The best 30 mins of my life came on a day while at a meeting with a senior Vice President for an one on one discussion about Management Approachability. The takeaway from this meeting has been so profound on me, hence I am writing these thoughts down. Profound, because it dawned on me, if someone had taught me this mantra years ago, maybe I would have been able to find the fine balance in life that keeps one in the pinnacle of his / her growth curve always.
I cannot forget what he said. He spoke of his personal experience and about the ability to "Switch on and Switch off" a quality he had learnt from his seniors and a quality he said was the hallmark of our first lady Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi. He said "the mind is a powerhouse of thoughts, rushing an gushing and threatening to flood us". It is we who need to find this balance in what we do with the flood of emotions. One cannot take rational decisions with the various events happenings around us, and this quality of learning when the switch on and switch off can help us get into the moment face it and learn to move to the next one, without loosing our composure and balance. This ability can also help us learn to break free from emotions that can drain us down. We must have all heard in various training and various reading material that we must learn to deal with out emotions. But this quality is so unique I find so appealing. He also told me something valuable. Only a sensitive person can be a creative person. Because that you would require you to feel what you are doing and to think in the terms required for you bring forth ideas. Having said that, when we know that our sensitivity can affect the decisions we take on behalf of the organisations or make decisions that can have disastrous effects on a third person, we cannot afford to be like that. The answer is to live in the moment and stay grounded and not get carried away. Moving in and out of situations by composing yourself can help you feel in control of your situation and not let someone else have that control.
He gave an example of Mrs. Indira Gandhi in specific. This was during the India-Pak War.
Indira Gandhi was once giving an important interview. This was at the time of the Indo-Pak war. While at the interview Indira Gandhi was answering a journalist's question. She received an important telephone call. She excused herself and went to another room to attend the call and after finishing the call came back and continued with the interview once again. The journalist who was interviewing her, did not suspect anything from her outward demeanour. It was not until the next day when he heard the news that Indian troops had entered Karachi and that the phone call Mrs. Gandhi received while they were at interview was none other than the Indian Army General who had called to ask her if they should capture Karachi or withdraw their troops.
Mrs. Gandhi had taken such a crucial and important decision while at an interview, in such a seemingly composed manner and returned back to her interview without so much as a slightest sweat on her brow. Truly Mrs. Gandhi was an amazing person and a great leader India will miss.
This episode, Sir, explained, was about the composed manner in which Mrs. Gandhi was able to take her decision because she was in control of her emotions and could think rationally. Needless to say interviews can be very straining, one can easily loose composure at the pesky and offensive questions of the interviewers which are sometimes meant to get under your skin. Alas, this had no effect whatsoever on Mrs. Gandhi and its showed, how she handled herself and the country.
He went on to say that, when I am the trustee of someone's finances or resources, I have to be able to compose myself to take a rationale decision. This calls for separation of the emotions from the decision. It is not something which happens overnight, but is a conscious decision one makes
In today's world people want to see at the brighter side of things, at someone who offers hope. He said "People want to see the sunrise, because it brings with it the down of a new hope, a fresh start, which people look forward to. No one wants to see the sunset, because it reminds them of things that have ended or that are not fruitful"
"Even in the way the modern society is forming, people have to live up to the aspirations and needs of their family members. Children look to their parents. A man is now measured on how successful and evolved he is in life today! To achieve this and meet the aspiration of his family members and relatives he need to perform. Performance is based on rational he is in his thinking". To be rational he needs to be a person in control of him emotions. To be in control does not mean he suppresses his emotions but rather that he is remain unimpacted and guarded from the swings each situation can bring about. He should be able to handle an extremely stressful situation and yet not let it affect/depress/frustrate him or to move to a joyful and successful event and yet not get carried away that he is lost to the next moment. In short don't take anything to your head. Live in the moment.
However, having said that, learning to control the mind and learning to practice Switch On/ Switch off requires a lot of practice. But these words were very very profound and taught me such an important aspect of learning to deal with my emotional state.
I am working on this and maybe the coming days will bear witness to how well I've learnt.
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