You can do trivial things as if the world runs on your shoulders. Or you can do mighty things in spirit of playfulness.
It is our awareness that matters. Awareness enables us to choose our discretion towards our work.
Great work is always a reflection of joy that the creator pursues.
This quote by Ram Dass is a powerful reframe of how we see our work and life.
In our need to belong, we sometimes rely too much on what others think of us. When we seek too much validation in external stuff – titles, pay packages, status, other people etc. – we stray away from who we truly are. We step away from that which is uniquely ours.
Epictetus prompts us to have an inner scorecard that we abide to. Do what truly brings us alive, be who we truly are and constantly seek clarity on these aspects while conducting ourselves.
In a world of instant gratification, be someone who plants seeds – of effort, of generosity, of making a difference to the self and others.
The rewards may not be instant and it doesn’t matter.
The mindset of planting seeds versus reaping rewards is a powerful one in itself.
A related thought from Michael Wade:
“An excessive ego can be a chain that slows our advance. It can also resemble a curtain that keeps out the light. It can become a wall that causes us to see only our turf and not the larger expanse that should be our concern. It can poison relationships, cloud memories, and subvert judgment. “. Some of us never recover.”
We are taught to compete. Competition sets the upper bar for what you can achieve.
If you want to jump over that bar, you need to create. Do things differently and do different things.
Creating requires stepping away from competition and focusing on the game that is uniquely yours. A game where you bring your true, best, authentic self to the fore.
Competition is for amateurs. Professionals create.
Excuses are easily accessible. You can cook them up. It’s always easier to blame external situations for our failures or lack of attempt. You can play a victim and soon, the world with sympathize with you.
On the other hand, effort to make things is also easily accessible once we get past our victim mindset. The locus of control is internal. The call it “Growth Mindset”.
Make things, not excuses.
When you take that leap of faith, leap is about courage to step into the unknown. Faith is about trusting the process, your intuition and knowing that you will build strong wings to soar higher.
When you consistently deliver more value than you get, the universe finds a way to deliver more value back to you.
It’s not linear.
There is no instant gratification.
But it works.
