SELF HELP
SUJAN SHAH Mindfulness Practitioner and Keynote Speaker Sujan Speaks
Starting New Year with ATTENTION and INTENTION !
There are several articles , strategies , thoughts
expressed in the wake of new years resolutions . Many theories are put out to pave our path forward , emphasizing resilience , persistence , and almost every inspirational word out there has been formulated and proposed . Like most of us , I am inspired and tempted to try out those strategies to achieve my goals in the year 2021 .
Though all these strategies are inspiring , I am left with something very familiar that brought no better results and a new perspective towards myself and the world around me . Especially after the pandemic experience of 2020 , it has left several of us wondering about the methodologies that had been tried repeatedly without better outcomes . I sincerely wonder whether the pandemic asks us to consider a unique approach : do we need in-depth insight into oneself with intentions from a higher awareness ?
Let ’ s look at why a few strategies have failed us :
1 ) Lacking Quality of awareness : When we chose our goals with less attention , we continue with the same results as before .
2 ) Object-referral : When we have goals that are merely meant to impress others and satisfy our ego , they may not come to complete fruition .
3 ) No Goals from “ I ” to “ we ”: When our goalsetting stops at how it will satisfy my needs and does not reach others around us .
4 ) No self-inquiry : Self-inquiry is the most ancient tool used in Vedantic teachings and used by Socrates to know thyself concept . Let ’ s look at the potential solutions that could help us decide the goals from a higher awareness and improve the possibilities to achieve them . 1 ) Bringing Attention : When we put our attention to anything , it brings our awareness into play to create our new reality . When we are inattentive , things tend to repeat in terms of the same results .
2 ) Bringing Intention : Once our energy is focused on our goals with attention ’ s help , it is time now we bring intentions into that focus . It helps us plant the seeds of our intentions deep in our consciousness when the mind is settled , giving it
a chance to effectively carry out our goal .
3 ) Purpose : While deciding our purpose , it can fail us if there is no clear path between “ how it will help me personally ” to “ how it will benefit others .”
4 ) Self-Inquiry : When there is no clear insight into knowing ourselves , we are often creating goals based on our memories , leaving no new path for new realities .
5 ) Meditation : Meditation can help us to improve the quality of awareness . It helps us to access the gap between the thoughts to achieve desired results . Finally , as we travel through our journey together , we often forget that we are not isolated in this world due to the bitter past . Though we all are unique individuals , we are still connected with one higher awareness all the time . When we realize and use this perspective towards goal setting , we will see subtle yet powerful changes towards our lives ’ quality achieving our goals .
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