Think of the last time you had to make a difficult decision. A time where options were difficult to pick from. A time where the more materialistically profitable option did feel right. I have faced many such situation. I would like to share my personal experiences to help shed some light on this dilemma.
When I have such a dilemma I reflect on my aspired values to find direction as per the quote by Idowu Koyenikan in the visual above. The five values I attempt to live by are summarised I the following statement.
Six questions you need to ask yourself to be the person you are destined to be – A presentation by Marshall Goldsmith.
Engage in this sincere presentation by Marshall Goldsmith and reflect on the six powerful questions he is prescribing. You may at-least start thinking in a manner that leads you to discover who you are meant to be. Enjoy the journey.
The following process can be used to create a learning experience for your team using this video.
A photo taken at a rain forest in Kandy, the hill capital of Sri Lanka.
This is a photo taken during a nature walk with my team. I remember sitting down on this bench to take in the energy of the beautiful rain forest. As I reflected I felt the paradox of the place; the sounds of nature and the voices of people, the trees and the cement bench, the forest and the road, the cool wind and the warm sun rays. One of my colleagues had taken this photo at that time and I was fascinated with the rays of sunlight coming towards me, as if the universe was sending me rays of enlightenment.
An amazing perforce that stunned the audience and judges at Britains Got Talent.
Reflection Guide:
As you watch this video, think of the times that you have pre-judged someone by your initial perception. How many time have they surprised you with the real substance in them. Reflect on times that you had been in the receiving end. What learnings do you take from the reflection and what steps would you take to change your attitude and help other change their attitude.
In the one before the last blog post (two Wednesdays ago) in the ‘Purpose Quest’ series, I attempted to list down questions that came up during my various interactions with various audience over the last 6 months of the pandemic. I started attempting to write about how I responded to those question and the insights I had regarding the first two questions related to goals, in last Wednesdays blog post. Let me attempt to respond to the third questions;
What is the purpose of the pandemic? How is it serving us?
As you watch this video, reflect on your attitude towards failure, rejection and setbacks etc. What steps would you take to reinforce your attitude or change your attitude to enjoy success?
Developing Purposefulness in Team Members – My presentation at the Asian & African Retail Congress in Mumbai India,
A presentation made to leaders in the retail industry at the Asia & Africa Retail Shopping Center Congress. Practical application of leadership and personal develop ent methods delivered with powerful concepts and personal experiences.
As you watch this video, reflect on steps you are taking and further steps you can take to develop purposeful team members in Your organisation.
The following process can be used to create a learning experience for your team using this video.
Step 1 – A moderator (an expert from your company) to open the session, explaining the importance of the session.
Step 2 – Show the video – let participants absorb, take notes and write down questions to ask later
Step 3 – Have a Q&A session and a discussion
Step 4 – Agree on actions to be taken based on the video
Step 5 – Participants to say how the session was useful.
A screenshot captured by a participant of the ‘Mastery of Self – NLP online’ session.
It was a common occurrence to have participants take photos during in-room sessions and publish it widely on social media during my work before the pandemic. After having taken my work online over the past 6 months and conducting various organisational and personal transformation webshops for leaders, teams and individuals, I was pleasantly surprised to see this photo on LinkedIn.
A participant from r-pac Bangladesh, Rakibul Alam has posted this photo with the message: I am not the best but I can be better. Yes I can do it in a better way, no one can hold me down! Special thanks to my Guru Ranjan De Silva.
This type of gesture gives me confidence to do this work, even online. This comes at a time when I have started conducting in room sessions for companies in Sri Lanka, with the mindset that my type of work requires and in-room experience for best impact. However due to travel restrictions I don’t see myself flying for a while and this gesture gives me confidence to innovate newer methods to make online learning experiences to my overseas clients in a more enjoyable and effective manner.
In the last blog post in the ‘Purpose Quest’ series, I attempted to list down questions that came up during my various interactions with various audience over the last 6 months of the pandemic. I will attempt to write about how I responded to those question and the insights I had, in the next few blog posts. So let’s begin with the first two questions. Both of them are related to goals;
My goals have become irrelevant due to the pandemic? What do I do now?
Why do I need to have goals when they can become irrelevant due to uncontrollable situation?
I always felt goals were irrelevant without a bigger purpose. A goal becomes meaningful when it is connected with a higher, noble purpose. Therefore if someone feels the goal they had was irrelevant due to the pandemic, perhaps it was not attached to a purpose. If a goal without a purpose is difficult to achieve, we may use unethical, illegal, unhealthy methods to achieve them and we will get stress if we don’t achieve them. Goals attached to a purpose are easy to adjust and we do not get stressed if such goal.
For example I was in the process of starting to write my thesis to complete my Phd when the pandemic hit. Due to the pandemic, I had to focus on other priorities as I have written widely in this blog. This requires me to delay the completion of the Phd or even even not to pursue it anymore. I was comfortable with both these option as the purpose of doing the Phd was to inquire about the notion of ‘purposefulness’ and present to the world new knowledge that can help people become purposeful and thereby find success, happiness and peace of mind, while contributing to a better world. I was able to make this contribution to the world over the past six months through webinars, webshops, blogs, social media and other interactions. I also realise I already have a book to write on the topic, which will also help people live a purposeful life. I may or may not complete the Phd and that goals seems irrelevant when I think about the bigger purpose behind it.
The answer to the second question is that we could still have purposeful goals that we are willing to change, adjust or let go when the universe sends us a strong message, as in the case of the pandemic, calling us to be of service to this world in a different way.
I hope this is food for thought. I will be delighted to hear from you the answers that you came up with and engage in dialog, purposefully..
As you watch this video, reflect on your motivation (motive to take action). How does emotion (energy in motion) creates that motivation from within that helps us make a difference?
Ranjan De Silva 