By Christopher Greenwood
Day 225 – Growth alone may not give satisfaction
Recently, when speaking with Mohanji about contentment and satisfaction, I was thinking back to my life before I decided to spend my time serving Mohanji and adding as much value as possible to the world. That life was very much focused on targets, achievements, growth, earning more, acquiring more, and doing more. So, we were speaking about growth in the sense that it can become an addiction, especially when you look at it from a monetary or financial point of view.
For example, in a role where you have sales targets to achieve, or a nice salary to earn, you aim to achieve, say, 100,000. Once you’ve achieved that, then you look to aim at 150,000. So, growth becomes an addiction. You keep pushing for more and more, and the whole world is like that, but that type of growth doesn’t necessarily give satisfaction.
Mohanji asked the question, “When does growth have real meaning?” When it can be translated into contentment, and the best way for that contentment to come is when the extra growth is used for the welfare of others. When we can make many more people happy, we’ll know we’ve done something. This was a good thing for me to think about, and I was thinking about it yesterday, that the mad rush to grow more, be more, and do more without giving back becomes a bit meaningless; at least, it did for me.
The idea is that the more you get, the more you can give. That way, growth has meaning, and it’s the same if you look at the business world. Profits alone don’t really mean much unless they’ve been translated into something or used for something. I think if this can be used to give people greater satisfaction and greater support in their lives, then it’s growth well used, and then contentment exists.
So, the sum of this is to look at growth with a different attitude, and that shift in the attitude of growth can be turned into something useful for people in the world, which can give real satisfaction.
Day 226 – The myth of multitasking
I’ve mentioned this before, but this morning I want to share it again because it’s always a good reminder for me when I think of this. Working with Mohanji means zero stagnation.
Whilst it’s a challenge and it’s demanding, there’s always some element of growth, and as soon as I feel I’m beginning to get my hands around the work that needs to be done, there’s more to do, which is good, because it’s increasing my capacity and capabilities. It’s also a sure way to actually bring to the surface my limitations and to be able to just accept those.
There are many activities, and all of them are varied, right from installing fences on the land in Slovenia, to arranging meetings with dignitaries for Mohanji. One thing that Mohanji has told me as part of this work, and I’ve also learned, is that multitasking is a myth. It’s not really possible to be scattered across many activities, as tasks become loose and unfinished, which adds bigger weight and pressure to the work.
So, I’ve learned there’s a difference between multitasking and doing many tasks well. Mohanji is a living example of this, how he handles everything he’s doing simultaneously.
What he does for that is focus completely on what is in front of him and only that. If he is having a conversation with someone, he is completely in that conversation 100%, or if he has to write something, he’s completely doing that 100%, or if he has to record something, he’s completely there 100%. At every point in time, he’s fully focused and gives everything he has to that one activity, which brings completion, and if not completed, then definite steps of progress.
Putting that into practice, I’ve realized that it brings real momentum and satisfaction. That’s because even if I can’t complete everything in the time available in a day, even if I can dedicate a focused half hour or one hour, it’s possible to move the work forward or at least make some good progress. When you’re fully focused, something gets completed. That’s one thing, but also, there’s a sense of inner satisfaction, which brings more momentum.
In fact, regarding multitasking, I remember Mohanji shared that, for him, it’s equal to absent-mindedness because the focus is never harnessed to one activity; it’s scattered across many. So, focus can be brought back to what’s in front of us just at that time. With the aid of pre-planning, of setting what needs to be done in a day, we can make good progress and ensure effectiveness, which also turns into good self-esteem and satisfaction.
|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||
Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 18th June 2023
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