Don’t resist the unknown
13th November 2023
WISHING ALL THE READERS HAPPY & JOYFUL DEEPAVALI
Those who are not a source of annoyance to anyone and who in turn are not agitated by anyone, who are equal in pleasure and distress, and are free from fear and anxiety, such devotees are very dear to Me. Bhagavad Gita 12.15
#DopeOnARope
Here is a short and motivational story on what we might end up losing because of fear. This story is from the great self-help book, ‘How to Be Happy, Dammit: A Cynic's Guide to Spiritual Happiness’ by #KarenSalmansohn.
A criminal who had committed a crime was sent to the king for his punishment. The king offered him choice of two punishments. He could be hung by a rope in front or take what’s behind the big, dark, scary, mysterious iron door.
The criminal quickly decided on the rope. As the noose was being slipped on him, he turned to the king and asked:
“By the way, out of curiosity, what’s behind that door?”
The king laughed and said:
“You know, it’s funny, I offer everyone the same choice, and nearly everyone picks the rope.”
“So,” said the criminal, “Tell me. What’s behind the door? I mean, obviously, I won’t tell anyone,” he said, pointing to the noose around his neck.
The king paused then answered:
“Freedom, but it seems most people are so afraid of the unknown that they immediately take the rope.”
#FearOfUnknown
The best things in life come at the exit ramp of your comfort zone!
Too many of us are far too fearful about the unknown. But if you want to live your best life, you must embrace the freedom of picking new choices for being and doing. After all, it’s these new choices which can open the door to your ultimate success.
“Our lives are one long effort to resist the unknown.” Alan Watts
Make the decision to finally take off those ropes that bind you – and blind you! Start bravely opening up those doors which lead to the unfamiliar. Opening up doors to the unknown is the only way to ensure you’re headed towards new opportunities, freedom, growth, and greater joy.
Great learnings on Fear & Worry from the book ‘How to Be Happy, Dammit: A Cynic's Guide to Spiritual Happiness’ by #KarenSalmansohn.
Fear works like Interfear—stopping you from getting what you really want/need. All too often you have to be at the end of your rope to be tempted to move through your fear...and go for the unfamiliar, the unknown, to change.
Your enemies = your teachers.
Your failure = your wisdom.
Your mistakes = your lucky discoveries.
Your conflicts = your growth opportunities.
Your undesired endings = your desirable beginnings.
Your grapes of wrath = your raisons d'etre.
Your painful feelings = your proud proof that you are dealing with your feelings—head on!
Worry and doubt can actually be prayers and visualizations—and self-fulfilling programming—for things you do not want. The world is your mirror. Everything is created twice. What you have running in the programming of your mind eventually manifests itself in the outer world.
So if you want to change your outer world, you must first change your internal mental programming. When you try to change the external world first, it's like trying to change the picture on a TV screen by rubbing that picture with a cloth. You can rub, and rub, and rub—but it's futile.
However...when you change your mental programming—who you are thinking you are and what you are thinking you deserve—you find the world around you change simultaneously.
GOOD NEWS COLUMN
Two news items which many of you would have already read this week forms the GOOD NEWS COLUMN for this week.
1. ALLAHABAD UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TO LEARN MANAGEMENT MANTRAS OF LORD KRISHNA
The faculty of commerce of #AllahabadUniversity started a five-year integrated BBA -MBA course from the current academic session, in which students are being taught Lord Krishna through the Bhagavad Gita, of the Ramayan and the Upanishads as well as those of Chanakya. Students will also study the smart managerial decisions of top industrialists like JRD Tata, Azim Premji, Dhirubhai Ambani, NR Narayana Murthy, Sunil Mittal & the Birlas. Besides, the students will be taught Ashtanga Yoga as well.
Commendable effort. That is exactly what I have been doing for the last 5 years anyway. It all started with IIMA starting a certificate course on ‘Bhagavad Gia & Management’ and now a management degree. No doubt that there is enough content for a MBA program since we now have 235 episodes of content on this subject. Would be happy to offer my content for such programs.
2. EPIC INNINGS BY GLENN MAXWELL
Greatest cricket I have even seen is that epic ODI match between Australia and Afghanistan on Tuesday 7th November 2023. Australia started the match facing a resurgent Afghanistan team playing for a desperate win to gain entry to their first semi-final berth in a World Cup. They were so close to making that happen but for the valiant and classic effort of one-man army (actually two-man army) ie Glenn Maxwell & Pat Cummins.
When Mitchell Starc was out, Australia was struggling at 91/7 with 201 more runs required with only the tail enders left. Everyone decided that Afghanistan pulled out a surprise but most deserving victory and the odds were loaded very heavily against Australia. Australia was looking down the barrel and it was an impossible win from that position. But #GlennMaxwell had different ideas.
IT IS NEVER TOO LATE & IT IS NEVER AN IMPOSSIBLE WIN. FIGHT UNTIL THE LAST.
Maxwell literally fought against all odds - tough and demanding situation, and crams all over the body and was seen literally limping in the field. He still continued to play a gutsy innings and hopes started turning towards Australia.
When Australia was still 55 runs away from the finish line and it was still a precarious situation for Australia, Maxwell was cramping all over his body and had a back spasm and hit the ground like a dead man on the floor. Australia’s physiotherapist Nick Jones had to be summoned again to attend to Maxwell. Maxwell literally could not get up and told Jones “I’m done here. I cannot keep going. I need to come off and retire”. His batting partner and Australian captain Pat Cummins agreed “Go off, get some treatment and you can always come back later”. Next batsman Zampa was getting ready to come to the field.
But Nick Jones had different ideas.
Nick Jones thought that, if you take someone off in that situation when their system is already depleted, and you sit them down and cool them down, you are not getting them back up. “Their body shuts down, they go into full body cramps and you are often not able to get any level of function out of them and getting Maxwell to bat as much as possible is critical for Australia’s success” Jones said.
Jones then told Maxwell “Look, I think your best bet is to get you up off the ground. You are lying down, other things are going to cramp, we need you up on your feet, we need to stretch the key muscle groups that are going. But if you stay on your feet and minimise your running, I think you can stay out here. I think that is your best bet”. He explained the same to Cummins as well and Cummins agreed.
Listen to the advice from the experts though your body says otherwise. Maxwell could have listened to his pains and opted to stay within his comfort zone. He listened to the sanguine advice from the physiotherapist and rest is the history.
The best things in life come at the exit ramp of your comfort zone!
Best things accrued for Maxwell as well as the Australian team. Efforts of Pat Cummins isalso worth mentioning here. Pat Cummins scored possibly one of the worst strike rates in World Cup history but became the hero for that effort. Cummins scored 12 runs in as many as 68 balls giving worst strike rate of 17.65. But Cummin’s innings is an epic innings and enabled Australia team to win the match. Cummins realized that keeping the wicket intact and giving the strike to Maxwell is the best possible option for the team and he exactly did that.
It is often not the stats but understanding the expectations on your contribution to the team’s success matters most. Cummins exactly did the same on this memorable innings and paved way for the team’s success.
The interesting part of the match was seeing Maxwell smile when batting the last few overs unmindful of the pain and spasms.
Can you smile when your entire body is in pains? Happiness is not what your body feels.
Happiness is not about what happens to you, but how you choose to respond to what happens. That's why it's called happiness not happenness—though it could be called hope-ness. You must always leave room for hope that all has happened for good cause.
_______________________________________________________________________________________ Conceived, compiled and posted by Jaganathan T (www.authorjaganathan.com) as a weekly newsletter MONDAY MUSINGS in LinkedIn