Currents of Change

The economy has us quite frustrated. It does not seem to get better in the leaps and bounds we expect it to. Since 2000 we have seen many ups and downs in the stock market, but I do not think that is what is causing this economy to stay messed up. It's a problem of expectations.

K through 70. In the 70s and 80s, when people used to get jobs, it implied that the job was a contract for life or at least for a long period of time. You showed up at work everyday, put in your time, and in return you enjoyed the the promise of steady employment with retirement benefits. Since the mid 90s, slowly this security got eroded. Employers could not guarantee job security and people were reluctant to accept this reality. Over the last 20 years, people have come to expect that they will move several jobs in their lifetime. The average tenure at a job in 2010 was 4.4 years, which means that a person may have 8 - 11 job changes in their lifetime! Job changes are no longer the tough part, now we face the next challenge - we need to keep retooling ourselves to stay competitive. The current workforce does not like this reality but will have to accept it. It's do or die, you cannot complain / whine yourself out of it. You have to go back to school and update your skills. K through 12 used to work 20+ years ago, not anymore. In fact, K through 12 and 4/6 years of college will not work either. The new reality is that it's K through 70 - you have to constantly keep updating your skills.

Global Opportunities. Yes, it's a global world and technology has made it happen. The world will get flatter by the day and once again, the sooner we accept that fact, the better. It is for our benefit that we wise up. No use trying to create a security net around us and our business to keep out global competition, we are not isolated anymore. Once we accept this reality, we can take charge. First, we will have to take note of the situation and figure out what we can do to contribute and differentiate. If you are a part of a big organization, you will notice that the leadership structure is no longer the good old pyramid. The organizations have also become quite flat and you have a voice. You have much more information at your disposal to draw your own conclusions and the power to bring about change. Your focus need to shift from 'just being the 9-to-5-plug-n-play employee' to 'this is my contribution to the organization'. You have to be aware of your surroundings and when appropriate seize the opportunity! No, I am not asking you to back-stab others, cheat and rise up the ranks, I am asking you to make yourself valuable to the company with the skills and assets you have. Spend time to understand how the business works and help build the business, in your own way - add value.

Micro Careers and Entrepreneurship. I feel that the environment right now is ripe for micro careers and entrepreneurship. You can make tiny lateral shifts in your career. Add on a skill and make a tiny shift. If you are are a CAD drafter, learn 3-D modeling and move there. Next learn BIM and move on. If your job requires you to stay as a CAD drafter, you will see that your skill level has improved with this additional education. Take on assignments on the side (at home) for 3-D modelling and BIM. Someday you may be able to go on your own and start your own full-fledged business with the new skill, or you may find that your company will change their mind and make you the next BIM manager! Companies are also realizing that the shelf life of their product or service solution is limited. They feel the need to innovate and sometimes cannot figure out how to go about it. It is in the employee's advantage to self train on a new skill and be ready when the company needs it or when the opportunity presents itself just change jobs!

Entitlement Culture. Live within your means. This is also a problem in our current day and age. Seems like we always want to buy the latest gadget and by the time it gets delivered to our door, its already outdated! I think we need to focus on what we actually need and not on the thrills of the moment. Do we really need a palatial home and eight computers for a family of four? What happened to the good old advice of knowing how much you earn, spend less than you make, boost your income if you can, don't try to keep up with the Joneses, have an emergency fund / nest egg, and save up to buy something you really desire instead of just buying with credit? These words of wisdom is not new, but somehow it seems that over the last few decades we have been lulled into taking useless risks that we should not have, and then developed an expectation to be saved! We shout that life is unfair when we have to face the music, but have conveniently forgotten that we were indeed part of the band playing that tune just a few years ago. We reap what we sow - it's a hard lesson, but we have to go through this tough phase and grow up!

It all comes back to setting our expectations to reality. We need to be a Realist and an Optimist. No, the sky is not falling on our heads, we are just going through a phase and this too shall pass. Look at this as a learning opportunity and do not confuse wishing and wanting with pursuing. Take the time to figure out what is worth wishing and wanting in the first place. Dream, for only you have the power and authority to build your dream. You have the power to change the course, do not waste the time looking back. Take charge of your situation, however dismal it may appear at the moment, reset your expectations and build from a solid foundation.

Happiness, the Elusive Friend

Have you ever wondered how so-and-so seems happy and why you do not feel that way that often? When we look at others, it seems like their life is just perfect - their career seems to be working well with increased recognition, they seem to be spending more and having a better lifestyle, their relationships seem to be going well, they seem to be jovial all the time.... Yes, we all have been there; especially when some aspect of our life seems to us not living up to our expectations. 

My realization has been that we need to focus on the definition of happiness that is tailored to our life rather than a perceived notion of what makes others happy. I believe that happiness is derived from three sources - Thrills, Flow / Zone, and Purpose.

Sources of Happiness

Thrills make us Happy. These are intense positive emotions experienced over a short period of time. Examples: a roller coaster ride, shopping for and then discovering a new gadget, driving or riding in a fast car, a good dinner and drink, sex, watching a game.... During these thrill moments, time seems to go in slow motion, you have a moment-by-moment memory. Remember your favorite sportsman playing the winning shot? You probably remember the whole 10 seconds as a 10+ minute slow motion movie, complete with the thoughts going through your head as commentary. And every time you recollect that incident, you  briefly go to your happy place. Yes, this happens to all of us. We also wish that these intense pure raw emotions last forever or that our life gets filled with more and more of these feelings. In reality, this does not happen, and that makes us sad. Many try to recreate these moments by seeking the thrills all the time, some get hurt in the process either physically, or financially, or emotionally. 

Zone / Flow makes us Happy. These are times when the mind is calm and serene and we get lost in the work that we are doing and forget the passage of time. We get so engrossed that we forget hunger, sleep, and thirst. I bet many of you have been in that space too and will fondly recollect the times when you were lost in The Zone or were in The Flow. A great example of this is the Runners High that people experience when training for long-distance marathons. I remember my feelings when I was training very vividly. Another is may be working on a report at work where you stayed up all night without even realizing how the time went by? May be you spent a whole day painting and forgot to eat? I often have these experiences when I work and also when I cook. I have seen my husband having this feeling when he is brewing beer. The task is so satisfying that you are lost in it.  Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has a good body of work on this form of happiness. I recommend you read his books to learn more and try to create more opportunities of Zone/ Flow in your life and for the people surrounding you - at home, at play, and at work. 

Purpose makes us Happy. This is the most difficult one to pin down but this actually is the most gratifying. It is very hard to work out your purpose and takes a lot of introspection and analysis. We often do not have the time to do this or think that the time is not worth spending on finding this purpose. But that feeling of hollowness or emptiness that you often feel in spite of the Thrills and Zone/Flow you experience is because you are not in sync with the purpose. Each one needs to take the journey of finding this purpose by yourself, no one can do this for you. Once you have figured out this purpose, you will see that every aspect of your life will flow out of it and you will no longer have that emptiness deep inside. For me meditation helped me find the purpose. I went on a 10-day meditation retreat where we did not talk for ten days and did not even make eye contact with other people. It settled my mind down and cut the chatter out, and then it was quite clear, like the fog went away. It was a great feeling. Now, my daily task is to keep in sync with that purpose and when I do that, I feel very happy!

We need all three to be Happy. I believe that we need a healthy proportion of all three, Thrills, Zone /Flow and Purpose, to be Happy. When we are kids, Thrills make up most of the pie, and that is how it should be. As we mature, we start to identify the tasks that put us in the Zone / Flow. Once we identify those tasks and do more of it, not only do we improve our skill level in those tasks, they also make us peaceful and serene. As we move on the journey of life, if we start the quest for Purpose and find it, it makes life just worth living. Purpose then is the wind in our sails and we become jubilant!
My lesson in life has been to try and maintain a healthy proportion of all three in my life, absence of either ingredient may actually dent my happiness. My pie now has more Purpose and less Thrills. But all three are indeed present. I am Happy!