Wake up to the spirit in which you do things!
A quote from a book written by The Mother, a student of Sri Arubindo (a famous Indian Guru) touched my heart.
“Everything always depends on the way in which things are done. Not so much what one does but the spirit in which one does it.”
To me, the spirit in which we do things comes from our hearts and is often unnoticed until things go wrong! How many times have you stopped and thought BEFORE you had any interaction at work (or home!)? How often have you thought ‘wait – let me reflect on the spirit in which I am doing this’?
Imagine what could happen if you did!
If you purposefully and consciously chose to have a spirit of kindness , tolerance, patience, openness or generosity, before every interaction with anyone at work – your boss, colleagues, customers, on the phone, in a meeting, through email or texts, how do you think that would change outcomes?
What about reflecting on past less than perfect encounters. Be honest and truthful with yourself and remember the spirit in which you said or did what you did.
Was it to be right? To humiliate? To prove someone else wrong? To prove how clever you were? To sell someone something without really caring about their needs? To show off or put someone else down? To make someone else feel stupid or bad? To play politics? Or to be helpful? To help others look good?
Check your spirit before every communication you have with another (or even yourself) – in person or writing or on the phone! Make sure it is one of kindness and generosity. Watch your life change!
Wake up to the fact that EVERYTHING is affected by the spirit in which you do it!
Amanda