Capability

Here is a question for you. Do you know what you are capable of ? Have you ever sat down and thought about it ? If not, this blog would certainly get you thinking about it.

Lets divide our thoughts using the 4 beings we are made up of

• Mental

• Spiritual

• Physical

• Emotional

Lets explore the Mental ability. Intelligence is a misnomer. Generally, people with a couple of PhDs are probably considered more intelligent then those with basic education. Oh ! but wait, if we count only those with high degrees as intelligent, we will have to leave out people like Einstein and Edison. But then the world would still be a dark place , would it not ? Of course, education does play its part in determining your capabilities, but as Newton put it, "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration". In case that was philosophical, in plain English, education will not do much if we don't put it to the right use. So coming back to our question about capabilities, have you ever thought of doing something that is great ? Have you ever seen yourself walking up the stage to receive a medal of honour for achieving something.

But comon now, not everyone is destined for greatness right ? Only the Lincons are destined to rid slavery, only the Mahatmas are destined to free nations, only Einsteins are destined for the Nobel prizes. But me ??? do I dare to dream about being someone like them....

You see, inside of all of us are seeds of greatness and so many of us attribute that to the literature we study and the degrees that accompany our names. No, everyone of us is designed for greatness. Its just that we always have a picture of us that makes us think less of ourselves and our capabilities.

Let me conclude the mental ability discussion by giving a very simple definition of Intelligence, in case you fail to recollect its true meaning.... Intelligence is the ability to LEARN. And inside of you is that ability in abundance, its just lying around to be used. Education stops at college, but Learning stops when you take in your last breath. There lies the difference. Who knows, you who are reading this could be endowed with 10 times the capability of Einstein, but only you can get it out.

Fortunately or Unfortunately , man is endowed with a thirst for spiritual well being. If your spiritual being is not in balance, then maybe it will affect your holistic being in someway. In a study done by a PHD student on the people who reach the top of the corporate ladders and stay there with amazing success , it was found that almost 95% of them were deeply involved in their religion or spiritual well being.

I personally have a belief that God created us with a vaccum inside of us that can only be filled by him. HE wanted us to thirst for him, in fact, this is the thirst that many people avoid and in turn try to fill it up with other stuff, like pleasure, luxury, travel and the whole smear this exotic world has to offer. A spiritually well-balanced indivigual can handle stress, can handle recessions, can handle the tough times of life, with some divine providence. It like having unlimited supply of water as you travel through the Sahara. You can make it through the tough storms of life, with a strong faith inside of you.

I have seen highly capable and successfull people withering like cotton caught on a breeze, when they are hit by the storm clouds of wedlock, recession and bad times in life. I have also seen less capable and the so called unsuccessfull peasants of life, very happy and content during bad economic conditions. So again, what you trust in and who you belive in makes a difference in your life. Have you found your peace with God ? Are you in constant touch with him and is your Spiritual thirst quenced ?

Lets explore our physical capabilities. All of us fall sick, all of us are capable of recovering, but not without the support from the world of Medicine. Or is that true? I have read more than once , that the Brain is always capable of producing the required antigen to deflect any type of virus that hits the body, unless of course, its injected into the body lethally with a view to kill the body. If you don't belive this, go ahead and read the story of Morris Goodman. He was as good as dead, but a few months later walked out of the hospital. Not just a medical miracle.

We are what our brain thinks we are. I am sure you remember the giant Goliath who was slain by a small pebble from a shepard boy. To do great things, we don't necceserrly require perfect abs or be a ramp walking model. Our strength should come from what we think we are and not from what we are. Hellen Keller and Mother Therasa had physical weakness, but their attitudes were as alive as a tiger on a prowl. If you are someone who thinks I am black or I am not rightly coloured or have a physical ailment, try taking a dose of self-talk everyday. Say to yourself that you are physically strong, beautiful or whatever your requirement is and your brain will make you what you want to be. I have read in the great book, that "Let the weak say I am strong" and it will be so.

Power is not the ability to win the war , but it is the ability to stop the war even before the battle begins. Physical strength is useless, if you are not truly capable of making a friend out of your worst enemy ! Without the ability to hear, Ludwig van Beethoven wrote the "The Ninth Symphony" , Without the ability to see, Louis Braille invented the language of the blind, without the ability to walk , Franklin D Roosevelt, became the president of the United States and with all of these abilities, what are you today ?

Emotional Quotient is being talked about in many parts of the corporate world today. People with more EQ, than IQ, are preferred for top jobs. The capability to get along with others is percieved to be a high quality. Everyone here is born with that ability, but over the years, we tend to think too much of ourselves and that is when our emotional strength starts going down.

Most of the problems that cause heartbreaks have to do with our emotions. Our feelings take the place of pure logical thinking and then we make the wrong decisions in life. Handling what happens to us is more important than what happens to us. Let me repeat, its not what happens to us that is important, its how we handle what happens to us that counts. If we can control our feelings instead of letting our feelings control us, I am sure we will be a very strong person, emotionally.

If you have often wondered what is the difference between you and the Mahatma, its just the capability to be strong when you are being paraded as a rebel, the capability to be strong when everyone calls you names, its the capbility to be strong when everyone around you thinks you are a loser ! That 's emotional intelligence. If you know who you are , then nothing outside of you can make you feel inferior, without your permission. No one can shake that confidence of yours.

When Noah built the ark, everyone around him was laughing, cause there was no sign of any rain, when the wright brothers took they first flight , not many people came to see the event, but it changed the way we travel and how far we can go today. So start with whatever strength you have got, set some big goals, get associated with the people who encourage you to reach them and make a honest effort to reach them. Then and only then will you and all of those around you, really know what you are capable of. Till then, you will be an undiscovered oil well, being wasted deep down inside of earth, useful to no one, but very very precious if discovered.

You are the only one who can use your capabilities and its an awesome responsibility. Don't let it die with you.

What are we here for ?

I have often wondered what am I doing here. What is the purpose for me being here? Or is there a purpose at all?

There is very old saying in Chinese
Where the vision is one year, cultivate flowers.
Where the vision is ten years, cultivate trees.
Where the vision is eternity, cultivate people.

So you see, the ultimate vision or goal for each one of us, is to enable others to come up. Constructive Politics (sounds like a contradiction, right !), is the need of the hour. We are called not to give up on others but to give ourselves to bring others up. We are all called to stoop low to lift other up and if we are not going to do it, those people below, are going to raise high and pull us all down to their level.

Someone asked, if we are here to help others, then what exactly or the others here for? Good question, of course, the answer is that the others are also here to help the others. Zig ziglar, the great orator, often quotes, “If we help others enough, we will be helped enough”.

Do people look forward to you being around them? Are you missed by at least a few people at your place of work, if you don’t turn up? Or, is there a big sigh of relief when you call up and say you are not coming in today?

You might be wondering how this matters, we are here to work, we work and get paid and then we are gone in a couple of years, why all this talk about relationships. You see, the point is, it is not possible to be a great success, all alone!

Even though champions get the medals, they always realize that there are many people behind their success, without whom it would not have been possible. Their teachers, parents, coaches, fans, and mentors and many many more. One can never fully repay those who have helped winners. The only way to show a little gratitude is by helping those who are following.

Socrates taught Plato; Plato taught Aristotle; Aristotle taught Alexander the Great. Knowledge and Values, had they not been passed along, would have died. Our greatest responsibility is to pass on a legacy that the coming generations can be proud of.

There are many kinds of desire. Desire for success, desire to do one's duty even at the cost of pleasure. Desire for purpose. Something worth dying for which gives meaning to life. What good is it if you gain the whole world and lose your conscience?

A purposeless life is a living death. What is your purpose? Do you have one? Purpose brings passion. Find or create a purpose and then pursue it with passion and perseverance. Every day we need to ask ourselves the question: "Am I getting any closer to my purpose in life? Am I making this a better place to live and work?" If the answer is no, then I have just wasted a day of my life. Life will reward us in proportion to our contribution.

The earlier we find a purpose in life, the better it is. It appears that the greatest challenge comes in the unending search for the purpose of life. Not only as an individual but also for our families, organizations and our country. Once our purpose and values are clear, conflicts between self-interest and social obligations find a moral balance between themselves. We become aware of when to take a stand. That is the time we start making the right decisions for long-term gain rather than making the wrong decisions for short-term gain. Wisdom and maturity lead to greater understanding of major issues.

We cannot help ourselves without helping others.
We cannot enrich our lives without enriching others.
We cannot prosper without bringing prosperity to others.

All of us are put on this planet for a purpose. We are part of a big picture. But very few people discover their purpose in life. Most of us just exist and keep counting our days rather than making our days count.

Dr. Albert Einstein was once asked, "Why are we here?" He replied, "If the universe is an accident, we are accidents. But if there is meaning in the universe, there is meaning in us also." And he added, "The more I study physics, the more I am drawn towards metaphysics (The philosophical study of being and knowing)."

So each day, make sure you help others and leave home contented that someone found your presence in the office useful, if not, was it worth, coming to the office today?

I would rather fail in a cause that will ultimately succeed than succeed in a cause that would ultimately fail.