Antifragile

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"Besides, considering your duty as a warrior, you should not waver. Indeed, for a warrior, there is no better engagement than fighting for upholding of righteousness"

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-Bhagavad Gita 2:31

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"Fight for the sake of duty, treating alike happiness and distress, loss and gain, victory and defeat. Fulfilling your responsibility in this way, you will never incur sin".

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-Bhagavad Gita 2:38

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I recently read this story of?a man who went to a Buddhist monastery for a silent retreat. After he completed his time at the retreat, he felt better, calmer and stronger.

However, he felt something was missing. He walked up to his teacher with a doubt. The teacher told him that he could talk to one of the monks before he left, to understand what it was.

The man thought for a while and then approached a monk and asked “How do you find peace?”

The monk said: “I say yes. To everything that happens, I just say yes.”

When the man returned home, he was enlightened.

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This is a real life incident of Mr.Kamal Ravikant. In?an interview, he had shared his interpretation of the monk’s advice:

“Most of our pain, most of our suffering comes from resistance to what Life is. And when we resist what life is, we suffer. When you can say yes to life, surrender to life and say: “Okay, what should I be now?” That’s where power comes from.”?

This is cultivating mental toughness when things are falling.

?We live in a world where uncertainty and adversity are inevitable. Despite our best efforts, we will face challenges, setbacks, and failures. It's how we respond to these experiences that defines us. Are we fragile, crumbling under the weight of adversity, or are we anti-fragile, emerging stronger and more resilient with each obstacle overcome??

?We are all born with a degree of fragility. We get easily hurt or offended being overly sensitive to criticism. We?often feel vulnerable and dependent on others for survival. Every challenge appears to be formidable and is bound to break us, thus tend to avoid challenges. Resilience and mental toughness to navigate the challenges of life most of the time feel to be a far-fetched idea. We seemed to be stuck in thoughts of negativity. We are plagued by a deep-seated fear of losing, failing, or not being adequate. We develop a?tendency to resist change and are scared to face uncertainty, and ambiguity. We limit ourselves?with a belief that?external circumstances, rather than internal choices and actions, control one's life.?

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?"O Krishna, I do not desire victory, kingdom, or the happiness accruing to it. Of what avail will be a kingdom, pleasures, or even life itself, when the very persons for whom we covet them, are standing before us for battle?"

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-Bhagavad Gita 1:32,33

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Arjuna rendered himself fragile at the start of Kurukshetra war. He was momentarily overwhelmed by attachment, and let the external circumstances control his actions.?

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We don’t say a ‘Yes’ to life but resist everything that seems to hurt our sentiments and pride.

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“If we have built on the fragile cornerstones of human wisdom, pride, and conditional love, things may look good for a while, but a weak foundation causes collapse when storms hit”, said Charles Stanley.

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Building Mental Toughness in a Turbulent World In today's fast-paced, ever-changing world, is more essential than ever.?

One is constantly bombarded with stressors, setbacks, and failures that can leave them feeling fragile and vulnerable.?

However, it's precisely in these moments that great leaders make a conscious choice not to succumb to fragility but determine to cultivate anti-fragility.?

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Anti-fragility is a concept popularized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a renowned philosopher and statistician. It refers to the ability of a system, person, or entity to not only withstand shocks, stressors, and failures but to actually benefit from them. Anti-fragility is about being resilient, adaptable, and open to learning from experiences, rather than simply resisting or trying to avoid them.

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“Anti-fragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the anti-fragile gets better”, said Nassem Nicholas Taleb in his book Antifragile. Great leaders develop the quality of being antifragile.

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?Great leaders pull themselves up with a?willingness to accept and even welcome uncertainty, ambiguity, and change. They adapt quickly and hone their ability to extract valuable lessons and insights from failures and setbacks.??They strongly believe that internal choices and actions, rather than external circumstances, control their life. They embrace failure and remain constant learners. They are self-aware and regularly reflect on their thoughts, emotions and behaviours to identify the areas for further improvement. They focus on the process and have a growth mind-set. They forge strong relationships and surround themselves with positive influences. They seek help, feedback and learn from it.

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“O Infallible One, by Your grace my illusion has been dispelled, and I am situated in knowledge. I am now free from doubts, and I shall act according to Your instructions”.

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-Bhagavad Gita 18:73

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Arjuna, who was confused, overwhelmed with attachments and sorrow sought help from the learned counsel of Lord Krishna and forged himself to be anti-fragile and strong willed, fought the Kurukshetra war and won.

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1. Acknowledge and accept your emotions.

2. Practice letting go of attachment to specific outcomes.

3. Focus on the process.

“Control what you can control”, said Andre Agassi in his book, ‘Open’.

4. Learn to prioritize what’s truly important rather than getting bogged down in trivial matters.

5. Practice mindfulness.

6. Reflect on what went wrong, and use that knowledge to improve and grow.

7. Seek out challenges and opportunities for growth, rather than shying away from them.?

8. By embracing uncertainty, learning from failures, and building resilience, we can emerge stronger, more confident, and more fulfilled.?

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Remember, anti-fragility is not about being invincible; it's about being adaptable, resilient, and open to growth and learning.

Practice being anti-fragile to become a better leader.

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