Avurudu awakening

Goodwill, happiness and joy fill the air and the hearts of people of Sinhala and Tamil homes during the New Year. The familiar sound of the Koha and the rhythm of the drums are heard. Old customs are revived and people exchange greetings. Age old Sinhalese and Tamil traditions and popular customs, which were meticulously observed by the ancients, are revived and the younger folk introduced to them by their parents.

Another Avurudu is round the corner. Holidays give us time to refresh, reflect and renew. As Sinhalese and Tamils unite in enjoying the festive times together, it radiates the symbol of national unity. Today’s column is a relaxed reflection on the need to collectively awaken towards prosperity through productivity.

Goodwill, happiness and joy fill the air and the hearts of people in Sinhala and Tamil homes during the New Year. The familiar sound of the Koha and the rhythm of the drums are heard.

Old customs are revived and people exchange greetings. Age-old Sinhalese and Tamil traditions and popular customs, which were meticulously observed by the ancients are revived and the younger folks introduced to them by their parents.

Awakening physically

Avurudu invites us to awaken ourselves. It is the time to rejoice, relax, reflect and reinforce. Celebrating as Sinhalese and Tamils alike is the central key.

Collaboration, consensus and connectivity are all concepts associated with the Avurudu. Cheerful, optimistic and an open mindset can be a good starting point.

Avurudu games are an invitation for us to stay physically fit.

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 it. 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. Allocate time for it and to respect the commitment. That is what an awakening is all about.

The Avurudu invites us to sharpen ourselves. As Stephen Covey highlighted as 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.

Awakening mentally

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."

With internet as a vast ocean of knowledge offering a variety of informal learning approaches, 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”.

Awakening emotionally

Avurudu is a time to strengthen positive, constructive emotions. There are people who have successfully passed examinations, 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 for 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 advocated, leaders should be 70 % more emotionally intelligent than the others.

Awakening socially

The Avurudu unites the nation and socially bonds the country. As we know, no man is an island. Human beings are social animals. Human connectivity is an essential for any community to foster.

In a high-tech world, where speed is a key factor, 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, taking part in voluntary work are some of the popular activities in this respect.

Awakening spiritually

The Avurudu is associated with religion. Moving beyond rituals, it is a time where we revisit and reinforce our values.

The four awakenings that we discussed are not possible without the underpinning one to all of them, which I call the spiritual awakening.

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.

Road ahead

We need to go beyond festivities to ensure focused action leading to fabulous results. Awakening to realties can be the beginning in this endavour. Avurudu is the opportune time for us to accelerate national reconciliation. Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and Burgers should all live in harmony in this island nation.

Dr. Ajantha S. Dharmasiri is the Acting Director of the Postgraduate Institute of Management. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Division of Management and Entrepreneurship, Price College of Business,University of Oklahoma, USA.