Been a long while since I wrote on my blog.. shows how 2011 has been for me.. a blur. A challenging year with its ups and downs (unfortunately more of those). But everything has a purpose and am a firm believer that every challenge sows a seed for something better in the future. And when I look at some of the worst things which have happened in this world.. the Japan earthquake where people have lost everything and most importantly their families.. then all my trials and tribulations seem so trivial. Great tragedies are indeed humbling for those who experience first hand.
Today I am not writing of the past though, as its a new year and a new start. Sitting at my desk to set new goals, new resolutions and a framework for a transformed life. Nearing 40 indeed makes you sit up and take stock of ones life and what you want to achieve or rather see yourself doing for the next half. But as I sat down at 7 am at my desk.. I suddenly heard a bird cooing in my backyard. And on a spur of the moment, dropped everything and went for a walk. It was wonderful to hear the birds chirping away in the trees.. today being a bank holiday in UK, there was no one on the roads, except me and the birds up in the trees.. they were as if welcoming the morning and me to a wonderful experience. How many years since I did that. Looking forward to doing this much more often in 2012. Breaking away from mundane.. and just living.
This brings me to the topic of personal transformation, a way to look at oneself, understand what one is best at and then decide the future course of action.. this is something which schools must teach students early in life but seldom do. Thats another topic though.
For a transformation to happen, there needs to be a framework. A framework which shows us what is most important in our lives to achieve and whether on every single day, are we working towards those goals which we set out. We have many concepts here - Goals, objectives, resolutions, vision, mission, priorities, etc. How are they interrelated. This is my endeavor to work out such a framework and having read many articles, I failed to get one which could be my blueprint. So sat down to evolve one for myself and readers of this blog are more than welcome to provide their thoughts and more importantly experiences. No gyan please.. we are not preachers, but friends who are open to share their experiences for a common good.
Organisations do come up with mission and vision statements and I feel it applies to individuals too. The first step of the framework is therefore to create this personal mission statement.. writing down maybe in a day or over a week, what is the core purpose of life. This in marathi is called Jeevanacha uddesh and to realise it is - shakshatkar. For example Sachin Tendulkar realised it quite early in his childhood that his purpose was to play cricket for India.. or Amir Khan to make meaningful cinema. When this purpose is very clear, such an enlightened individual is not after records or awards (you never see Amir at award ceremonies) or position in life. The only desire is to fulfill the mission in life. Every activity before it is undertaken is then questioned whether it is in line with this mission or a waste of time. But the personal mission needs to touch every 5 aspects of life.. physical (fitness), mental (career), heart (relationships - family and friends), spiritual (being one with God) and societal (ones contribution to immediate neighbourhood/ society).
Next comes the visioning part which defines the future state.. and for this one must be able to sit alone, away from daily busyness of life. Best time is early morning.. what in India is called the 1st prahar or 3.30 to 6.30 in the morning. This was shown very nicely in the movie Iqbal, where the deaf and mute boy dreams of playing for India.. he goes in his small hut, which has only photos of his heroes and closes his eyes and visualises bowling in front of the crowds. One thing which is very important to note here is.. this visualisation is of what one would love to do.. its not about what one would like to become. Theres a big difference. Many people keep thinking of becoming VP, CEO, Director or getting a specific salary or making x amount of money and bank balance. But such an endeavor is self-defeating as it leads to comparison with those who seem to be achieving these standards. This path is not the path of excellence.. the path which I am describing here is more of passion. To envision a life full of passion and doing something which creates joy.. another movie 'Zindagi Na milegi dubara' as well as 'Rock On' - singing and playing music in front of a mad screaming crowd.
To define a future state, one indeed needs to start at the present state of affairs.. example ones own skillset and what it should be in the future state. This provides one an opportunity to do gap analysis and forces one to think of what needs to be done to bridge that gap.
The 3rd step is to then decide on goals in life.. 10 things which you would love to accomplish before you die. Dasvedaniya.. These can be 5 year, 2 year or yearly goals. Example would be to run a 10 K in 50 min in 2012. Great the yearly goal in one aspect of life - physical fitness is now decided. It can now be broken up into short term objectives to make them tangible. Jan objective is to be able to run continuously for 15 min or run a mile in 10 mins and so on. This is the planning bit and being able to almost draw out a plan in excel or projects.. to achieve the ultimate goal in each aspect of life. You may ask, how can we plan when it comes to relationships - family and friends. The way I like to think is.. envisioning what my kid should be 5 years down the line.. in specific area/ domain.. lets say a sport - she reaches level 10 in swimming by 2017.
Next comes the weekly priorities and schedule. Taking the above example of my kid achieving excellence in her chosen field, I would need to be there with her when she is doing that.. and I mean completely. That needs to sit in my weekly schedule - on a Saturday and Sunday morning. Or if its to run the marathon.. 1 hour of running 4 times in the week. But during this time with the family or oneself.. one needs to be 'present'.. that is literally being in the 'present', being and experiencing completely.
But what about resolutions.. where do they sit. This brings me to 7 Habits.. Resolutions are behavioral changes one wants to see in oneself, which will drive change and achieve this years and lifetime goals, fulfill ones mission in life and realise that grand vision. Resolution starts with the statement.. I resolve to .. this is a promise to oneself to make that change. If we keep doing things in the same way as last year.. we will see the same results. But for a transformation to happen, one needs to resolve to do a particular activity in a different way. Sometimes a resolution may not achieve any stated goal.. example 'I resolve to spend most of my evenings playing with my kids' or 'I resolve to pray with devotion morning and evening'. But such resolutions indeed have an effect on breaking our samskaras or habits.
This brings me to the last but not the least.. Yoga. For a transformational change, its very important to have sthir buddhi and clarity of thought. To eliminate old samskaras which are the root cause of our misery, in my honest and humble opinion, there is no other way but the way of Yoga. For example to create the 100% focus and be in the present.. pranayama is the best technique to concentrate on the breathe and cleanse the body. Ultimately your focus decides your destiny.
So whats your Vision 2020?
I again welcome thoughts from my friends. Looking with renewed hope an eventful, challenging and fulfilling 2012.
Monday 2 January 2012
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