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Zen and how!

Porus P. Munshi

Satisfaction at work is more often related to one's own attitude and work habits than to any situation inherent in the work itself. Most often dissatisfaction comes in because we perceive ourselves as being ineffective at our work. Since what we do has s uch a large impact on our self-esteem and on our concept of ourselves as individuals, dissatisfaction at work can overflow into our personal lives and relationships and have a cascading effect on all areas of our lives.

Zen has a lot to do with work and it focusses a great deal on the ways in which one can make work satisfying. In this article, we'll take concepts from Zen that, if applied, can make one effective on the job and, consequently, make any work a meaningful and fulfilling experience.

Zen can stand for many things and I'm not referring to it here as the system of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, nor am I referring to it as a system of philosophy. The Zen way of life embodies an economy of behaviour, emotions and thoughts. It emphasises on staying focused and concentrated with a certain down-to-earth, no-nonsense spirit that the old masters used to stress on.

1. Stay focused: There is a Zen saying: `When you stand, stand. When you sit, sit. Above all, don't wobble.' In other words, what you are doing at the moment must be exactly what you are doing at the moment and nothing else. Any activity that you take up , no matter how small, do it with complete involvement. In the midst of the activity, intruding thoughts in the form of things to be done, or left undone will come in. Keep a notepad and pencil by your side at all times. And when these thoughts come in, jot them down for future follow-up and then leave them alone after that. This serves two purposes -- one, you don't have to try too hard to push them away and two, you don't have to be afraid of forgetting them later.

2. Time management: Most of us run short of time and complain that we have no time for doing things that are important to us. There are only two ways of handling time: spend it or waste it. You cannot `save' time. Unlike money, it's not a resource that c an be accumulated or hoarded. You spend it when you do the things that are important to you, whether it's working on a project, or a hobby, or spending time with family and a few select friends. There are many people who make demands on your time and hel p you waste it. These people are taking away moments of your existence. You have limited capital in the form of time. Spend it wisely; cut down on all activities except the most valued and important ones. Throughout the day, ask yourself: ``Right now, am I spending time or wasting it?''

3. Learn and you'll grow: There's a story about a professor of philosophy who had gone to meet Zen master Nan-in to learn about Zen. After listening to him patiently, Nan-in realised that the professor was more interested in showing off his own knowledge than in learning anything. Nan-in suggested they have tea, and he poured tea into the professor's cup until it was full and yet, continued to pour. Finally the professor said ``Can't you see the cup is full and overflowing? It will take no more.'' Nan-i n replied that like the cup, the professor was already full. How could he take in Zen unless he first emptied his cup? Before we undertake any learning or any programme of change, like the professor, we first have to empty the cup. When our cup is not em pty, we learn nothing and problems in life keep repeating themselves with regularity.

4. Lengthen your line: Question: How do you shorten a line without erasing its edges? Answer: Draw a longer line next to it.

The answer to this well-known teaser is really a Zen concept that teaches one how to handle problems, difficult situations and stronger opponents. The way to overcome difficulties is not by trying to reduce them through short-cuts or trickery, but by ext ending oneself. Look at yourself as the second line. If you can lengthen your line, you can make anything seem small. The way to overcome difficulties is by strengthening oneself. Raise your level of knowledge, further develop your own skills and like th e first line, any problem automatically becomes smaller.

5. Are you in balance?: A wheel is balanced and `true' when all its spokes are of the same length. Chuck Norris, in his book `The Secret Power Within', writes about the concept of balancing the wheel. The wheel of our life is made up of different spokes such as work, personal relationships, social relationships, health, hobbies, spouse, and children, to name a few. When any of these spokes is shorter than the others, the wheel is uneven and life becomes a bumpy ride. On a piece of paper, draw the spokes of your life, giving each a length proportional to the time and effort you're spending on it currently. Which are long and which are shorter? The shorter spokes need working on.

There are wheels within wheels. A spoke of your life, say work, that needs developing can be made into another wheel with its own spokes. Your wheel of work can contain spokes like `updating technical knowledge', `relationships with boss', `subordinates' , `clients', `planning', `increasing work output', `developing strategies', etc. Again, check out which areas need working on.

6. Know your limitations: I use the word `limitations' and not limits because we don't have limits. There are numerous examples of people with severe handicaps doing the impossible. People climbing mountains on crutches, doing marathons in wheelchairs, w inning Olympic golds after overcoming attacks of paralysis -- none of these people let their limitations limit them.

We all have limitations in one form or another and the first step to development is to recognise and accept these limitations. The second step is to work on strengths that can compensate for them. For instance, as a 50-year-old, you don't have the energy or drive that you had in your 20s or 30s. That's a limitation you have to accept. But you now have greater experience, more skill and better judgement. You should be able to use these to get more done in less time and consequently compensate for lower a bility to work long hours.

There was a TV programme recently on National Geographic on Japanese kendo (sword/stick fighting) masters. And it was a revelation to watch an old and probably arthritic master facing a much younger and faster opponent. The younger man attacked in a blur of speed. At the last moment, the old man swayed aside just by inches -- a barely perceptible movement that caused the younger man's stick to pass him harmlessly, while he himself thwacked his opponent. The old man had limitations in terms of speed and energy; he made up for that with timing and economy of movement.

Don't complain about your limitations. Develop strengths to compensate for them.

7. Ends versus means: When you do a task or pursue an objective or goal, you'll often find at some point that you're stuck and not making any progress. At such times, one feels disheartened and wants to give up. When this happens, you'll find that when y ou shift focus to the process of the task rather than to the outcome, things become smoother and progress starts again.

The reason so many potential entrepreneurs fail in the first five years is because they become discouraged when results do not come in. The end may often go out of sight and if you're always looking for the end and expecting it around the next corner, yo u can get discouraged when it seems to be nowhere around.

In 1952, Florence Chadwick seemed all set to become the first woman to swim the Catalina channel. She was going strong when fog set in and she couldn't see the shore and consequently had no way of knowing how far away she was. She gave up and was extreme ly disappointed when she later found that she was only a mile from the end. She said that if she'd been able to see the shore, she could easily have completed the journey. And to prove it, she did do it later on a clear day, even bettering the men's reco rd by two hours. If she'd focused on the process of swimming and just concentrated on putting one arm ahead of the other, she would have finished at the first attempt.

Once you've set a goal, push it to the back of your mind and focus on the process because that's what will get you there. It's like climbing a mountain. You have a goal to reach the top of the highest peak. But once you start, you have to focus on the pr ocess of climbing; any lapse of concentration could mean a fall. You'll also find when you're climbing, that when you look down at what you're doing, you can go on for hours. But often, when you look up and see the peak so far away, you get discouraged.

8. Give yourself time: Sometimes achieving a goal takes time. If you focus on the deadline, you may find yourself getting frustrated when things seem to slow down. At such times, it becomes imperative to give yourself time to achieve that goal. A time-fr ame can actually get in the way of task completion because it can create pressure that in some cases is counter-productive. For instance, if you have to learn something or acquire a skill, you may have to give yourself time.

Giving yourself time is not the same as patience. Patience is calm endurance. Giving yourself time is to actively work towards a goal without setting a limit on how long you will work.

These are just a few Zen concepts that, if followed, can lead to greater work effectiveness and satisfaction -- provided you've first emptied your cup.