These are my notes from the words of an Indian spiritual leader called Sadhguru, which I found positive, generous and calming. I had never heard of this man a few days ago… but have found his voice and his words a source of inspiration and clarity over the last 6 days.
Here’s the livestream that I am watching: Sadhguru Livestream 22 March
Being Human… in times of Crisis
When the situation is serious, you do not need to become serious. We do not choose to become frivolous, but we choose to be responsible.
When you become dead serious, you are dead before you are dead. When you lose your laugh, you lose everything. If you stop laughing you will make no difference to the progress of the virus. If you act serious, you will not stop a single infection.
Are you a Human Being or a Human Creature?
It is in these times that what kind of a human being you are matters. It matters all the time, but in normal times all sorts of fake people can pretend. It is when crisis hits that what type of human being you are really matters.
This virus is not being carried by mosquitos or rats. It is being carried by us.
Are we human beings or are we human creatures? If we are human beings we choose to take responsibility to not pass this virus on to the next person.
Human Beings are the Agents of this Virus
We are the vector of this virus. We are the agents who carry.
Many of us may be asymptomatic carriers of the virus. We may think “what difference do I make?”
We could not notice it, but we could be giving it to someone who is at risk.
What type of human are you? Are you fit to be a being? A human being. The most fundamental thing is that you know how to be. You know how to choose. You know how to act intentionally.
Today, by not doing anything… you have done something great for the world.
Do Something Great: Stay Home and Do Nothing
Meditation gurus have spent thousands of years telling us to sit down, sit still and do nothing. A little virus is teaching us faster than all those hundreds and thousands of meditation gurus.
Social distancing is not building walls around us, around those close to us. It is being aware and careful of the manner of transmission of this virus.
What steps can we take to ensure the safety of our community?
- Keep our distance – don’t be an agent of transmission for the virus, stay home, wash hands, don’t shake hands
- Strengthen our physical system – eat well, sleep enough, take physical exercise
- Strengthen our resilience – reduce our stress, find peace and calm
- Use this to become better human beings…
- stop what weakens you,
- stop meeting with those that don’t want the best for you,
- strengthen your relationships with those that do want the best for you,
- begin the projects and habits that you in 20 years will look back with gratitude upon the you of march 2020 and thank your previous self for beginning during that time of crisis.
Have a wonderful Sunday
I’ve done a few livestreams myself over the last few days. I’ve got two more coming up…
- Wednesday 25 March at 17:00 CET
- Saturday 28 March at 17:00 CET (this is my birthday…)
Improve your Life: Be Intentional about what Frustrates you
The newspaper is full of other people’s problems. Do they bother you?
The world is full of people who don’t know what you expect from them. Does it bother you when they don’t do what you expect?
How can you have a good day when you give 8 billion people control over your state of mind?
It is an active choice to allow my state of mind to be affected by another’s action. I need to decide upon an ideal expected action. I need to compare their actual action to my imagined ideal. I need to allow myself to get angry, resentful, distressed and bothered about their failure to live up to my ideal.
I can change the whole world, or I can be very careful about how I set my expectations of other people.
Choose carefully what you allow to bother you.
Rule 6 “Set your house in perfect order before you criticise the world”
Jordan Peterson, 12 Rules for Life
If you allow everything to be a problem, you give yourself a powerful excuse to do nothing about the few things you can actually improve right now.
Further Resources on Becoming Intentional
As we are coming up to the end of 2019, here are a couple of resources to become more intentional about what matters to you in 2020:
Thanks to Dan Sullivan’s recent podcast for this idea… Why Irritation affects your success if you’re not paying attention to it.
Finding Balance between Ambition and Peace of Mind, External vs Internal Success
“If someone followed your life and took 24 hours of film of everything you do for a day and they edited that into a one-hour documentary… the editor could decide to make you look like the worst villain ever or the greatest hero ever… it depends on which parts of your day he puts into the documentary” my friend Raul Aguirre over dinner in Buenos Aires
This video is about a Paradox that we must come to terms with in order to live a full human life. I’ve made it in Montevideo, Uruguay on a trip here to teach Leadership Communications at the IEEM Business School (part of the University of Montevideo).
We need to find a balance in our lives between the forces of external and internal success, between intentional, goal-directed living and a sense of peace within. The paradox – is that these are two forces that clash. How do you find the right balance?
I’d welcome your help on Balance between Ambition and Peace
I need your help- how do you find this balance? Do you have this balance? Do you ever lose control to one side or the other… and how do you recognise this and regain the balance in your life? Thanks… trying to regain this balance in my own life…
If you liked this, you might also like to see my recent video on Finding Purpose and Defining a Vision for your Life (an Exercise).