We all are born with a concept of being good!
Given the trials of daily life, it is helpful to have a quick reminder on the fundamentals of being consciously good. At Mindful Solutions our usual focus is on being good in business, this time let’s try to look at being good holistically.
Being Good to Self:
Three areas where we need to be mindful on a daily basis is how well are we taking care of the three components of our self – our body, our mind and our soul.
Body – Let’s be more cognizant of what we eat, ensure adequate physical activity and find useful hacks that can be moulded into routines that we can follow habitually as part of our daily life. A good example is a four-minute Tabata workout every time before you shower!
Mind – It is important to focus on our mind to ensure we are fostering positivity while controlling the primal urges for protection from perceived threats. While the mind is naturally wired to focus on the negative – coming from our ancestors need to survive in very hostile conditions, we need to reaffirm to our selves that we live in much safer times today. The best approach here is to be grateful for the success and learnings of the past, build affirmations to program our mind positively and to focus today on taking actions towards clear future goals. An active focus on learning is an important element of keeping a sharp mind.
Soul – We all have a spiritual element within us that we can call Soul. Best to acknowledge the wonder of our presence in this awe-inspiring universe on a daily basis with prayers, meditation, tranquillity or a different path. While each of us would have different classifications on our belief systems, it is important to connect to our definition of a higher being on a daily basis even for a few minutes.
Action – Let’s take time learn; to read, listen, watch videos on each of these areas to expand our understanding so that we can be more good towards our self. The better versions of us, are exponentially more capable of being good to others and to the world.
The better versions of us, are exponentially more capable of being good to others and to the world!
Being Good to Others:
Our lives are filled with many amazing human beings, in fact, we are more amazed each individual when we try to understand another person at a deeper level than the overt layers of ego and self-doubt. Despite our need to categorise people into the common groups of family, friends, social community, professional community, commercial community, known strangers, unknown strangers and more, all of them are in the end wondrous beings albeit differing from us in many manners.
The fundamental aspect of being good to another person starts with thinking genuinely about what is good and important for that individual and aligning our actions towards their good, without harming our own good. Here individuality is the key and I personally prefer to treat others according to what is good for them, rather than the popular adage of treating others based on how we would like to be treated ourselves. For instance, if I am an extrovert, I do not want to treat an introverted person as I would like to be treated myself.
We are all different, so let us not imitate our egotistical self onto another person nor cater to their own ego. Let’s think through fundamentally on what is good for them and gift it to them through our behaviours and actions.
Across all the roles that we play – as a child, sibling, parent, spouse, friend, peer, boss, employee, neighbour, stranger, and all others, – let us be more sensitive on how to be good while playing each of those roles. We don’t need to be good as per the established rules or norms of society, but by catering to their individuality and their unique identity.
In business, take the time to think through on how to be good (while pursuing our business vision) to our most important stakeholders – our employees, suppliers, customers, competitors and society at large.
The action here is to take time to know the person beyond the relation and cater to their genuine good, which will translate into an amazing life experience for all of us.
Being Good to Everything :
Here it is more about being good to the awe-inspiring planet we live in. Not just being green or environmentally conscious, but striving towards leaving the world a better place in every conceivable way, that we are able to influence at an individual level. Here the three fundamentals are a) consume less, b) produce more, and c) leave a positive footprint.
Consume the right level of resources we need to enjoy a good life while focusing on not wasting any resource – be it food, water, electricity, packaging products, plastics or others. While we should feel abundance in our lives we should enjoy abundance responsibly as it should not be at the cost of wasting or polluting natural resources.
Producing more value through our profession/business for the greater good of humanity and the natural world. Take more planet-friendly risks, tilt economic decisions towards eco-friendly alternatives where commercially feasible ( even if not the most profitable in the short term) and work towards being a true hero for our planet.
Leaving a positive footprint is principally about actively recycling our resources. Let’s use our ingenuity to find new uses for the products we have in our possession and share what is possible with others. While segregating garbage and buying recyclable products are the basic steps here, we must hold ourselves accountable for much loftier standards.
