SPIRITUAL SUCCESS
* THERE ARE MANY MISCONCEPTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO BEING A SPIRITUAL-MINDED PERSON AND BEING SUCCESSFUL IN THE WORLD.
* ONE IS THAT SPIRITUALITY KILLS OUR AMBITIONS AND ZEST TO ACHIEVE. THIS IS FALSE BECAUSE SPIRITUALLY JUST CHANGES OUR MOTIVE TO ACHIEVE. IT MAKES US WANT TO BE HUNGELY SUCCESSFUL SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THE RESOURCES TO HELP OTHERS. THE STORY OF KRISHNA AND ARJUNA IN THE GITA EXPLAINS MORE. FIGHT AND ACHIEVE TO HELP OTHERS, BUT BE INTERNALLY CONTENT IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE.
* ANOTHER IS THAT SPIRITUAL PEOPLE GET WALKED OVER IN BUSINESS BECAUSE OF THEIR VALUES. THE STORY OF THE SAGE AND THE SNAKE DESCRIBE HOW WE SHOULD STICK TO OUR VALUES BUT BE METICULOUS AND STRAIGHTFORWARD IN BUSINESS.
* THOUGH WE CAN MAKE AS MUCH MONEY AS WE DESIRE,AND USE IT TO SERVE, WE SHOULD BE WARY OF ITS POTENTIAL OF DISTRACT US FROM OUR PURPOSE.
AT WORK WE TEND TO COMPARE AND COMPETE WITH OTHERS,
INSTEAD OF COMPARING AND COMPETING WITH OURSELVES.
BEING THE RICHEST MAN IN THE CEMETERY DOESN'T MATTER TO ME. GOING TO BED AT NIGHT SAYING WE'VE DONE SOMETHING WONDERFUL... THAT'S WHAT MATTER TO ME.
---- STEVE JOBS
SUMMARY
👀 THERE ARE TWO CAUSES OF UNHEALTHY COMPETITION, BEING ENVIOUS OF SOMEONE OR UNCONTROLLED AMBITION.
👀 WE COMPETE WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE SAME SKILLS OR OUTLOOK IN LIFE AS US. WHEN ANOTHER PERSON'S SKILLS HAVE NO BEARING ON OUR LIFE, WE RARELY FEEL THREATENED.
👀 COMPETITION IS FOUND IN ALL SPHERE OF LIFE. SOME EXAMPLES INCLUDE SPORTS, BUSINESS, POLITICS AND THE WORKPLACE.
👀 JAYMIN'S STORY IS AN EXTEME CASE-STUDY OF UNHEALTHY COMPETITION.
👀 HEALTHY COMPETITION IS ABOUT COMPETING WITH OURSELVES RATHER THAN OTHERS TO BECOME A BETTER VERSION OF OURSELVES.
👀 THERE WILL ALWAYS BE WORKPLACE POLITICS BUT WE SHOULD LEARN HOW TO MANAGE IT IN A CLEAN WAY.
ASSOCIATION MATTERS
OUR RELATIONSHIPS ARE STRONGER WHEN THEY CONTAIN A SPIRITUAL COMPONENT. THERE ARE THREE DIFFERENT WAYS TO BECOME GOOD FRIENDS WITH SOMEONE.
TRUTH IS, I'LL NEVER KNOW ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT YOU JUST AS YOU WILL NEVER KNOW ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT ME. HUMANS ARE BY NATURE TOO COMPLICATED TO BE UNDERSTOOD FULLY. SO WE CAN CHOOSE EITHER TO APPROACH OUR FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS WITH SUSPICION OR TO APPROACH THEM WITH A OPEN MIND, A DASH OF OPTIMISM AND A GREAT DEAL OF CANDOUR.
--- TOM HANKS
IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE A LIFE WITHOUT RELATIONSHIPS.THE PRINCIPLE OF RELATIONSHIPS IS AN INHERENT UNIVERSAL ONE THAT GUIDES OUR LIVES. WHAT WOULD LIFE BE IF WE DID NOT HAVE OTHERS TO SHARE IT WITH? THEREFORE, WE MUST LEARN HOW TO DO IT CORRECTLY. ALTHOUGH THIS SKILL IS SELDOM TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS, IT HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED IN ANCIENT SPIRITUAL TEXTS FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
YOUR ASSOCIATION, CALLED SANGA IN SANSKRIT, IS CRUCIALTO YOUR SUCCESS, IN THIS WORLD AND BEYOND.
A MAN OR A WOMAN IS KNOWN BY THE COMPANY THEY KEEP, A FAMOUS ENGLISH PROVERB STATES. THERE IS A FUNNY STORY ABOUT THE EFFECT OF ASSOCIATION. BEFORE THE INDUSTRIAL AGE, A MAN IN A VILLAGE WENT OUT TO PERFORM HIS MORNING ABLUTIONS BECAUSE IN INDIA, IN THOSE DAYS, THEY WOULD NOT HAVE RESTROOMS IN THE HOUSE. AFTER HE WAS DONE, HE GOT UP AND PUT ON HIS DHOTI, TURNED AROUND AND LOOKED AT THE STUFF, AND SAID, DISGUSTING!, I AM SO GOOD-LOOKING AND HANDSOME. I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT SOMETHING SO OBNOXIOUS AND NASTY COUL COME FROM ME. TO HIS SURPRISE, THE STUFF SPOKE BACK TO HIM AND SAID, YOU'RE CALLING ME OBNOXIOUS? LAST NIGHT, I WAS A DELICIOUS SAMOSA. LOOK WHAT A FEW HOURS OF ASSOCIATION WITH YOU HAS DONE TO ME!.
OUR ASSOCIATION CAN UPLIFT OR DEPRESS US TO THE LOWEST, LEVELS. WHEN I TALK ABOUT ASSOCIATION IN THIS CONTENT, I DO NOT MEAN GENERAL INTERACTIONS. IN OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIFE, ALL OF US WILL HAVE TO INTERACT WITH PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE THE BEST INFLUENCE ON US. YET, WE WILL HAVE TO DO THE NEDDFUL AND SUCH INTERACTIONS ARE SIMPLY NEUTRAL DEALINGS HARDLY CAUSING US ANY HARM. ASSOCIATION IS BEYOD OUR NEUTRAL HI-HELLO DEALINGS- IT HAS TO DO WITH THE LEVEL OF INTIMACY WE SHARE WITH OTHERS.
ONE ANCIENT TEXT ON RELATIONSHIPS DESCRIBES SIX EXCHANGES THAT CAN CREATE INTIMACY IN PERSONAL DEALINGS:
OFFERINGS GIFTS AND ACCEPTING GIFTS, OPEING ONE'S MIND AND INQUIRING IN CONFIDENTS, SHARING FOOD AND RECEIVING FOOD ARE THE SIX EXCHANGES THAT DEVELOP LOVING RELATIONSHIPS.
SUMMARY :
* OUR ASSOCIATION IS POWERFUL, IT CAN UPLIFT US OR BRING US DOWN.
* GENERAL INTERACTIONS ARE DEALINGS MEANT TO DO THE NEEDFUL AND ARE SIMPLY NEUTRAL.
* INTIMATE DEALINGS ARE BUILT THROUGH THE EXCHANGE OF THINGS, FOOD, THOUGHTS, VALUES AND BELIEF SYSTEMS. OUR LIFESTYLE IS AFFECTED MORE BY ANOTHER PERSON'S VALUE SYSTEMS THAN THEIR HABITS.
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