Tradition, purpose, or peace of mind?

La Grande Bellezza ("The Great Beauty") is a highly acclaimed Italian tragicomedy. Staged in eternal city of Rome, it depicts the journey of Jep Gambardella, a seasoned journalist and theatre critic, deeply entrenched in the opulent lifestyle of Rome's leisure classes, immersed in a sensual overload of richness, strangeness, and sadness.

After spending most of his life in self-indulgence, Jep comes to a shocking awakening. His lifestyle, environment, and habitual social circles had entangled him to the extent that his judgement had become fogged and his decisions unwise. He was now sad, helpless, depressed.

Above all, his decisions, over time, had caused him to put aside his burning desire and talent for creative writing, while burying his ambition in that field.

It is a bitter lesson for Jep. What he considered to be formerly a socially appealing, highly sought-after lifestyle, had now become a cage of meaningless opulence. It was preventing him from writing his second book, make an even greater impact on his readers, and lead a more fulfilling life.

There are deeper lessons we can draw from Jep's story:

• Never assume that what you value the most at different stages of life will always remain the same. Be open to the possibility of letting go of what does not fit any longer.
• Change can happen by necessity or by design. The former often causes shock, anxiety and limit your range of options. The latter requires vision, consistency and, ultimately, leads to a more fulfilling journey. It’s a always a choice, with delayed effects.
• Greater impact, more money and peace of mind always flow from becoming a creator (writing in Jep's case), not a consumer.
• Environment matters. Places, situations, circumstances, and beliefs can keep us where we are. If you are on a growth trajectory and keen to get a different result we ought to change our environment.
• We are constantly modelling the desired and acceptable behaviour for the people we interact with habitually (family, friends, colleagues). It’s how we 'be' (the quality of our presence in conversation) that affects the depth of interactions and defines culture, not merely what we do. Quoting leadership guru #robinsharma

The job of the leader is to grow leaders'.

Have a fantastic Christmas and a great start of 2023!