How many have you heard of the "Circle Of Influence" ?
If you are not familiar, go on and read, else read it anyways. I got familiar with this topic through one of my professors in graduate school and he did not mention it as one of things "Highly Effective" people do. He was professing us on "stuff" (people, work, acts, deeds, etc) that make us happy.
That was year 2008 and i decided to implement the concept in my life. I took a different approach and decided that i am not going to worry about things that are not in my influence. 2008 was a difficult year in the US economy when the news of layoffs, unemployment, housing bubble were the headlines. I needed a job and my zillion applications had yielded only one interview which i did not clear.
This was the first time in my life i felt "stressed". There were tense and anxious moments before but always had that feeling, that "All will be Well", but this was more than an engineering exam, a final presentation. It made me thinking and in that moment, my professor (A Sri Lankan) invited the class to his home for dinner. I decided to go and am grateful i did.
That night, after coming back, i sat with a pen and paper. I listed all my worries, concerns and drew the Circle of Concern. I quickly realized that about 60% of my concerns were the ones which i had no control/influence, so i forced myself to stop worrying on them. For e.g. I was really concerned about my resume not being selected by any company and was also worried about the content on my resume. I quickly realized that i had influence over what went on my resume, but had no control over what employers were seeking.
I never thought, such a simple action would simplify my life, cleanse my thoughts and make me so happy. You can use this approach to many things, as "highly effective" do in their lives. If you have used the Circle of Influence and want to share your experience, please leave a comment....
Live Happy !!!!
If you are not familiar, go on and read, else read it anyways. I got familiar with this topic through one of my professors in graduate school and he did not mention it as one of things "Highly Effective" people do. He was professing us on "stuff" (people, work, acts, deeds, etc) that make us happy.
That was year 2008 and i decided to implement the concept in my life. I took a different approach and decided that i am not going to worry about things that are not in my influence. 2008 was a difficult year in the US economy when the news of layoffs, unemployment, housing bubble were the headlines. I needed a job and my zillion applications had yielded only one interview which i did not clear.
This was the first time in my life i felt "stressed". There were tense and anxious moments before but always had that feeling, that "All will be Well", but this was more than an engineering exam, a final presentation. It made me thinking and in that moment, my professor (A Sri Lankan) invited the class to his home for dinner. I decided to go and am grateful i did.
That night, after coming back, i sat with a pen and paper. I listed all my worries, concerns and drew the Circle of Concern. I quickly realized that about 60% of my concerns were the ones which i had no control/influence, so i forced myself to stop worrying on them. For e.g. I was really concerned about my resume not being selected by any company and was also worried about the content on my resume. I quickly realized that i had influence over what went on my resume, but had no control over what employers were seeking.
I never thought, such a simple action would simplify my life, cleanse my thoughts and make me so happy. You can use this approach to many things, as "highly effective" do in their lives. If you have used the Circle of Influence and want to share your experience, please leave a comment....
Live Happy !!!!
Karmanyevadhikaraste ma faleshu kadachana!
ReplyDeleteOnly if you had paid attention to the opening line of Mahabharata by the awesome Sagar TV! :P
Sughas....Frankly jab bhi MahaBharat ki baat hoti hain to Jaina ka bhavuk chehra yaad aa jaata hain....
ReplyDelete