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Lets De-addict!

A couple of days back, I wondered if I could add something to the lexicon. Albeit it would like putting old wine into a new bottle. We have lots of fancy terms already in the organizational development and self-help ready reckoner lists – like comfort zones, conditionings, stroking, blind areas, self –emancipation, self awareness, SQ so on and on.

Why not add one more. Something which would ride the crest of fads for a few moments at least ;). May be a much longer duration in posterity - after some researcher digs it out during her/his literature surveys.

During one of my inner wanderings it dawned that the fuel of our views & phews!, methods & madness, personalities & perspectives are but our own addictions. These get us chugging along in our lives. Many of these addictions [like good habits] lead us towards the path of self fulfillment and happiness. But most human beings [including most of the legends] in the history of mankind have lived upto their own potential only to a very small extent. Not be surprised [nor to be ashamed] it is likely that we will also live upto our own potential only to a very small extent.

We are being constantly pulled back by these addictions [or irrationalities] which we hold dear. Exactly in the same manner, in which a smoker finds it tough to kick his Malboro or an alcoholic finds it tough to not partake an extra few swigs of his Glenfiddich. Many times we know we should get up and get an act done or we should stop doing something else, but are just unable to hold our natural tendencies. They are our tobaccos and single malts. Each one of us has these tendencies.

In the same way, we might just be overdoing our instincts to take risks or not to take them as the case maybe. Or stretching our sinews too much when we should step back and other times withdrawing when we should confront. All under the self-subterfuge of a lofty little theory. Am sure we have noticed others give extremely consistent theories about why they should not do something that looks pretty logical. Exactly in the same way – we would have given such logic to others/ourselves, which others [and sometimes post facto us too] would have found illogical. Deep down in our sub-conscious each of one has a duly draped chest of zealously protected and most probably fanatically idolised idiosyncrasies. They are so strongly reinforced that they become our life-engines – unfortunately running backward. In this world of democratic traditions where we are supposed to know best for ourselves – such instincts are only allowed to be amplified and protected with greater force. Sometimes happily eulogised as our personality and individuality [‘this is the way I am’]. Such instints embrace every corner of ourlives – personal habits, relationships, work, societal et al. I suspect we will find 10 in a jiffy if we look inside ourselves.

These are what I call as addictions. These are the ones, which pull us away from our dreamt and ideal states – in work life, personal health, family ties, social status et al. We may find ourselves being unlucky to have missed something. Often actually, it is actually not being unlucky – it is actually the poor vibrations of our addictions we carry unawares. Exactly in the same way, we find someone always getting lucky – such persons have certain addictions [luckily positive ones] which always put them a nose ahead at the opportune moment – like that sweet friend in the neighbourhood or legends like Roger Federer.

The positive ones are welcome but negative ones need de-addiction. Challenging the comfort zones. Unfortunately unlike the tobacco/single malt variety of addictions [like anger or overeating] where the addiction is normally visible and identified – for most negative addictions we do not know we have a problem, neither does our immediate ecosystem give us an early unequivocal adverse feedback, if at all. All our life, we maybe considering a particular disposition to be our strength and it is because of that disposition we get our pats from others and self-esteem; whereas the ‘dark’ reality could be that it is the source of our biggest folly and weakness. We can try to check whether we can identify a few of such for ourselves

The only path of sustainable happiness and productivity is constantly and proactively chipping away at these instincts – de-addicting as a habit. Nurture de-addicting habits [ah! what an oxymoron]. Easier said than done. Honestly it is a humungous task – tougher that a Nobel Laureates Nobel prize winning efforts or Roger Federers 17th slam winning effort [yes! It will come]. But that is the reason why it should be fun going after it. Unabashed, uninhibited, unhurried. Gnawing away at every moment. Biting ones lips in amusement – when one catches oneself enjoying an addiction, which she/he should want to de-addict. The only sustainable way is transcendental self knowledge [experiential wisdom] through deep and detached self awareness. Thy name is meditation.

Lets de-addict or nurture de-addicting habits.

Bhubaneshwar
Jul 23, 2011

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