Think Results NOW: You Are What You Think book 1 – #16: Do Job Well

You Are What You Think book 1

Article #16

My life is an Excellent Adventure from using “You Are What You Think”

Do Job Well – Forget Praise or Blame

HERE IS SOME ADVICE that was first given at least 5000 years ago. It is just as pertinent today as it was then, proving once again that human nature doesn’t change.

This teaching comes from the Bhagavad Gita. It can be found in pocket book form at any book store today.

I believe that if we were to fully understand and practice this philosophy in our daily living there would be fewer heart attacks, ulcers, and cases of high blood pressure. Peace of mind would finally be ours.

IT IS BASICALLY THIS: Whatever we do, whether at work, or taking an examination, or doing menial jobs, we should do it to the best of our capabilities and not be concerned whether it will bring praise or blame.

It is this concern about the fruits of our work that causes anxiety, and robs us of our peace of mind.

We have become so attached to our little world that often we are not willing to perform without being assured of some reward. Or we hesitate because we might be blamed if not successful.

IMAGINE HOW RELAXED and calm we would be if we were able to perform every duty or job with a completely selfless attitude.

We would do whatever we were called upon to do, and with the knowledge that we did our best, would have no further concern.

I’ll quote directly from the Bhagavad Gita, reminding you again that it was written thousands of years ago:

“YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to work, but for the work’s sake only. Desire for the fruits of work must never be your motive in working. Never give way to laziness, either. Renounce attachment to the results. Be even tempered in success and failure.

Work done with anxiety about results is far inferior to work done without such anxiety. Those who work selfishly for results are miserable.”

This teaching could easily be misunderstood. It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be rewarded for our efforts and reap the material benefits. Nor that we shouldn’t be penalized if our work isn’t up to par.

IT IS OUR CONCERN for these things that we should try to avoid. Our entire concentration should be on the DOING, not on the outcome.

Instead of concentrating fully on what we are doing at the moment, most of us waste our energy in anxiety about how our efforts will turn out. Naturally the quality of our work is bound to suffer. An example would be a student taking an examination. He knows the answers but he is so afraid of failing, his mind doesn’t function to its highest potential.

HE SHOULD PREPARE well for the examination and resolve to do his best. If he should fail, which is unlikely with this attitude, he should have no regrets. How can one do any better than his best ?

It is not necessarily the duties that we have to perform that make us unhappy. Rather it is our attitude while doing them.

Keep in mind that things in themselves are neutral, neither pleasant nor unpleasant. This can easily be seen from the fact that they do not affect all people in the same manner, nor do they produce the same effect on the same person under different conditions.

WE MIGHT ENJOY doing something under one set of circumstances, and loathe doing it under another. The environment and the company we were in at the time could make the difference.

A job can be a joy to one person and a terrible chore to another.

Therefore if you dislike your job or your school, realize it isn’t the fault of the job or the school. It is only the attitude you have toward it that causes the dislike, not the thing itself.

If you change your attitude the dislike will disappear as if by magic.

ACCORDING TO this ancient teaching we should be able to find enjoyment in every action we are called upon to perform. It is only selfishness and our own egos which prevent us from doing so.

Walter Russell, the author of “The Man Who Tapped The Secrets of The Universe,” put it this way: “Hate develops poisons and causes fatigue. Love everything you do and it will revitalize your body.

“If there be a mental task that must be mine, that will I glorify and make an art of it.”

This week perform every task without attachment to the results. Even the tasks that were distasteful will become easier.