Professional Monk!

 Professional Monk

Every professional irrespective of their field & expertise, must have experienced a stage in their career whereby they must have found it very difficult to not only address & come out of that very given situation but may have also felt defeated.

Well, these are some inevitable states of every advancing career whereby professionals are put to test for their skills, traits, values and virtues they may have acquired & practiced.

So the next question is how to remain emotionally stable while not letting any given situation that may overwhelm us?

Let's assume a role of an Professional who has over a period of time imbibed the patience & characteristics of a Monk.

A) Proactively focus on what is your job, remain stick to your JD, KPI's & KRA, these alone has a lot to offer, prove & achieve, once someone has realized that within their own JD there are ample of opportunities to achieve a new milestone every other day, they will get busy working on their goals & competing with themselves, leaving behind no time for organizational gossip, politics & plots to bring others down.

B) Have a very clear understanding that no matter however hard you may work to impress anyone, no matter whatever sacrifices you may give away to keep others happy & not offended, no matter however you may have helped someone in their professional & personal life, no one means NO ONE is every going to remembers it & remain grateful enough for rest of their lives, whatever you did was your choice & you did it for your own satisfaction or even ego, they did not begged for it, hence no obligation is every uphold in any of these acts at a workplace. Thank you for yesterday is a well known gratitude you may get to hear, what was done day before yesterday & before then are all bygones.

C) Know your place in the system, how is your professional experience & expertise being put to use & harnessed? With time & interactions everyone in your organization must have come to a critical realization about your professional know how & hence as & when your intervention is needed you will be called upon, hence when you are called upon, give your best & do what you know & are expected with conviction & dedication, BUT until then remain that paid spectator, you will not get sacked or prosecuted for not doing the work that one isn't your JD, neither are you expected to do it nor anyone else has asked you to do it.

D) Cultivate an outlook that is always at peace, even if you might be at a war with your own self as you are trying hard not to put your nose into subject matters that are outside your circle of responsibilities, you must still appear calm & composed all the time. Keep believing in point B, that you are under no moral obligation to prove anything to anyone beyond your own JD, better to have those internal conflicts as many times as it may surface in trying to hold back from jumping into matters that are never for yours to take responsibilities for, than to get involved in any non issues & then run over by its consequences & regret it later.

E) Most importantly, become an compassionate listener & absolutely not an compassionate doer at your workplace, be careful hearing someone out not necessarily means that you are now at an moral obligation to do something about their concerns or problems, until & unless they beg for any solutions & advice learn to remain immune to either of such instances. And never become an enabler by resolving their problems for them while they become a spectator & you become the consequence bearer.

F) Know your limitations, you too are working hard to achieve your goals, targets & get the results, all of which is likely to keep you busy, stressed & exhausted as well, upon which taking up issues, matters & problems of others may only add more to your plate that is already full. Accept that everyone has their own set of skills, understanding & priorities to address & work on their own issues & problems, utmost try not to complicate it or add to it.

G) Remain available & seeking for unlearning. As we are growing & getting better with all that we have known & learned, there comes a time when we are presented with new & different perceptions that emphasizes on reviewing our own understanding & belief, eventually demanding us to unlearn things & aspects of our lives that we may have lived & practiced for decades. It is noteworthy to mention here that any Professional who starts understanding & accepting of the given facts that they have along the line learned many things & aspects of life that may have to be unlearned one after another, becomes a champion of growth & success. At some point in life learning new skills & things is equally important, but the most challenging of all is to unlearn & accept the fact that we were wrong at some point in time.

H) Patience & Pause are the two core characteristics of every Monk, so even when working within your own JD, think deep & well before you make any decision or give any response, in case of any heated provocation withdraw your & take a pause, hold on to the urge of giving away any befitting response, do not all willingly take a punch on your ego, know that your self respect is meant to be respected by you & your actions before anyone else will come to terms with it, do not speak when too many people are already in discussion with either of the subjects, do not get provoked with any allegations unless facts & evidences are presented, do not form any opinions about someone based on information given by others, do not get irritated with any criticism in person or behind your back, do not feel that urge to respond for things that are not being directly addressed to you in your presence.

I) Run a self evaluation everyday before going to sleep, have the courage to recall your faults & errors during the day that may have disrupted any balances around, did you speak harshly to anyone & it could have been avoided, did either of your actions in the day later made you realized that you could have been done better? did you remember having planned something to be done & you weren't able to put into action? how many times you encountered adrenaline rush & you had to make extra efforts not to overdo or over react? And so on.

Quest to embark on the journey to practice the penance of being a Professional Monk may have some immediate realizations as follows:

1) You will build a reputation of a "No nonsense" personality.

2) Corrupt individuals of the organization will be careful with you, either to sell their scams or play with you.

3) Your inclusion in critical matters will be counted upon.

4) Your words will be taken seriously & your actions will be trusted.

5) Your objectives & intentions will be respected.

6) Your decisions will be honored.

7) Your presence in the room will be cherished while your absence will be valued.

Easier said than done, but the same quest to become a Professional with a Monk like personality can lead to adding many more professional traits, attributes & virtues that may help any Professional to fast track their intellectual & financial growth.