller ones: What are we doing? Why are we doing it? What do our lives mean to us? What does our work mean? Every day our lives are rich with meaningful answers, but only if we stop long enough to appreciate meaning will it bloom in our lives. By reflecting upon our existence and seeking to detect the meaning of life’s moments, we also create the opportunity to draft our personal legacy. In other words, how do we want to be remembered?

SECOND, meaning always exists and therefore can be found in the everyday moments of our lives, so there doesn’t have to be just one answer to the question on how to find it. However, it’s up to us to detect the meaning of the experiences we have each day. Another ancient Greek philosopher, Epictetus, wisely advised that it’s not the event but the meaning you put to it that matters most. What’s more, meaning can be found even in situations that do not bring us happiness or power. Viktor Frankl was convinced that, in the final analysis, “there is no situation that does not contain within it the seed of a meaning.” So, find the seeds of meaning in all that happens to you today.

THIRD, it is important to define the concept of meaning. Some people define meaning in terms of feeling that your life matters while others define meaning in terms of extending beyond yourself to serve something bigger than yourself. We go beyond these types of definitions to offer a simpler, more metaphysical definition:

Meaning is the connection to your true nature or, as we call it, your core essence.

Meaning comes with being ‘who’ we are in this world. When you believe something is meaningful, it is because it resonates with your true nature or core essence. When you believe something lacks meaning or is meaningless, it is because it does not resonate with your true nature or core essence.

It is the search for meaning in your own life that is most important

In a metaphysical way, your life involves the continual search for a closer connection
to your true nature or core essence, throughout each day and over the course
of your entire life.

Every living thing in the world has a natural state and qualities or attributes that make it who or what it is. Our core essence is what defines us and is at the heart of what makes us a unique human being. Although we can belong to a certain group and share characteristics of that group, we are still a unique being with our own unique essence.

The greatest challenge we face is to discover and embrace our core essence. Many people tend to focus on what type of job or career they think they should have, where they should live, or with whom they should have relationships. But, in actuality, a truly meaningful life starts from, remains engaged with, and ultimately returns to, one’s core essence—awakening our true selves by connecting to whom we really are. As Euripides, an ancient Greek playwright proposed thousands of years ago, “there is one life for each of us; our own.”

The search for, the discovery of, and the connection with our true nature or core essence are what gives our lives meaning every day.

FOURTH, it is important to understand how meaning can infiltrate and therefore affect many parts of our lives on a daily basis. Fundamentally, we believe that meaning should be at the core of all that we do, each day. In order to live a complete life, we must understand what brings us meaning in our lives and what drains meaning from our lives. When we know this, all things become clearer. We come to know and feel more confident in our decisions and direction, and we also notice more energy flowing to and through us to others. In other words, we are no longer working against the flow of who we really are.

The greatest challenge we face is to discover and embrace our core essence

Meaning leads to engagement and resilience

To be engaged means to be involved with and connected to a certain activity, to the people who surround you, or more metaphysically, to your true nature or core essence. Conversely, to be disengaged means to be disconnected from the activity, other people, and/or your true nature.

In many workplaces around the world, leaders complain about people with whom they work as being disengaged from and disinterested in the work they are doing and in other people. Metaphorically-speaking, we’ve been invited as advisers to workplaces where, like a scene from the M. Night Shyamalan supernatural film, The Sixth Sense, “we’ve seen dead people!” Although there are leaders who have attempted to implement so-called ‘engagement programmes’ in their organisations, more often than not, these programmes fail because they do not address the real underlying issue: the lack of connection to the true meaning of the work. Employees want to feel that their work matters to them and to others [co-workers, customers, citizens, and the broader society]. Employees also want to challenge themselves to discover new sides of themselves, to discover new talents, new viewpoints.

In a broader sense, we are also witnessing a lack of engagement in our neighbourhoods, villages, cities, and societies as a whole. People tell us that they want to connect meaningfully with others. Yet, we are finding that people feel lonelier than ever before and, sadly, share that they feel that they have very few people with whom to talk openly and share their ‘real lives.’ We’ve found that the more time people spend interacting with their electronic devices, the less time they spend in face-to-face contact with others and the lonelier they feel. Aristotle wisely espoused that “man is a political animal,” which means that we find meaning in interacting face-to-face with others and in knowing that we are not alone. We must remember that our relationships and our villages are built one conversation at a time, so we must remain vigilant and make the effort to counterbalance all the potentially false connections made online in the ‘virtual’ world!

 Employees want to feel that their work matters to them and to others

To be resilient means to be flexible, capable of adapting to and quickly recovering from difficulties or change. The nature of life is change but we often resist this fact of life, wanting things to remain the same, trying to design and control our lives so that change does not happen. But the status quo is yet another illusion because even if we want to stand still, everyone and everything else around us is changing. Indeed, there is a saying, “If you want things to stay the same, then something is going to have to change!” Life cannot be pre-programmed, for it flows like a river, twisting and turning, changing at different rates, sometimes appearing more stable, while at other times, tossing us around in the turbulent rapids. We can try our best to hold onto the sides of the river of life to resist the flow, dreading or fearing change but, in the end, we know that life requires us to surrender to the forward motion and “go with the flow!”

From our book, Prisoners of Our Thoughts, which was written at the personal urging of Viktor Frankl, we highlight a number of techniques to help you find meaning and build resilience on a daily basis:

1. Exercise the freedom to choose your attitude: Even though you cannot determine or control all the circumstances or events that you experience in your life, in all situations, you always have the ultimate freedom to choose your attitude toward them. Searching for the meaning in the situation helps you make sense of it and helps you build the resilience for the changes you may now need to make as a result. For instance, perhaps you were faced with a difficult relationship with a family member or friend, or were facing a difficult boss or co-worker. What was your attitude at first toward the situation? How did your attitude change? What, if anything, did you actually do about changing your attitude? As you think about the situation now, what did you learn from it? What could you have done differently?
2. Shift your focus of attention and look at yourself from a distance: To find the deeper meaning of any given problem or life challenge, deflect your attention from the situation at hand to something else, preferably to something positive, in order to build your coping mechanisms for dealing with stress and change. Moreover, since only human beings possess the capacity to look at themselves from a distance, you have the resilience building option of viewing the situation at hand with a sense of perspective, even with a sense of humour, in order to ensure that you don’t become imprisoned by your thoughts and allow the situation to effectively crush your spirit.
   As an example, Viktor Frankl frequently found himself shifting his focus of attention and looking at himself from a distance during his imprisonment in the Nazi concentration camps. Often, as a means of survival, he kept himself going by imagining himself as an observer rather than as a prisoner. This kind of creative distraction or ‘mental excursion’ as a means to build resilience and find meaning in life’s inescapable predicaments and hardships was also used by the Italian film producer and actor, Roberto Benigni, in his internationally-acclaimed, Academy Award-winning movie, Life is Beautiful. In this film, Benigni shares his sentimental tale about a man trying to shield his son from the horrors of the Holocaust, which was based on his own father’s two-year ordeal in a Nazi labour camp.Invoking the power of our imagination, including seizing on various fantasies, is a meaningful way to fight off despair and hopelessness no matter what our personal circumstances. Our ability to detach from the distress and focus imaginatively on something that pleases us can return us to our freedom and to our source of authentic meaning.
3. Don’t work against yourself: Often we are our own worst enemy. Although we may say we want something, all our actions and words often support the very opposite. Put differently, have you ever worked so hard at something that the more you tried, the harder the task became and the farther away you seemed to get from your goal? You know, one step forward, two steps backward? In this regard, especially when the stakes are high and our success essential, focusing on the results rather than on the process can prevent a successful outcome. Avoid becoming so fixated on an intent or outcome that you actually work against the desired result. Viktor Frankl called this “paradoxical intention”—our good intentions actually become the cause of our failure. So how might you use the notion of paradoxical intention in your own life?
   Recall a situation in your personal or work life in which the harder you worked to achieve an outcome, the farther away you seemed to be from your goal. Perhaps you were trying to develop a romantic relationship or a close friendship with another person. Perhaps you were seeking a promotion or were trying to get a creative idea or project approved by your boss. How did you first come to recognise that you were not making progress? How did you rationalise or justify your dilemma? To what extent, if any, did you think that you were partly to blame? What, if anything, did you actually do about it? Looking back, what did you learn from the situation and what could you have done [and would now do] differently?

Often we are our own worst enemy. Although we may say we want something, all our actions and words often support the very opposite

Meaning leads to wellbeing and health

Many illnesses are the result of stress and anxiety which, when left untreated, start to negatively affect the body, as well as the mind and spirit. One of the challenges of modern medicine is that we often treat the symptoms of an illness but fail to address its root cause[s]. For various reasons, physicians today have little time to see each patient and even less time to ask about lifestyle or stress and the broader connection between the patient’s spirit, mind, and body. Instead, more often than not, they are forced to focus primarily on relieving symptoms and managing diseases quickly through drugs or surgery.

The vast majority of our health care budgets are spent on treatment versus prevention. If stage I is being healthy, stage II is having stress and blocked energy, and stage III is illness, most people wait until they are in stage III to react and then want quick fixes for their illnesses. If we focussed on the prevention of illness and, in particular, on stages I and II, we would not only be healthier [individually and as nations], we would save billions in health care costs. Just as we actively prevent car accidents by encouraging people to take driver’s education classes, and just as we brush our teeth to prevent cavities, we can learn to take a more proactive approach to our general health and well-being by focusing on the prevention of illness.

Plato wisely said, “the part can not be well unless the whole is well.” Health and wellbeing must start from the core of meaning. When we are engaged in meaningful activities that we enjoy, when we feel that we matter, and when we tap into our optimistic, positive spirit, energy can freely flow within us, through us, and to others. Conversely, when we are engaged in activities that are meaningless to us, when we feel that we are not living authentically, or when we are overwhelmed with anxiety and stress, we lack the connection to our true essence and, therefore, suffer from a lack or void of meaning. Energy ceases to flow smoothly and energy blockages can eventually show up in some form of illness or disease. Everything, as Plato wisely said, is interconnected. Meaning gives energy and power to our desires and intentions and, as a consequence, helps us live healthier, more holistic lives.

The vast majority of our health care budgets are spent on treatment versus prevention

Meaning leads to performance and innovation

Often leaders and managers will ask for higher levels of performance, creativity, and innovation from their team members. Often these requests are ignored or discounted by employees, already feeling that they are contributing more than their fair share and perhaps suffering from high levels of ‘burnout’. Even if some employees have good intentions, often they feel that they just can’t do any more than they are already doing.

People want opportunities at work to express their creativity and to be appreciated for their creative contributions. Importantly, they also want to express who they truly are and who they want to become. In their work lives, they don’t want to have to leave their spirit at the front door in order to ‘fit in’ and, as a result, possibly lose their identity, sense of self-worth, and humanity. In short, they want to make a living but, at the same time, they also want to make a life. If leaders understood the ‘Core of Meaning’ concept with its implications for performance and innovation, workplaces would not only be much more productive and innovative but also more engaging, enjoyable and meaningful.

FIFTH, join the meaning movement!

Finding meaning in everyday life is an ongoing process, one that demands attention to both intrapersonal and interpersonal needs. Moreover, the human quest for meaning, even though it has been a formidable, existential challenge since the very beginning of our species, is now a megatrend whose time has come. In large part, it represents a shift in consciousness, a heightened awareness that life is calling out to us and we are responsible for answering life’s call.

It is significant to note that we are seeing people in all stages and walks of life paying increasing attention to the quest for personal meaning. This is an especially healthy and positive development when considered in the context of the dysfunctional symptoms, stress-related illnesses, and existential angst in the today’s fast-changing, complex and uncertain world.

Against this backdrop, we invite you to join us in the Meaning Movement by encouraging everyone around the world, including yourself, to live and work from the “Core of Meaning.” Meaning is the life energy or fuel that motivates us to achieve our highest potential as human beings. In fact, meaning is an integral part of our innate humanness, and it is the search for meaning, our primary intrinsic motivation, that distinguishes us from other living entities. As explained in our book, The OPA! Way, we strongly believe that our connections with others, our engagement with deeper purpose, and our ability to face all the ups and downs of life with a resilient attitude, are the key elements and determinants of living a meaningful life. Just imagine how much more joy and meaning there would be in the world if everyone lived from a closer connection to their true nature or core essence. The search for meaning begins with you!

^{[1] Evdemonia, which is frequently misspelled phonetically from the Greek language as “eudaimonia” or “eudemonia” in English, is much more complex and holistic a notion. Aristotle was actually referring to the deeper concept of “having good demons or spirits” in the literal sense of the word or feeling deeply fulfilled by knowing that one’s life has meaning. Some people try to define or refer to evdemonia with words like flourishing but such descriptors are still too limited and do not give the concept true justice. Plants or animals can flourish whereas the concept of evdemonia involves such personal attributes as deep reflection, reasoning, and good actions.↩}

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