Despite better focus and improvement in my business nowadays, I know there is room for improvement. For example, every now and then I find myself looking into emails and my blogs, at office. I still procrastinate though it is not as acute as before. At the end, I feel guilty for indulging in these activities at the expense of my business.
Yes, these are old maladies of mine I continue to nurse despite the many promises I have made to myself. And the articles I have read on getting to the root of the procrastination and lack of focus, have not remedied the situation.
Just three days back, I read an article about decision fatigue which explains, making resolutions repeatedly tend to drain our will power. One solution suggested is to limit the options available to make decisions by forced introduction of constraints. This idea has led to the creation of a web App, called Freedom which simply restricts access to the web. The fact that the app was downloaded 500,000 times is a consolation that I am not the only victim of procrastination on earth.
I wonder whether Freedom app or anything similar would do the trick for me.
I recently I shared with my coaches about being torn between love for my blogs and my business. They requested me to share my daily routine which I did. Then I got from them this question:
“Would you like to share what would have to be true so that you are as passionate about work as you are about going through emails or checking blog ……?”
In pretty high sounding language, I narrated the many things I have started doing and planned to do in future to turn the company around big time. I felt thrilled after completing my response. Instead of complimenting me, my coach came back rather heavily on me with:
“When I write, I am aware and fully focused. I craft every word to reflect excellence and flow. As I write, I am aware that I go to the deepest recesses of myself and arrive at the truth as I have experienced and understood. I feel at peace with myself and with the world outside.
At such times, I discover insights I would not have discovered but for embarking on another post on another topic, So, I am conscious of the scope writing gives me to create. I find myself in writing. The blog is my home.
To belong in this home of mine, it is important to be in a state of enthusiasm for life. I cannot bring myself to write anything of consequence when there is a dissonance between my ideals and my current state. The best comes out of me when I am in a state of grace, swathed in a feeling of love and goodness.
What has to be true – that I find my home in business? And which would also give me the same feeling of living fully and truly?
Business for me is a means of creating new realities by the power of focus and thinking anew in different directions. I adhere to the values I have laid down for my business and hence there is no discord between practice and precept.
As in writing, I delve into the deepest recesses to produce value for my customers. Every service is designed and delivered with the same care I take to craft sentences, paragraphs and posts. I do not leave anything to chance. Every coma counts.
Excellence is a hallmark of everything I do in the company. And I am relentless till I can sit back and say – wow, that is great service, I am proud of what I see.
Every day, as I jog or walk to my office, there is anticipation for accomplishing tasks, providing excellent services and creating wealth. I am at peace as I conduct my business.
I examine my conduct in office closely, so that my ego does not pull down the team and its morale. I realize that I cannot conduct my business when there exists discord between my ideals and my actual practice.
I make special efforts to enjoy the fruits of my business rather than only ensuring the comfort of my team. I have so far been an embodiment of sacrifice for the sake of others in the company. No wonder, business has been such a pain! Not any more! I know it is my duty to enjoy the luxuries provided by money.
The story I see about money is gradually changing. It is a measure of my success, efforts and accomplishments. I value it immensely and feel very grateful. Till recently, money was something I despaired about. From now, I treasure its comforts and presence in my life.
The same spirit that create words in my posts also give birth to enormous possibilities in my business. My words are fleshed in my business.”
At the end, one of my coaches emphasised, the crux of the matter is, “What would have to be true so that you are as passionate about work as you are about – let’s call, play?”
What I understood from the exchanges with my coaches is, the doing of many things will not make lasting changes, if they are not expressions of the being that I am. In other words, changes and actions that spring from my core, from my deep beliefs, yield results.
When I find cogent answers to the question, “Why” for what I do, my actions come laden with a new power and meaning.
Work then, becomes play – to be enjoyed.
Good to read a new post! You can write to yourself about work – on a continuing basis.
I will resume writing here on work and other matters that occupy my space, on a more frequent basis. Thank you for reading and caring to encourage me with your comments, Rahul.
Babu