If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
-Henry David Thoreau
My first two days in SOIL told me what was special about this place that made all the alumni, I had interacted with, praise it so much. During the induction we had an entire day devoted to Anil sir’s session on self-leadership. The learning from that session has and will continue to inspire me throughout my life.
So it was obvious that I was excited and looking forward to the second such session that happened on 11th of September. Anil sir started by talking about the induction day sessions. I realized that it’s human tendency to deter from the right path time and again. And so it’s important that we remind ourselves of our purpose in life; question ourselves on the actions we are doing.
He then talked about the ‘big S’ denoting Self and the ‘small s’ denoting the human senses, and how to become aware of the ‘S’ we have to control the ‘s’.
The real self appears in solitude
To become a leader a person must be fully aware and fully present. He should connect with his soul to identify the real self. That’s when a person learns how to learn, that’s when the attitude to learn comes, and that’s when the real efforts, to learn, are put in.
Unconditional Love
I learnt that love is the key to everything in life. It’s the way to overcome our fears and ego. Our love for the purpose takes away our fear and gives us the courage to pursue that purpose. Work is our love for the purpose made visible. When I love the cause unconditionally I find new ways to do it. “Innovation comes out of character, not competence.”
We also did an exercise where we answered the questions
· Who are the people in my life who matter most?
· What are their needs that I am moved to serve?
· How can I leverage my gifts and values to serve those needs?
While writing the answers to these questions I realized the role they played in making my efforts focussed towards my goal in life.
Plan.Do.Study.Act – for Success
Sir then talked about what makes a person a leader. “The greatest leader is the greatest follower”; he follows his cause and works towards it. Every mistake is a “Missed Take”; let it be a stepping stone to success.
The concept of FINITIATIVE was then discussed. Many of us, including me, talked about how we lost focus when the work became monotonous and shifted to doing something else or did not put in our 100% in that work. This concept taught me to focus on the end goal, the larger purpose and the cause. All my efforts should be directed towards achieving it, the intermediate successes should motivate me and failures should be my teachers.
HABIT
H – A habit is HARD to let go, and when the H goes ‘a bit’ remains
A – We ADD as the heart wants us to, when A leaves ‘bit’ remains
B – The BODY makes us follow the habit, when B leaves ‘it’ is still there
I – the I, the EGO then makes us do what me might know is wrong
T – And finally when we have let go of the bad habit, we TRANSFORM into a better person
Again the key to achieve this transformation is unconditional love for the result that should drive us and help us overcome our ego.
Immunity X-Ray
In the last part of the session we went through the immunity x-ray. The exercise made me ask questions to myself on a habit that I wanted to change but could not. I thought about what was the hidden competing commitment and assumptions behind that commitment that made me “not change” and my strengths that can help me overcome that habit. I realized my immunity to change was because of my fear and ego and that the qualities needed to change were always within me, I only had to develop love for the change that will make me a better person and leader.
The class ended with a meditation session. It really was the perfect end to the day which made us relax and absorb the positive energy around. I and my friends decided that we will introspect our actions regularly and bring in us the changes necessary to lead us to our purpose in life.
The quote that summarises my learning from the day is
When you are inspired by higher purpose,
Strange things begin to happen to you.
You discover talent in yourself you didn’t even know existed,
You become a leader far greater than you thought.
- Patañjali
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