Renewal

In January 2009 I went to Velneshwar, in the Kokan region of Maharashtra. It’s a very beautiful and calm place. When we were preparing to go there, everybody was very excited and kept saying “change chahiye yarr” (we need change). It was clear that one of the motivations for every one of us on the journey was the desire for change. The trip went well and everybody came back feeling renewed and energetic. In fact, it was one of the best experiences in my life. A few days after the trip, the question came into my mind: Why do we want change?

There might be a million reasons for change. Perhaps we want to try some new and exciting or we want a change in our lifestyle. Change may be of any sort; positive or negative. But positive change is all about lifting life and the people around us to the next level of potential. We want change for renewal, freshness, and to gain balance. Talking about balance, it is essential for a happy life. Balance between what we think and what we do; balance between work and health. According to the great philosopher Herbs Shepherd, leading a healthy, balanced life involves valuing the physical, mental, social, and spiritual aspects of life. Let’s look at each of these in turn.

Physical

Fitness should be the first passion of life. Going to gym, doing yoga, walking, running, playing sports; all these are the premium we pay for life insurance. Flexibility and strength should be part of our exercise. We should eat what our bodies need, and not what our tongues demand. It’s the best thing we can do for ourselves. It helps us look good, look young, and feel enthusiastic and more optimistic towards life.

No matter what we have, it amounts to nothing if we don’t have our health. By concentrating on earning wealth and ignoring fitness, we might end ruining up our health. It’s not worth it!

Mental

Once we are out of the education system, reading is something that we often ignore. Reading on a variety of subjects brings up new experiences, new ideas, new skills, and ultimately helps mental growth. Reading helps us challenge our assumptions and makes us more open. What we read is very important. Instead of always reading books of the same genre, it’s better to try branching out into different genres.

Writing is another great tool that can help us to clarify our thoughts and experiences. By helping us to understand our patterns of behavior, it may also indicate how we can change them over time. Keeping a diary is one way to get into the habit of writing.

Social

Everybody wants to feel noticed; social recognition is very important for every individual. A simple rule of thumb is that we should earn respect by giving it. A bunch of people may approach the same problem differently; so why don’t we agree to communicate until we find the solution? The key to solving problems is to listen and understand. Most people are more interested in pushing their own viewpoint than solving the problem. Differences and individuals are not important; solutions are important. Lately, I came across a simple quote, and it greatly affected me in many ways.

“Make a careful list of all things done to you that you abhorred. Don’t do them to others, ever. Make another list of things done for you that you loved. Do them for others, always.”– Dee Hock

Spiritual

Spiritual dimensions represent our inspiration, the core of our life, our value system, ultimate satisfaction, and happiness. Some of us may find renewal in daily prayers or meditation on scriptures because they represent our value system. By reading and meditating we become stronger and more focused. How many of us say prayers and how many of us believe in them? Martin Luther King used to say that, for him, prayer was not a mechanical duty but rather a source of power in releasing and multiplying his energy. Prayer has a tremendous power and that helps us in understanding our center and our purpose, which maintains inner peace.

All these four areas—physical, mental, social, and spiritual—are interdependent. As we renew our physical dimension, we strengthen our personal vision, self-awareness, and free will. As we renew our spiritual dimension, we strengthen our personal leadership. We increase our ability to understand ourselves and to make things happen in the future rather than dwelling in the past. As we renew our mental paradigm, we reinforce our personal management. As we renew our social paradigm, we reinforce our relationships, social responsibilities, and recognition.

Renewal in each area is important and is only effective if we deal with them in a balanced manner. Positive or negative progression in one area impacts the other areas. As a matter of fact, this is true for an organization as well as for an individual. When an organization’s employees and processes improve in these different areas, it helps the entire organization. Creative energies could be used to promote the growth, effectiveness, creativity, and productivity of the organization. This is why the continuous improvement of an individual or an organization is so important. It may come with practice and persistence. The simple formula to achieve this balance is LEARN-COMMIT-DO.

So, let’s try to harness our energy in all areas of life!