'Famous Five': Reflections on renewal
The
new year has dawned. As usual, people tend to have New Year resolutions.
My suggestion is to go beyond resolutions, to have specific
reinforcements. For that, we need to focus on five facets of life, which
I would like to call 'Famous Five'.
Why famous? Because they are all what we know. That is simple common
sense. Yet, the truth is that common sense becomes uncommon in the midst
of chaos, confusion and clutter. I am talking of the need to take care
of physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual dimensions of our
lives.
This is a good time for renewal, an awakening to the reality with a
focus on being better. We need a renewal in each of the facets, in
making 2015 a meaningful period of prosperity.
Physical renewal
The human body is the vehicle that takes us through the journey of
life. Being healthy and fit are of utmost importance, despite our
constant negligence of them. Finding quality time for physical exercises
on a regular basis will be one sure cure for physical inactivity.
Having a healthy dietary pattern, in opting to be fit than fat, is
another vital need. Make a decision today to allocate time for it and to
respect the commitment. That is what a renewal is all about.
Mental renewal
It is about sharpening ourselves. As Stephen Covey said, one of the
seven habits of highly effective people, 'sharpening the saw' is
essential for growth and success. Ensuring that knowledge and skills are
regularly updated and upgraded is what we need to focus on.
Tom Peters gave a challenge to US managers a decade ago. Look back
over the past six months and see whether you have acquired any new
knowledge or skills. If the answer is 'no', you are stagnating with a
blunt saw.
The internet, a vast ocean of knowledge, offers a variety of informal
learning methods. Learning has become a part and parcel of our lives. As
Socrates said a long time ago, we learn from "the womb to the tomb".
Emotional renewal
There are people who have successfully passed their exams, but have
miserably failed in their lives. Being aware of constructive emotions
and destructive emotions, surrounding our lives, is the first step.
Laziness and anger are two common examples of destructive emotions.
Enthusiasm and determination are common constructive emotions.
As experts on Emotional Intelligence (EI) say, self awareness should
lead to self-regulation. That is when you are in control of your
emotions and channel them towards achievements. This is especially true
if you are at an organisational leadership position. As Daniel Goldman,
who popularised the concept of EI advocate, leaders should be 70% more
emotionally intelligent than the others.
Social renewal
As we know, no man is an island. Human beings are social animals.
Human connectivity is an essential need for any community to foster. In
a high-tech world, where speed is a key factor, the high-touch dimension
of relationships should not be neglected. I have seen many
achievement-oriented executives who are 'married' to their jobs while
their neighbours take care of their families.
A renewal should ensure the fostering of relationships with the team
at work and more importantly with the team at home. Building better
relationships, taking quality time off from your work to be with your
loved ones, getting involved in voluntary work are some of the popular
activities in this respect.
Spiritual renewal
The four renewals are not possible without the underpinning one to
all of them, which I call the spiritual renewal. There is a difference
between being spiritual and being religious. One can visit a church,
temple, mosque or a kovil every day, but be at constant loggerheads with
neighbours.
Being spiritual is much deeper, moving beyond rituals and being
righteous. It needs a set of values that governs your behaviour. Honesty
and integrity can be the commonest examples. Harmony between your set of
values and the corporate values of your organisation will ensure
long-term association of you and your organisation.
Results
Awakening of one's physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual
dimensions should lead to a better understanding of oneself. Jim Loehr
and Tony Schwartz in their seminal HBR article titled 'Making of a
Corporate Athlete', describe vividly the importance of physical, mental,
emotional and spiritual 'capacities'.
According to them, organisations cannot afford to use their
employees' capacities, while ignoring their physical, emotional and
social well-being. The key point here is the need have a balanced
approach towards performance.
Renewed employees will reinforce their commitment towards assigned
tasks in achieving the expected results. In essence, they ensure the
attainment of human results.
May 2015 usher an era of prosperity through productivity. That can be
only possible by having the rigour of going for stretched targets with a
renewed commitment as a well-balanced person. |