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Here are my notes (part 3) from Life’s Amazing Secrets: How to Find Balance and Purpose in Your Life by Gaur Gopal Das.
WHEEL 3: WORK LIFE
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 matters to me.’
Competition is a mindset that we have to redefine.
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. But if someone can outperform us by doing better in what we aspire to do, the base tendencies of competition can settle in.
To find your purpose in life, you must go on a journey of self-discovery. ‘Sometimes the warrior feels as if he were living two lives at once . . . There is a bridge that links what I do with what I would like to do, he thinks. Slowly, his dreams take over his everyday life, and then he realizes that he is ready for the thing he always wanted. Then all that is needed is a little daring, and his two lives become one.’
‘If there is one thing that I think is the foundation of growth, it is understanding who you are. You can only compete with yourself if you have a clear idea of your potential, your capacities and certainly your limitations,’
We have to understand ourselves to be able to compete with ourselves. What are our tendencies? What do we like? What do we not like? Where do we want to be in the future? These are only a few preliminary questions we need to answer to succeed. And this process of inquiry begins our journey of self-discovery.
Most people do not have the intention of being completely selfless.
Spirituality helps develop good character. It is character that shines bright when words fail to do so. ‘Live your life in such a way that those who know you but don’t know God, will come to know God because they know you.’