Year of Values, AI and Acceptance

What a year-2024, ?a year that tested the human value system to its limits, what is right by your value system and what is not and then how you cope with it.

In interviews, people often call out the below three as part of their value systems:

1.??????? Integrity as their top value, it is pleasing to hear and often it is personal.

2.??????? Trust come second in most and is unique and has to be earned.

3.??????? Hard work /Diligence comes ?a close third.?

Let’s look at the top 3 for a moment.

Integrity is subjective and is defined by your own standards.

Dan Ariely called it the personal fudge factor. In Ariely's Documentary, he describes the Fudge Factor as "the ability to misbehave and still think of ourselves as good people. That is, cheating just a little bit so that we don’t have to pay any price in terms of the image that we view ourselves in."

Dan Ariely tested this in the refrigerators in a dorm, In half the dorms, his team placed 6 cans of Coca Cola and in the other half, a plate with six 1 dollar bills. The Cokes disappeared within 72 hours while no one touched the money. They could easily have taken the $1 bill, walked over to the vending machine, and bought a coke. But, they didn’t!

Can increasing the psychological distance between a thing and money increase the “fudge factor”, meaning people are not so full of “integrity” anymore?

Trust, one person in a pitch introduced himself as a trusted advisor, but doesn’t trust need to be earned?

Going back in time, In the war of the Mahabharata, Dronacharya heard a rumour that his son Ashwatthama had been killed, he trusted only Yudhistir, who he knew to be a person of truth, when Yudhistir told him in a loud voice that Ashwatthama was dead, and maybe mumbled “elephant or man is not clear”, Drona trusted him to the extent that without waiting to see the body of his slain son, he gave up his life.?

Point being that trust is not like love at first sight, it needs to be built over a period of time by being predictably trust worthy.

Hard work, people often say I love work so much that I work till I drop, some proudly use the word “workaholic”.

In 2024, ?layoffs reached new extremes, A home salon service provider fired employees after they revealed stress in a mental health survey.

Picture this, ?you are feeling anxious, overwhelmed and burnt out at work and when you convey your feelings to the authorities, you are served a termination letter instead of a solution.

More sophisticated managers would say I don’t want you to work hard, you need to work smart…

In a year where there were more than 150000 layoffs in the knowledge worker domain, company slashing their workforce is no longer an exception but a trend, ?it's not funny employees were fired for misusing a $25 dinner voucher, misuse was that they had meals delivered to their homes instead of office.

One company fired people for cheating, during its “Ignite learning week”, they had apparently ?attended?multiple online courses simultaneously violating the companies learning policy.

Another fired managers saying “span of control” was not in line with the industry…

There are so many more….but to cut a long story short, my only submission is that when you come across an event of this nature do it with respect for the human being that worked with you.

Some experts say the current wave of AI has moved up the value chain and we are no longer automating simple manual tasks, We will impact the knowledge workers in this run…so prepare and build skills to survive this….

Coming back to the world of values and trying to understand Acceptance.

Acceptance is not passive surrender, it is quite the opposite. It is not about giving up but about releasing the need to control everything around us.

In Acceptance, the focus shifts from trying to manage the uncontrollable to embracing the present moment as it is.

A prominent example of this is seen during the Bhagavad Gita discourse on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.?

Before the war, Arjuna experienced a deep moral and emotional crisis, struggling to accept the idea of fighting against his own relatives, teachers, and loved ones. Paralyzed by doubt, he questions the war and lays down his weapons, refusing to fight.

Krishna advises Arjuna to accept his role as a warrior and perform his duty without attachment to the outcomes.

Arjuna ultimately embraces Krishna’s guidance, accepting the principles of selfless action and the inevitability of change and death. This acceptance enables him to rise above his personal emotions and fulfill his duty with clarity and focus. Acceptance of one’s responsibilities, circumstances, and higher wisdom can lead to inner peace and success, even in challenging situations.

In summary, ?the most relevant form of acceptance is self-acceptance.

One must avoid the below as they can be a great source of suffering.

·????? The internal battles

·????? The harsh self-judgment

·????? The endless striving to be more, to do more.

·????? The continuous need to fix perceived flaws.

Accepting oneself as imperfect but whole creates a foundation of peace and confidence.

It does not mean complacency

It removes the focus from trying to control the ?uncontrolled.

and it makes you happier and calmer…

Wish you a great 2025 ahead with the gift of Acceptance and hope.