THOUGHT AND PURPOSE

Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment. With the majority
the bark of thought is allowed to "drift" upon the ocean of life. Aimlessness is a vice, and such
drifting must not continue for him who would steer clear of catastrophe and destruction.
They who have no central purpose in their life fall an easy prey to petty worries, fears, troubles,
and self-pityings, all of which are indications of weakness, which lead, just as surely as
deliberately planned sins (though by a different route), to failure, unhappiness, and loss, for
weakness cannot persist in a power evolving universe.
A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it. He
should make this purpose the centralizing point of his thoughts. It may take the form of a
spiritual ideal, or it may be a worldly object, according to his nature at the time being; but
whichever it is, he should steadily focus his thought-forces upon the object, which he has set
before him. He should make this purpose his supreme duty, and should devote himself to its
attainment, not allowing his thoughts to wander away into ephemeral fancies, longings, and
imaginings. This is the royal road to self-control and true concentration of thought. Even if he
fails again and again to accomplish his purpose (as he necessarily must until weakness is
overcome), the strength of character gained will be the measure of his true success, and this
will form a new starting-point for future power and triumph.
Those who are not prepared for the apprehension of a great purpose should fix the thoughts
upon the faultless performance of their duty, no matter how insignificant their task may
appear. Only in this way can the thoughts be gathered and focused, and resolution and energy
be developed, which being done, there is nothing which may not be accomplished.
The weakest soul, knowing its own weakness, and believing this truth that strength can only be
developed by effort and practice, will, thus believing, at once begin to exert itself, and, adding
effort to effort, patience to patience, and strength to strength, will never cease to develop, and
will at last grow divinely strong.
As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient training, so the man
of weak thoughts can make them strong by exercising himself in right thinking.
To put away aimlessness and weakness, and to begin to think with purpose, is to enter the
ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment;
who make all conditions serve them, and who think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and
accomplish masterfully.
Having conceived of his purpose, a man should mentally mark out a straight pathway to its
achievement, looking neither to the right nor the left. Doubts and fears should be rigorously
excluded; they are disintegrating elements, which break up the straight line of effort, rendering

it crooked, ineffectual, useless. Thoughts of doubt and fear never accomplished anything, and
never can. They always lead to failure. Purpose, energy, power to do, and all strong thoughts
cease when doubt and fear creep in.
The will to do springs from the knowledge that we can do. Doubt and fear are the great
enemies of knowledge, and he who encourages them, who does not slay them, thwarts himself
at every step.
He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure. His every, thought is allied with
power, and all difficulties are bravely met and wisely overcome. His purposes are seasonably
planted, and they bloom and bring forth fruit, which does not fall prematurely to the ground.
Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes creative force. He who knows this is ready to
become something higher and stronger than a mere bundle of wavering thoughts and
fluctuating sensations; he who does this has become the conscious and intelligent wielder of his
mental powers.

DONT LET URGENT THINGS OVERTAKE THE IMPORTANT THINGS

I just finished a project with a hard deadline. I turned over research and recommendations to other team members about a week ago. They crafted a slick Power Point show and flew to Hong Kong to deliver the BIG presentation.

I know I did a good job, but now I am feeling as if I have to start my life over. I am feeling depleted and a little disconnected. As much as I was very key in every decision making step, they said I keep my cool since better things are in store for me. Didn’t they shortchange me? I don’t want to care or worry so much anyway since even in that bogus research firm in Nanyuki, they did the same but they have never won a mega funding like the one whose proposal I single handedly penned. But I have learnt I have the brain, the idea and the influence. Professors, meet me at the top, all those ideas are mine.

I am sure most of us have experienced something like this. For six weeks, my entire schedule revolved around setting and juggling appointments related to this project, talking to the right people and conducting the fact-gathering work involved. I’m experiencing more than a little letdown.  For six weeks, I ate, drank, and dreamt this project.

During this time, I got into the habit of only skimming my mail and email. Needless to say, I missed a lot. I never watched TV and worked out for distraction, not for pleasure or other benefits. Even at the gym, my mind kept running through scenarios of conversations I might have with people I was trying to get a hold of. I carried on social activities with family and friends as if they were obligations, as events I had to fit into my schedule.

Even when I had a little free time, I wasn’t fully showing up. I wasn’t ready to enjoy myself. I forgot what was important to me because I became so focused on taking care of what seemed urgent. It seemed that I had put my entire life on hold and now had to go through extra work to re-assemble the pieces.

I decided to devise some strategies to help me remember what’s really important to me so I wouldn’t lose myself the next time I have a critical project. And yes, boy, I learnt many lessons…

1) Know what little things give you pleasure. Pause regularly to notice how they might be present.

I have a gratitude practice that began when I identified little things I felt grateful for, boiled those experiences down to their most essential qualities and then started practicing seeing those qualities in the present moment. I can apply a similar strategy to keeping focused on what’s most important to me.

I asked myself to recall recent situations when I felt happy about something, even something small. My list included: watching children play on the beach, trying a new dish at a restaurant (and discovering my intuition was spot on), and running my bare feet over very thick, plush carpeting. Having such a list, I can pause periodically and pay extra attention to noticing the character or joy in children’s faces as I run errands, or trying something new at the local deli during a quick lunch, or pulling a cashmere sweater over my head as I get dressed.

2) Do something creative.

I feel most like myself when I am doing something creative, when I am doing something  no one else can do, or something no one else would do exactly like me. That might be making catfish tacos for dinner, or arranging flowers, or organizing my closet. I can forget these simple pleasures when trying to put something together for a client. Here, I am trying to think about what they want to hear. In the middle of a project that seems all-consuming, I know it’s a good idea to find ways and opportunities to express myself.

 3)  Read at least 15 minutes a day (not related to work).

Have you ever been so consumed by the demands of a project that you feel you’ve lost touch with what’s been happening in the world or stopped feeding your imagination?  Sometimes, I have realized that I have gone weeks without picking up a newspaper, or reading a novel. Yet, I know these activities re-fuel me. While I expect I’d feel too guilty to hole up in a coffee shop reading all day, I know I can afford to spend fifteen minutes getting lost in someone else’s words.

4) Adopt a daily ritual.  Don’t skip a day.

Morning walks, yoga or stretching routines, keeping a journal, or taking a long, hot   shower – I have found it important to have a daily ritual. A daily ritual is usually a simple activity that is meaningful to you. It doesn’t matter what the activity is. What matters is that you do the activity faithfully; at the same time every day, or at least every day. You’ll probably come up with compelling reasons why urgent commitments should justify altering your routine, but you send yourself a more important message when you keep your promises to yourself. If you keep up your rituals, when your deadline has passed, you won’t feel like you have to gather yourself and start your life over.

5) Ask other people how they are.

While working towards a goal, I have experienced flow moments. I’ll feel hyper aware of what’s going on around me and able to see how different things are connected. While narrowing my focus, I’ve also felt isolated. I’ll convince myself that no one would understand me or relate to my challenges and concerns. It’s precisely at these times when I need to get over myself and remember my relationships. Thinking about my friends and family reminds me that I had a life before I became so single-minded and will have a life again.  I’ll make a point to make some time to ask after the people I love and listen to what’s happening in their lives.

Sometimes, we are called upon to make extra efforts to realize a goal, but it’s important not to lose yourself during these periods.

They don’t give prizes for being busy. If your goal is feeling productive and satisfied with how you spend your time, give some thought to how to stay focused on what’s important to you even while something big is consuming a lot of your attention.