कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥ (Gita २-४७)
You have the right to work only but never to its fruits. Let not the fruits of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction. It is applicable to anyone working in any field. One has to forget about the results and put their complete effort on the task at hand. One should not work for benefits but for one’s satisfaction.
Definitely it becomes difficult to follow this instruction of Lord Krishna instructing us to perform. See when you aspire for the results of any activity that means you are still on path of sense gratification which is non favourable to devotional service because then resolute determination to discharge devotional service sincerely does not take place.
Understand that when you do work without expectations then it is ultimately for your benifit only because you are purifying yourself through Karma Yoga. Generally people are attched to the appreciation and material opulence out of an activity but understand that these all things are also temporary and are eventually going to fade away with time.
Lord Krishna who always stays with you in your heart as supersoul is witnessing all your activity whether someone else sees it or not, so do your work with that consciousness that Krishna will be very happy if I do my designated work with full sincerity and surrender even if I do not get anything out of it.
When you worry about the results of your activity like success or failure, profit or loss, victory or defeat, pain or pleasure that implies you are still attached to material world which cannot lead to Bhakti Yoga. Krishna says that those who want to enjoy fruits of their work are misers.
When you realise that what is at stake(we have been through millions of life in different species wandering from upper to lower planetary systems but then by mercy of Guru and Gauranga we recieved this process of devotional service which is for ultimate benifit) then it will automatically motivate you to adopt to devotional service and do work without expectations.
Did you know that your incomplete "to do list" can give you negative strokes and also create a failure program in your belief system?
Anything that is taken positive by the society, might have some negatives too in it. We all might find "to do lists" motivating and organized, but on the other hand, when we fail to meet them, we program a negative stroke in ourselves.
As our mind is trained to see what is unfinished then what we finished. It’s also not the right instrument to set to know where are we in our goals. This negative stroke fills us with self-doubt and we question our capabilities and self-esteem. And instead of motivating us to achieve our long term goals we stop taking actions. This becomes overwhelming and stops us from seeing the results which we actually created while taking actions towards goals.
Often we go through this state when we are just getting started with our "to-do lists". In the heat of enthusiasm, we try to push ourselves beyond our limit but what we end up with finally is negative stroke and doubts. Learn the right way to move towards your goals to achieve or accomplish them. Know the process in a right way by understanding your self and your methods. We all are Unique and so we all need a plan suitable for us which should be motivating.
Uncompleted "to-do lists" can create Unconscious Stress, not always do matters work out the way you would like them to. When you are disrespected, you tend to take things personally. This can get emotionally draining, as you end up, constantly reevaluating your self-esteem. Not taking things personally gives you more control over how you respond, your emotions and your energy level. While a "to-do list" helps keep us on track, ever thought of a stop-doing list?
The ones we reach out to every single day to understand what all needs to be done for the day so that we make the optimum utilization of time. Simply put, it's a list of tasks or things you don't do, no matter what. It is a list that tells you what you ought to not do so that by default you focus on what you are supposed to be doing. A stop-doing list entails things like -
Stop comparing yourself to others, Stop buying Great Deals on Flipkart and Amazon sales (the kinds you don't need but get lured into), Stop checking emails/ Facebook constantly, Stop watching Netflix/tv beyond 30 mins a day, Stop being available to everyone all the time and it can go on etc. etc. I have been suffering from this Do it all on your Own syndrome for a while. You don't know when you get sucked into this one step at a time and it takes a chance to get out of it.
Is there a time when we do not have any expectations? Is having an expectation wrong then? Everyone has expectations and they sometimes are contrary. A student expects more pocket money while his father would want his son not to spend lavishly. A factory worker expects a raise in the salary while the factory management expects to increase the production. A farmer expects rain when he has to till the land but wants sun shine during harvest.
Totally it is a feeling in every single person to see that things happen as they precisely want it to be. When all the things that are expected happen, it is just fabulous but what if it does not happen? Whenever we expect something we tend to get attached to that thing very sensitively. This attachment makes it difficult when it turns out to be otherwise and mind spins around it for a long time and heart is felt very heavy to get in terms. With expected results not achieved there is a positive side, every time it teaches a lesson and inspires to be stronger and get into introspective thought as to why it did not happen?
The answer to this question will give strength to cope up with the setbacks. Expectation also takes birth from desire. There is nothing wrong in having a desire but it is always better to deserve first and desire subsequently. Desire would be dormant if there is no hope. Hope is the conviction and desire is its motivator. Both are necessary to some extent for fulfilment of an expectation. Hence expectation is an active mind-set if it is evaluated to hope. When it is hope, it is the destiny to take over but in the case of expectation it is more of the will power that comes into the picture. In expectation we try to directly influencing the outcome whereas in hope we cannot influence. At some instances expectation fares better while in certain areas hopes fare better. But we all know that willpower seldom works alone and in such cases we can only hope. Hopes, expectations and desires are all just in the mental realm and there is a Supreme Power that is behind everything and controlling it.
So it is better to be pleased with what one has and have the brilliance to know what best can be done with whatever is and reach the upmost peaks in satisfaction. One need to be “Alpa Santusta” (pleased with few) and not “Alpa Tripta” (contented with few). In being Alpa Santusta one is pleased with whatever may be the outcome without many expectations. But by being Alpa Tripta one does not use his potential to the maximum extent, and amazingly his goal is always below his capability. Expect little and give yourself more at work, you never know if you are fulfilling other person’s expectation.
Trust: A matter of competency and character
Trust is confidence born of two dimensions: character and competence. Character includes your integrity, motive, and intent with people. Competence includes your capabilities, skills, results, and track record. Both dimensions are vital.
We can think we're building good trust and credibility over time. By definition trust is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. Trust can be a tricky thing. We can think we're building good trust and credibility over time with our daily work.
By definition trust is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. Stephen R. Covey, in 'The Speed of Trust," describes trust as the act of building credibility, based on two factors: character and competency. Character is built based on integrity and intention; competency is built based on capabilities and results. Character is made up of integrity or the moral qualities and values distinctive to an individual or organization.
Become mindful: People who have more self-love tend to know what they think, feel and want. They are mindful of who they are and act on this knowledge, rather than on what others want for them.
Act on what you need rather than what you want: You love yourself when you can turn away from something that feels good and exciting to what you need to stay strong, centered, and moving forward in your life, instead. By staying focused on what you need, you turn away from automatic behavior patterns that get you into trouble, keep you stuck in the past, and lessen self-love.
Practice good self-care: You will love yourself more, when you take better care of your basic needs. People high in self-love nourish themselves daily through healthy activities, like sound nutrition, yoga, exercise, proper sleep and healthy social interactions like Satsang.
Set boundaries: You'll love yourself more when you set limits or say no to unhealthy work platform, forcefully love in office, or activities that deplete or harm you physically, emotionally and spiritually, or express poorly who you are.
Protect yourself: Bring the right people into your life. It describes so well the type of "friends" who take pleasure in your pain and loss rather than in your happiness and success.
There isn't enough time in your life to waste on people who want to take away the shine on your face that says, "I genuinely love myself and life". You will love and respect yourself more.
Forgive yourself: We humans can be so hard on ourselves. The downside of taking responsiblity for our actions is punishing ourselves too much for mistakes in learning and growing. You have to accept your humanness (the fact that you are not perfect), before you can truly love yourself.
Practice being less hard on yourself when you make a mistake. Remember, there are no failures, if you have learned and grown from your mistakes; there are only lessons learned.
Live intentionally: You will accept and love yourself more, whatever is happening in your life, when you live with purpose and design. Your purpose doesn't have to be crystal clear to you.
If your intention is to live a meaningful and healthy life, you will make decisions that support this intention, and feel good about yourself when you succeed in this purpose. You will love yourself more if you see yourself accomplishing what you set out to do. You need to establish your living intentions, to do this for your further way to loving Universe...
If you choose just one or two of these self-love actions to work on, you will begin to accept and love yourself more. Just imagine how much you'll appreciate you when you exercise these steps to self-love. It is true that you can only love a person as much as you love yourself.
If you exercise all of the actions of self-love, you will allow and encourage others to express themselves in the same way. The more self-love you have for yourself, the better prepared you are for healthy relating. Even more, you will start to attract people and circumstances to you that support your well-being.
Identify the Self
Authored by Dr Anadi Sahoo
