Handling Work Stress

Mr. T Ram Kishore was surely not serious while suggesting to ‘stop with this enthusiasm business’ and carry on working under stress (“So who’s happy in his job?”, KT May 19, 2010). Enthusiasm may not pay bills, but it fills you with life. Stress is the worst silent killer of modern society. Almost all major diseases emanate from stress. But, we don’t have to give in; we can effectively deal with it.

When a piece of metal wire is bent, it comes under stress. There is now an internal pressure within the wire to return to its original shape. Similarly, whenever human mind deviates from its natural state, it becomes stressful. Stress, indeed, is an internal cry for returning to natural state. Our natural state is that of serenity, calmness and relaxation.

We are most relaxed and happy when we do what we love to do. Unfortunately, most of us don’t have this luxury. Our work is somehow forced upon us due to reasons such as: financial, family, legality, skill limitations or just going with the flow. Hence, the only way out is to love whatever we do and do it to the best of our abilities, as doing is the only thing under our control. We should also guard against developing an unconscious habit of complaining, as it prevents new opportunities from approaching us. Only a relaxed mind has the ability to scan far and wide for better opportunities. A relaxed mind is inherently in receptive mode, while a complaining mind is inherently in rejection mode.

We are entirely responsible for our own stress. Outside world will be what it is. It cannot change itself to the liking of each individual. People, places, weather and situations are what they are – not under our individual controls. Hence, the first step in handling stress is to have ‘realistic’ (if not ‘zero’) expectation from the world. Stress automatically starts building-up inside us when ‘we don’t do what we ought to do’ or ‘do what we ought not to do’ in a given situation. It starts like a spark and, if not immediately checked, it soon engulfs our entire psychosomatic personality. Therefore, it is vital to be acutely aware of its initial signs, such as: heat in the head, increased pulse-rate, losing control over speech, trembling, etc. When such signs are noticed, we should mentally withdraw from the scene immediately and fine-tune our expectations. Deep breathing, yoga, playing sports, reading favourite books, listening to favourite music and socializing with close friends are well known effective stress busters. Indulging in food and other addictions are the easiest diversions that provide temporary relief, but do much more harm in the long run and hence must be avoided.

There are situations when we feel ourselves against the wall with no way out. Again, it is because of our own narrow vision under the circumstances. Asking questions like, “what is the worst thing that can happen?” actually calms down the mind and allows us to focus on finding alternatives. It is important to have meaningful goals in life, but being obsessed with them is sowing seeds of stress. We must be natural in all our actions under all circumstances. We must also trust that nature will provide us whatever we need and whenever we need for our survival and growth. We should remain receptive to nature’s bounty and always follow our own conscience. Anything forced is not forceful – only stressful.

According to Chuang Tzu, “Easy is right. Begin right and you are easy. Continue easy and you are right. The right way to go easy is to forget the right way and forget that the going is easy.”

Whenever I am faced with a stressful situation, I often turn to this prayer:

“God, grant me the

Serenity to accept the things I cannot change…

Courage to change the things I can…and

Wisdom to know the difference.”

Future of Books

In his article “Read the latest iPad?” (KT, Wednesday, April 7, 2010), Marc Aronson has asked a question; “Does the arrival of this new gizmo mean the end of books as we know it?” My answer is “No, Never.”

Besides the issues sighted by Marc, e-books suffer from many other disadvantages. To start with, you need a gadget that runs on power. What if it runs out of power or simply breaks-down just when you are deeply engrossed in reading? Small screen size will put further constraint on the already failing eye-sights of aged readers. What about those readers who are not skilled at operating electronic gadgets? How long can you keep these e-books readable at the current rate of obsolescence in technology, unless, of course, you keep changing the gadget? E-book format itself may go through a revolutionary change in a not so distant future.

Then, there are other socio-psychological constraints with e-books. Can you read e-books at all locations, all weathers and all circumstances? How will you derive the pleasure of lending or borrowing an e-book? How are you going to highlight, underline important paras or make notes in the margin space of the e-book? How will you obtain author’s autograph or gift the e-book with your own hand-written message that may survive many generations with nostalgic memories? How would you put attractive covers on an e-book? How can a visitor to your house get impressed with your collection of e-books? Would it still be possible to make new acquaintances by picking an e-book that was accidently dropped by someone on the pathway? And, last but not the least, can you preserve a flower between the pages of an e-book rekindling sweet memories of the past?

Luck Factor

Recently, I stumbled upon the research findings of a psychologist on ‘why some people are always in the right place at the right time, while others consistently experience ill fortune.’ He conducted a simple experiment. He gave same number of both lucky and unlucky people copies of the same newspaper, and asked them to look through it and tell him how many photographs were inside. He had secretly placed a large message halfway through the newspaper saying, “Tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $250.” This message took up half of the page and was written in type that was more than two inches high. It was staring everyone straight in the face, but the unlucky people tended to miss it and the lucky people tended to spot it.

He concluded that unlucky people are generally more tense than lucky people, and this anxiety disrupts their ability to notice the unexpected. As a result, they miss opportunities because they are too focused on looking for something else. They go to parties intent on finding their perfect partner and so miss opportunities to make good friends. They look through newspapers determined to find certain types of job adverts and miss other types of jobs.

Lucky people are more relaxed and open, and therefore see what is there rather than just what they are looking for. His research finally revealed the elusive “Luck Factor” based on the following four steps:

1. Listen to your gut instincts – they are normally right.

2. Be open to new experiences breaking your normal routine.

3. Spend a few moments each day remembering things that went well.

4. Visualize yourself being lucky before an important meeting or telephone call.

Luck, indeed, is an intersection of opportunity and preparedness.

We The People

Wherever a mass problem or a wider issue exists, there is a need for a leader. Common people are too shy or too busy with their own everyday struggles. But, they can easily gather behind the one who appears to talk about their welfare and gives voice to their collective woes. A true leader will strive to solve their problem at the earliest. Indeed, he carries a clear vision of the intended solution. However, no sooner the problem is solved, the need for the leader also disappears. This is the catch.

Having accomplished the mission successfully, a true leader will move on to other things in life which may or may not give him similar mass recognition. But, many leaders cannot face such an end. Hence, they turn into either politicians or self-proclaimed leaders of aggressive organisations fighting for public cause through violence. Both know that their survival depend upon keeping the problem alive and the issue burning. No wonder then that so many issues in the world are still open even after many decades and many so-called leaders.

I refuse to believe that common people are interested in any kind of violence or prolonging any problem. No common man was happy at the killing of an eleven-day old baby by the mob recently in Srinagar. It is, therefore, entirely up to the common mass to recognise a true leader and reject the calls of so-called leaders with vested interests. It is now high time that ‘we the people’ stop becoming pawns in the hands of such self-proclaimed leaders. Failing this, common mass would remain condemned to the destiny of unending problems and continue to bring more misery upon itself.

Is Contentment still a virtue?

Throughout human civilization, it has been said that the key to happiness is ‘contentment’. And yet hardly anyone believes in this maxim today. Modern management schools go to the extent of preaching the virtue of having some stress called ‘good stress’ for progress. They argue if you are satisfied with what you already have then why to work for progress. Most of the current young generation agree. They feel that their present unhappiness is the fire that keeps them going. In the field of material pursuit, it appears logical too. But, is the progress all about amassing material wealth, earning name, fame, and power? If it were so, why did many of those who achieved all of this also died unsatisfied and unhappy? We need to properly understand certain laws of life.

There is a place and purpose for every atom in the universe. Everyone is born with some unique talent which must fully manifest itself in one’s lifetime. Those, whose unique talents flowered in their lifetime, lived a meaningful life and died with smiles on their lips. Material success for them was incidental not intentional. Contentment is not about what you have. It is about your mental attitude towards what you have. World is like a newspaper catering to everyone’s tastes. We should use the world’s resources like the newspaper readers who read only what interests them. No reader imitates the taste of other readers. Hence, all readers are content with what they read from the same newspaper. But, in life, we are often found imitating others, disregarding our own deepest interest and natural urges. This is how we lose our grip over contentment. We must realise that nature provides for all that we need at any given time to manifest our hidden unique talents. However, we build our list of complaints by focusing on what we need to imitate others. A complaining mind can never rest in peace and never perform a perfect action. An imperfect action can never guarantee success. Frustration and more complaints naturally result from such failures. We are ultimately caught-up in the vicious circle of chasing happiness through a restless mind. Contentment, therefore, is the greatest virtue for mankind. It is abundantly clear in the nature. Every flower is happily busy in spreading its own unique fragrance. Every bird is happily singing in its own unique tone.

Journalist's Moral Dilemma

An incident recently dominated all Indian news media. The incident depicted a police officer, brutally attacked by some criminal, lying in a pool of blood and crying out for help while important ministers, their security personnel and other people standing as mute spectators. The police officer later died. This incident was captured on camera by some unknown journalist who happened to be there. This has kicked-off heated debate among intelligentsia. What was the moral duty of that journalist – saving the life or taking the picture?

There is no consensus on one answer. My take on this situation is that the unknown journalist was not thrilled to take those pictures. Perhaps he knew perfectly well that it was impossible for him alone to save this life. Indeed, he was filled with rage at the sight of such an ensemble of people simply watching him bleed to death. So, he did what he was trained to do. He captured this horrible sight on camera and shared it with the world. As a result, we are having this debate. Sensitivity of those present on the scene is now being questioned. The general apathy of the masses is being deeply felt. High sense of empathy with such victims is being invoked. Many of us, who watched these pictures, have resolved not to be mute spectators. The unknown journalist obviously failed in his moral duty to save this life. But, perhaps, he has managed to save many of the future lives under similar circumstances.

Creating Classics

Pico Iyer’s article on the life and classic works of Somerset Maugham was no less than a classic piece itself (Wknd. 15th Jan 2010). According to Cambridge University, only those works of literature are considered ‘classics’ which are in publication and widely read even after 40-50 years of their first publication. It is because a classic work has a life of its own. It finds roots in the hearts of its readers. Generations after generations continue to derive inspirations from such works.

Creation of a classic is an act of divinity. It starts with an idea taking root in the author’s mind. With time, that idea gathers so much momentum that the author can no longer hold back his pen. While pouring his thoughts on the paper, he relives the lives of each character. He delves deep into his own experiences while painting the vast canvas of his plot. A point comes when he becomes a mere medium through which words tumble out from some far away source. He emerges from every writing session more relaxed and rejuvenated. His entire focus remains on truthful expression of his thoughts and feelings. He does not care whether his work will be ever published or read by anyone. And yet, such works would never gather dust. An honest expression from the heart of an author will find way to reach the hearts of his readers. We are never tired of reading such classic works. Indeed, the joy of reading doubles with every repetition. Authors like Somerset are the testimony of Buddha’s words, “Your work is to discover your work, and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.”