Resolving Dilemmas

There comes a stage in our life when we pause to ask ourselves, what is better - material fulfilment, or spiritual fulfilment?

To me, dealing with this dilemma is much the same as the way we might deal with our challenge of work-life balance - which is to choose to either: integrate, harmonize, treat them as continuum, or just make a choice between the two. I have come to the conclusion that it need not be the last, viz. an either or situation.

My first glimpse of a resolution to the dilemma came from something that Arianna Huffington, co-founder of Huffington Post said. She told Forbes magazine that while tend to think of success along two metrics - money and power, we need to add a third. “To live a life we truly want and deserve, and not just the lives settle for,” Huffington said, “we need a THIRD metric of success that goes beyond the two. The third metric consists of four pillars: well-being, wisdom, wonder, and giving.”

To me, adding the third metric is a possible resolution to the dilemma of having to choose between material and spiritual fulfilment. Instead of treating the two as as an either/or choice,  what if we think of ways to either integrate,  harmonise, or treat them as a continuum?

Any thoughts?

Your Words Reflect Your Attitude

Today's ETPanache has a story which talks of Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s tendency to resorting to catch phrases. Cook prone to the catchphrase “mother of all” and Pichai “early days”. The article suggests the two go in for a ‘vocabulary’ upgrade. But I see it differently.

To me, it is a reflection of their attitudes and the culture of the organisation they head. After all, words are merely a vehicle for our thoughts, an articulation of a perspective. Analysing the catchphrases through this lens, suggests to me the following about the two:

Tim Cook: Looks at situations in an exaggerated fashion. Not to say it’s bad - after all Steve Jobs always thought in grand terms. And succeeded.

Sundar Pichai: Looks a situation as “work in progress”. To me that indicates a need to get it right, of perfection.
Have I got it right,  I have no idea, I will when I start coaching them : )

So how would you assess the two personalities, based on their tendency to use their favourite catchphrases?

The Common Factor Between the Successful and The Unsuccessful

Whenever you see an article with the title  (Number) Successful People on What Success Really Means, the answer is obvious. It's not the billions in your bank account which counts for success - it is things other than money. But I have always wondered, why hasn't someone asked the same question of Unsuccessful people?

I believe the common factor among both the successful and unsuccessful set of people, would be a sense of inadequacy - of not being complete. The expression of this inadequacy varies at different stages of our life. The solution lies in knowing and understanding that happiness is a goal with shifting goal posts. Very few of us will have found the right answers to deal with this challenge in our lifetime.

Have You?