The conventional model of education and employment reverses mindfulness. If we desire to move forward in our work, then mindfulness is the first step to change and the key to progress, says the writer
The Oxford Dictionary defines self-awareness as ‘conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives and desires.’ The Ancient Greeks coined the aphorism ‘know thyself’. The phrase was later expounded upon by the philosopher Socrates who taught that ‘The unexamined life is not worth living.’ Buddhist thought and tradition call it ‘Mindfulness’.
We are always aware of our physical self. Whether we are hungry, cold, warm, or sleepy and so on, we always know and almost always accept how we are feeling on the physical plane. This is our personal self-awareness. We attach no judgement to this. It is never good or bad to feel cold or hot or hungry or tired. It is never a matter of feeling superior or inferior. On the physical plane we are okay to simply observe, acknowledge, and accept. This acceptance leads to taking just the right steps and the right action for that physical feeling. If we are hungry, we may like to eat a fruit if not a whole meal. If we are unwell, we will take some step towards medicine or remedy, if not a doctor’s visit. This is a form of self-acknowledgment and it is near mindfulness.
Extending our personal self-awareness into the inner realm becomes more difficult, either because we don’t know ourselves well enough or because we hesitate to acknowledge both the good and the bad that co-exist within. Seemingly calm exteriors can sometimes hide not only from the world but also from us oceans of raw, churning emotions within. We may fear our innate helplessness in dealing with what lies within.
And when we do acknowledge the bad and the downright ugly within, we don’t spend even a moment to simply observe. We move straight into a harsh judgement of our inner self and an immediate rejection of what we are experiencing, desiring or the underlying motivation.
The conventional model of education and employment reverses mindfulness. Society and parental pressure make it about earning for security; society makes it about earning for spending, and mostly, it is all about doing what others have done and about how it appears to others. We work hard to fulfil others’ expectations from us.
In this process of living and working from another’s point of view, we craft and put together a public persona. It is an awareness of how we appear to others and the impression or even impressions we may be creating. Awareness of our public persona, at one end of the spectrum, can lead to anxiety and stress about creating the right impression. When we try to control, we think of how we appear to others, and thus, we pave the way for stress and insecurity.
What makes self-awareness or mindfulness at work (as in the workplace) important? Why bother with it at all?
If we wish to change something, if we desire to move forward, if we are grappling with undesirable patterns that continue to loop in our life, in our work, then mindfulness is the first step to change. Self-awareness is the building block of all transformation. It is the key to progress.
Only when I know that I am experiencing stress because of the shortfall in my sales targets, will I be able to take corrective measures both by way of managing the stress and managing the shortfall. If I am unaware of what I am experiencing at my place of work, I will not be able to remedy it or strengthen it even if it is positive.
Team managers and leaders often play politics and exhibit less than desirable behaviours at work because of the underlying emotions and motivations at play. Only an honest observation of the self and an acceptance and an acknowledgment of what is at play can bring about a change. From this acknowledgment comes the power of choice. Do I wish to continue with this or is it in my own interests, my welfare to change? We all like to believe that we are good at heart, good human beings. If self-awareness shows me otherwise, I may choose to be different. I may choose the higher path and bring out a different facet of my inner self.
Self-awareness develops through practice in focusing attention on the details of our personality and behaviour. Spend time in quiet with oneself. This practice is meditation―calm self-reflection; a gazing at our inner self. When we carry this meditative awareness into daily life it becomes mindfulness, self-awareness.
Geetanjali Pandit, who worked with the legendary Professor John Kenneth Galbraith, is the author of the bestselling and globally acclaimed self-help book, ‘Buddha At Work’. She has headed HR for several top Indian organisations and credits her success to the application of Buddhist principles at the workplace.
Very insightful article.