“ASK”

The mission of your life should be to leave a better world behind than what you inherited. ― Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Happiness is living in the moment with joy, awareness, and compassion; being free from within, feeling at home with everyone without barriers. ― Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

I would request you to not start thinking that my article is a religious sermon propagating the Art of Living. However one cannot deny the fact that if thousands of people believe and practise the teachings of the learned, wise and spiritually awakened individuals, there must be logic and wisdom in following their advice.

Life is a journey on which we endeavour on God’s will, but we soon forget this fact and turn it around into a never ending race, trying to reach a destination which we cannot even decide where it lies, forgetting the one important fact of life...the enjoyment of this journey lies not in arriving at that destination but in the journey towards that destination.

 We humans have acquired immense knowledge about the Universe, the Cosmos and the Physical Sciences. We have designed various models of successful leaders, managers, executives, politicians and so on. We have given success an entire new meaning and dimension.

However, man has soon realised that the high in life is not in reaching that unknown destination with a pre set strategy but living life in a way that makes the journey towards that unknown destination into an ongoing enjoyable journey and for that the life model which is important for all of us to follow, whether in our place of work or at home is the model of “ASK” --- “ATTITUDE, SKILL AND KNOWLEDGE”.

You may notice that in the hierarchy of these three words the word knowledge has been given the third position because acquiring knowledge is the most basic, the starting point of this spectacular journey of life, the next step on the ladder, the qualitative aspect of one’s character, more delicate and adding the finer aspects to life are the skills, and the ultimate aspect of our personality which is the game changer, the ring master, the penultimate epitome of our lives is our Attitude.

All three elements put together are the ultimate success formula but lined in their correct hierarchy----ASK. If an individual does not have knowledge and skills, they can be acquired but not having the right attitude can land oneself into deep trouble, especially in the context of present times through which we all are passing.

A person with a positive attitude is a good learner, a creative and intelligent person, a hard worker with perseverance, a go getter, a healthy competitor, a risk taker and yet can be a balanced individual and can mentor people.

Attitude can contribute very positively to one’s self-esteem and can help people reach zenith of success but at the same time if not handled properly the attitude can turn negative and can pull down the individual drastically. Great achievements are often results of high confidence combined with lots of hard work, positive work and self-motivation, however, absence of any of these elements can leave the results not as desired. When it comes to an organizational environment, such employees carry huge self-esteem which makes them natural leaders in their respective area of work and they become highly respectable amongst their subordinates, seniors and peer group.

Attitude makes you stand tall and unique. “People laughed at me, because I was not like them, I was proud that I was different’’, as the statement rightly describes that people who are different are generally not accepted by the common crowd but at the same time on a positive note, the individual is different and stands out tall in the crowd with unique attributes. This is the attitude which every individual must carry which will eventually motivate the individual and will always push to do things out of league and helps in being innovative. That’s the affect attitude can have on any individual.

 We have got cases when people who thought and acted out of the box have tasted success and created history in various fields. Whether it was the Industrial Revolution or the Social Revolutions in the World, it was the people’s change in attitudes that led them to it.

We have seen numerous examples of people who come from a very humble background with absolutely no resources available to them and have made a mark in various fields of art, music, education, politics, sports, science etc. It’s only the attitude which motivates people to analyze things in a different way and take risks to try newer things and carve a niche for themselves even in adverse conditions.

Attitude, Skill and Knowledge are important components which makes a successful personality. Skill and knowledge are something which can always be learnt in classrooms but attitude is something which is within and needs to be developed by an individual himself/herself.

If you are a true Goenkan then develop the attitude in you to be always stronger, strive higher and look brighter by the minute!!

The last quotes of Sri Sri are a good example of one’s attitude   mantra !!

 You don’t have to be dishonest to be diplomatic. You can be diplomatic, honest and straightforward. Especially if you’re a meditator, you can do all three. ― Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

When we want to do something, we do it. When we don’t want to do something we say it’s God’s will. ― Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

By Era Sahai

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