For living a wholesome and fulfilling life, we must work on projects so that our learning curve does not become flat, says Surbhi jain
How many of us wish to make incremental changes in our life? How many of us make New Year resolutions every year just to default on them within a month? How many of us want to become better version of ourselves every day?
The reality is as we grow old, we become complacent and stop dreaming. We stop learning new things. We lack inquisitiveness and become dull. We settle for things.
The most cherished moments in life were those when one was able to tame a difficult target. These moments become tales to be told again and again to our near and dear ones. We are proud of these stories and the struggle we went through. We keep these glories close to our heart as we consider them as defining moments in our lives. The passion, energy, resolve and unwavering belief we had in ourselves made us achieve the feat. Vicariously living these moments still gets us excited.
For living a wholesome and fulfilling life, we must work on projects (long-term/ short-term) so that our learning curve does not become flat. These projects can be personal or professional projects. We must consciously dedicate time to our personal growth and set realistic milestones to keep us gripped to the projects. The projects can be learning skills to progress in career or reuniting with an old hobby.
We can learn new tools, new computer language, find ways for improving existing processes or keep ourselves updated with the best in class practices in our field of operation. This will keep us abreast with happenings within our field and open opportunities for us.
Personal projects may or may not provide monetary benefits but will enhance satisfaction in life and keep our creative juices flowing. Though we might not become expert in the skill but pursuing it will bring gratification. This could be to learn dance, play an instrument, train for a marathon, learn to cook, improve skills at a sport, to maintain a healthy lifestyle, meditate, etc.
Once we set a goal, planning and execution are intrinsic. A goal without a plan is just a wish. We need to set milestones and celebrate short-term wins to keep us motivated. Visualising is one of the most powerful technique to plan in greater detail and to build an association with a goal. We can start with the end in mind. We can visualise how accomplishing a goal will change our life and those of people around us. This will make us feel positive about the result and increase the desirability of the goal.
Execution requires dedication and discipline to follow the plan. Periodically we should revisit the plan, its importance too us and the progress we have made. We’ll soon see changes in our body, attitude, and our reaction to the environment. This will renew our self-confidence to accomplish the goals we set.
Once we cross the finish line, we will have a template in place, a protocol to follow, a tested formula for success. Now we just need to place our next goal in the template, devise a pragmatic plan around it using imagination and execute.
The writer is Human Resources Professional and writes in the field of human and organisation behaviour
