Centuries ago, Krishna shared a profound truth that modern psychology is only now catching up to:
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“You have the right to work, but for the work’s sake only. You have no right to the fruits of work. Desire for the fruits of work must never be your motive in working. Never give way to laziness, either ... Be even-tempered in success and failure: for it is this evenness of temper which is meant by yoga. Work done with anxiety about results is far inferior to work done without such anxiety, in the calm of self-surrender. Seek refuge in the knowledge of Brahma [your higher Self]. They who work selfishly for results are miserable.”
— Krishna
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The field of peak performance studies has been discovering something the last 30 years or so that I think spiritual teachers have been saying for millennia.
Which is funny, I think. So often these two fields are seen as opposites, two separate camps that you have to make a decision between:
A life of chasing goals and seeking peak performance? Or throw attainment away and go for the nirvana of now: peace of mind and enlightenment?
The truth is they are one and the same – the monk and the athlete and the creative and the investor and the person just taking care of their people and wanting a little more joy and love in their lives; we are all one.
Different goals but the same operating system. We were never opposite, it’s always our minds that like to separate and make different.
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Think of it this way. Chasing extrinsic rewards – the possible fruits of your labour – means pursuing things essentially out of your control, like the medals, the money, the pats on the back, the recognition and fame, the watches, shoes, holidays —
These are only satisfying for a few minutes at best, then you forget. Then you move on to what’s next. Then you feel lost because you thought the thing would bring you so much, mean so much, define you in some way, prove to yourself that you’re worthy somehow … and it did not.
The problem with constantly chasing more is precisely that: there's always more to chase. This pursuit needs to be balanced with a different kind of motivation – an inner joy found in the work itself:
Intrinsic motivation –
Doing it for the joy of growing, of learning, of becoming better in yourself. Satisfaction comes from the work itself – the moment by moment laying of bricks.
Life is about the creation of things, not so much the finishing.
That’s where you learn, where you become independent from the ups and downs of the world – you base your life in not “what do they think?”, or “did I come first?”, or “what do I get?”, but simply in “what do I value right now?” and so, “what shall I do, right now?”.
The Ishayas taught me valuable guidance in this –
The warning sign to watch out for is when you find yourself thinking: “I will be happy/satisfied/feel secure when …”
What’s the problem with this chain of thinking?
1). It is never now
Your satisfaction is never now, in the journey, it is always at the end. This is troublesome because there are few whens compared to the infinite amount of nows.
And if it doesn’t work out when? Sorrow and disappointment and loss and “I worked so hard for nothing” kind of disappointment that fills your immediate now. You’re not free from the results, you’re bound and attached, and that is the problem.
So like Krishna says above, have a goal, work for it – but don’t rely on the end result to give you the feeling you’re looking for.
Find joy and meaning in the journey, in the small steps of the here and now.
2). It’s always externally caused
In this equation, you can never choose to be satisfied, you’re always waiting for it to be given to you. When the goal comes through, then you can smile. But, as I was saying above, you can’t control the results. Control what you can control – learn to choose to be satisfied as a work in progress.
Progress not perfection!
So whatever you do, pick something where you enjoy the process itself. Choose a journey you can stick with through the hard times and the good, when it all appears to be going great and when it seems to be falling down around you.
Do it primarily because you love it. And maybe, if you can’t enjoy the moment by moment, ask yourself why you're doing this. If it's something you dislike but need to do for an extrinsic reward, say a paycheck, can you find a way to remember and put it all in perspective?
Look –
This is the stuff of life. Life is a teacher and it wants you to learn this lesson. There’s no escaping. It’ll be in your face until you get it – until you realise it was your choice all along.
Then, whatever you're doing will be inwardly successful, and (as the research shows) often more externally successful too. But it all starts with the inner game. So, get practicing.
Let me know how you get on.
Go well,
Arjuna
PS.
What appealed to me about my practice of Ascension was this ‘both camps’ 200% of life approach –
The Ishayas weren’t telling me to give up the world and what I loved about it to find peace, they asked me to truly come alive while I lived my life.
One of the Jesuit teacher Anthony de Mello’s lines that I love most is, “Is there life before death – that is the question!”.
The Ishayas’ Ascension gave me the inner practice to find true life before death; an honest, authentic life rooted in ancient wisdom, perfectly suited for today.
If you’re interested, come learn.
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