Five Steps to a Happy Life
“To find out what one is fitted to do, and to secure an opportunity to do it, is the key to happiness.” — John Dewey
Most people end up in jobs they are not fitted for, and very few would admit in front of the mirror at the end of the day, "I am a happy soul."
So one night, when we finally got the time to sit together and discuss the bigger problems of the world, I happened to randomly ask 4 ELITE trainees; "What did you want to become when you were a child?". And I heard the following responses:
Shivam, matching his action with his voice, said "Wrestler".
Kushagra, without taking a second to think, "Cricketer, cricketer!", and resumed his India-W.Indies match on his "handheld device"
Shreya, smiling as bright as a sunflower, "I wanted to become a teacher."
And Ashutosh, thoughtfully, said "Conservationalist. Wildlife conservationalist."
And looking out the 17th sunset I saw out of the office window, that got me thinking, why are so many of us not pursuing the life of our dreams?
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Everyone has great ideas, but only some execute them well. So where lies the distance between us and the Zen life? The way we communicate our ideas, to ourselves and others!
So here's 5 common mistakes we unknowingly commit which make us ask for work-life balance instead of making work a part of out lives:
- Empathy: We often take an outward view of the world. We should, instead, introspect and try to understand our strengths. It is important to frequently monitor our own growth (or decline) over the years.
2. Define: Ideas are abstract. But we often think out loud rather than understanding the intention and objective of the listener, and eventually ended up losing their attention. Instead, it takes very little and goes a long way to take a few seconds to define the key elements of the idea, so as to enable the listener to come to par with your passion.
3.Ideate: We often have a top down approach to ideation. And we can blame our education system for that. We think of the desired outcome and try to backtrack the process. This restricts free thinking. Never underestimate the power of the child in you. If you look with open eyes, you’ll see the sparkling eyes you can never look away from.
4.Prototype: Theory is good, it sets the stage. But the audience will never be able to understand the theory if they aren’t interacted with. Hence, it is very important to create tangible collateral to support your intangible idea. Translating the idea into a physical collateral will help facilitate your communication.
5.Test: In the end, the tickets sell for the show, not the set. So it’s very important to test the concept in order to identify one’s full potential and be able to improve every iteration of the prototype.
This is the 5 step process of design thinking, for which I thank #Capgemini_ELITE and the happy kid that plays with the hoopla in my head to help me look inward.
So go ahead, the stage is set. Everyone is waiting to be mesmerized!
#AceYourCareer #LoveYourCareer