Tag: asif khan

Who Are You?

Posted on by admin

It’s not who you are underneath, it’s what you do that defines you. — Rachel Dawes, Batman Begins

Who are you? Take a minute and answer this question. Before reading ahead, just put down whatever answer comes to mind.

The self — has been the centre of attention for centuries. Philosophers, psychologists and religious figures throughout history have debated on the nature of the self. And to good merit, if we cannot understand the true nature of who we are, how are we to make sense of our relationship to the other and the world. Understanding the self perhaps then is the prerequisite to understanding anything. I exist in your reality, only after you exist. If there were no you, there would be no me, at least not for you.

The world around you therefore, is a reflection of who you are. As you change through time, so does the world around you. You may have defined your self as the physical (tall, dark, blue eyes etc.), the social (a son, a cricketer, an academic), the personal (shy, impulsive, out-going, courageous), the principle/religious (Christian, Muslim, Buddhist), or the existential (human being, a soul etc.). Whatever your definition of the self, will form your understanding of the other and the world. Be careful how you define yourself, for it will define your reality. What we will try today is to understand the self and determine how (in)accurate we are.

You are the decisions you make. Not your instincts, not your thoughts, not your beliefs, only actions.

Umair is a good friend. He is in love with a childhood friend, Sophia. Umair views himself as being religious, and he is. Sophia is relatively more liberal. He wishes to spend his life with her, but knows it will be difficult. He tells himself he can’t go ahead and start a life with Sophia. I think that is a lie. It is not that he cannot. He decides. He prioritizes religion, and his own view of his future over his instinct of love towards Sophia. If he keeps thinking he can’t make this decision, he is disempowering himself — he is helpless. I believe he is not, he has decided to give other things more importance than his feelings of love towards Sophia. That is who Umair is. It will be easier for Umair to navigate through life, if he understands that. He will be more at ease with who he is, if he admits to who he is.

Your decisions share a telling story about your reality. What you prioritize in life. What you give importance to. What drives your decisions? List down 5 decisions you’ve made in the past 2 years. Write down what you think these decisions were driven by. Did you make decisions based on personal growth? Or community? Are you driven by fame? Or variety?

Footballers, Doctors and Archers

Posted on by admin

Success is a buzzword today. Go and ask University students and corporate executives what they want to do in life and inevitably ‘success’ will make an appearance in their answers. The question that comes to mind is: What is success? It may be different things for different people — for some it may be related to family and for others, work; for some it may be monetary and for others about contribution to society. No matter the definition, what is important is that we have one.

What is success to you? Answering this question builds the foundation. Success for the archer is to hit the bull’s eye, for the doctor, it is to cure the patient, and for the footballer, it is to score the goal. What bull’s eye are you trying to hit? What malaise do you want to heal? What goal are you looking to score? Once established, this becomes your definition of success.

Then, there is the essential question of where you are at present. The footballer may think of the current status of his teammates and the opposing team. He will also consider time and location. The archer will consider the wind and the landscape, along with his standing in relation to it all. You need to discover and assess where you are. With respect to things that will help you achieve your goal, where do you stand right now, internally and externally?

Then comes the last step. With cure as the goal and an understanding of the current reality, the doctor may determine that he needs a few more tools and an assistant. What does the archer need? A more slender arrow or maybe extra practice. What is it then that you require, to move from where you are to where you want to be?

This completes your plan. Remember though, this was the event — now comes the process. The event is based on vision and the process requires action. Action. Nothing less, nothing more.