Managing Transformation

In life, our role keeps changing. From being an innocent baby, one grows into an impulsive kid. Learning at home from parents and at school from teachers, we become students and nurture dreams about future. A day suddenly dawns when each individual begins a career to earn a living. I have vivid memories of standing in line and collecting my first salary - in hard cash! It was a wonderful feeling to earn one's own bread. Later in the growth phase, one acquires many other things such as a spouse, kids, new relatives, new friends, car, home etc.

A Challenge: Managing transformation of role especially in mid-life can be really challenging. In today’s fast-growth, high-pressure environment, expectations run high everywhere. I pondered over the big question -What exactly one should be doing to effectively manage transformation in life? The exact nature of the actions will be influenced by the magnitude, urgency, and nature of the transformation; the capabilities and the personal style an individual.

The most important and hardest part of managing transformation is “to convince people of what you believe in and in doing the right things". My observation is that many people often waste energy by "sweating around small stuff" leaving out more important ones. For example, personal health issues are often ignored at the cost of some frivolous pursuits. Some people nurse old grievances and allow these to injure their own moods besides impacting others. With a fast-changing environment, one needs to be clear on priorities.

Change Yourself: Remember the old adage "Charity begins at home". The best approach is to begin with yourself and lead by example. Every move you make, everything you say, is visible and makes an impact on those around you. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “For things to change, first I must change.” It is a process of reinventing oneself by making a short list of personal transformation objectives. In deciding objectives, one might include such items like - learn something new to advance your career/improve life, invest time wisely, avoid time wasters and whiners, keep watch on health issues, cultivate concentration and mental poise through self-analysis and nurturing positive open-minded thoughts. Sadhu Vaswani recommends laughing aloud atleast three times a day to release stress.

As I watch people, some people will go to any length to assert their own views even if ill-conceived with least concern to others. Fortunately, there is another class of people who talk measuredly, careful not to step on somebody's toes, and perform activities so smoothly and quietly. They reflect an inner peace and mental strength. It is often a pleasure to hear them because the words are tailored so beautifully. Such people do not fail to roll up their sleeves when it is needed.

Major part of our waking hours are spent either in talking with people or watching others talk. Effective conversation requires a well-structured agenda, and developing a healthy thought process. Typically it means spending ample time in personal reflection, reading appropriate material including our age-old scriptures like Bhagavad Gita, and interacting with the right people.

Find time to reflect on your new realizations, new ideas, and new insights into life. Then you will begin to see you are not the same person but someone who is better equipped to manage transformation.