Striving towards Excellence

-Karthik Gurumurthy

"Leaders who don't listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say" -Andy Stanley

Today I got a chance to listen in to a leader about the upcoming project.  I always start with ground zero and after going through the documentation, I got a chance to ask my questions sorted. The leader wasn't too happy. I  was extremely careful with my questions making sure it is not putting anybody in a spot but to understand the upcoming project. The leader was constantly making gestures to shush me. I tried to schedule a 1:1 to see if I can get the questions sorted out.

The leaders who don't listen or allow themselves to be questioned are usually fearful. They won't say that, but their actions indicate fear is a driver.

The leader who doesn't listen believes they are the only one with the answers or the way forward. Their ego fears others to have better ideas than them. Or they fear they will fail if other's ideas get implemented over theirs because they have taken personal ownership instead of team ownership.

The leader who can't be questioned usually stems from insecurity or not feeling worthy. They may have bravado that makes you think they feel worthy, but in actuality arrogance requires someone to feel above another to feel safe. A confident leader is curious.

The great news is having awareness of how fear causes behavior different that how most leaders intend to show up helps them adjust!

-Karthik Gurumurthy

While I’m typically known as positive, energetic, and optimistic, the past few weeks have definitely worn me down.

Tony Robbins says we cannot be angry and grateful at the same time. Focusing on gratitude shifts so much. When we are hurt and frustrated, it create our fear based reactions of fight, flight, or freeze which narrows are thinking and creativity. Gratitude breaks that cycle.

I found this little exercise from Harvard Business Review to be a helpful motivator. Perhaps you will, too:

“It can be hard to muster the positive outlook that fuels motivation and creativity. When we lose that positivity, burnout and fatigue can quickly follow.

How can you inject some optimism into your day? This two-minute exercise can help. Each morning, finish the following three sentences (either on paper, out loud, or even in your head) before you turn on your computer or start your commute:

Today, I will focus on _____.

Today, I am grateful for _____.

Today, I will let go of _____.”

-Karthik Gurumurthy

Call for duty. Do not waste your life. Not sure if we will get it again. Live to your fullest potential. Do not restrict your exploration based on assumed societal pressure. No one cares. Please live..

-Karthik Gurumurthy

Success in life comes not from holding a good hand but a playing a poor hand well. No extra credit for blaming anyone. Move on.

-Karthik Gurumurthy

I love reading books but sometimes I get too carried away and I buy way  too many at the same time when I go to India or at the Friends of the Library shop.

I am realizing it is better to buy one book, complete reading it and then buy the next book.  When I buy books in bulk, I end up reading none. It gives a great sense of satisfaction and security if we hold a large amount of resource. The thought behind that being, "It is mine, I can refer it anytime." Actually the resource that is not utilized is not a resource. If unutilized,  it is just bunch of papers. I am realizing I need to make best use of resource, one by one. Read, Grow, Repeat...

-Karthik Gurumurthy

"When someone asks us, "What makes you happy"? We always tends to think of something that is not right now with us. If we change this perspective to focus on something we have, life becomes beautiful."

-Karthik Gurumurthy

We all wish for more and even more every new year - just that we forget that we need to create space for all that 'more' to enter our system! So, here's me wishing you all to gain the strength, the ability, the mindset, the aptitude, and inclination to declutter your lives mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually, so that energy comes gushing and rushing into your life every moment.
Here are some subsets of those wishes - of how you can declutter simply and effectively.
1. May you be able to click 'select all' in your email inbox, and 'mark as read' and start your new year with no pending messages to be read. May you do this every evening before signing off for the day, so that the next day's inbox is a fresh one. Pending stuff is energy leakage.
2. May you buy and stock only so much as your storage space holds. And may you have the strength to discard and give away anything extra, so much so that there is always 20 per cent empty space in every storage medium - drawers, cupboards, etc. This is because the human body operates that way - the 80:20 ratio. An over-stocked house gives the same feeling that you get when you over-eat.
3. May you be able to recognize, analyze and change old negative thought patterns that may be governing your life. May you be able to convert them into positive rhythms and pulsate on the frequency of the earth. We often are victims of our thinking.
4. May you be able to forgive and let go. There's no use carrying old emotional baggage. It's your back and shoulder that's going to pain. (remember the saying 'weight on the shoulder'?) Talking of baggage, even if you have to carry one, it's not necessary to "carry it" all the time: you can keep it by the side and revisit it when you feel the need to.
5. May you get closer to your life's purpose this year and may you get the strength to take the steps necessary to do that. It's useful to keep trying to see the bigger picture to make more sense of the smaller ones.
May God bless us all, and here's wishing you all lots of energy and direction in the new year!