There is a clichéd, which is like – ‘If you wish to be successful in life, you have to learn to say NO’. The reverse of this is also equally popular. The fact remains, everyone has to learn to say ‘YES’ and ‘NO’ but the artistry is not only in mouthing them but in applying this energy of ‘Affirmation’ and ‘Negation’ at appropriate Place, Time and Manner.
The very word ‘management’ is all about the ‘judiciousness of delivery’. A brilliant manager has this golden artistry of knowing appropriately, ‘When, Where, Why, Who and How’. Judgment of appropriateness of delivery is some artistry, nobody is born with; it is learnt and is perfected by practice…
Moreover, the parallel reality and truth stands alongside the above realism that there always is a greater artistry of ambivalence, especially in the short-run. That is, being in a situation, neither out-rightly ‘Yes’ nor decisively ‘No’! This somehow is bigger artistry and requires a huge personality trait in us – that is being ‘Receptive’ and not ‘Reactive’. We have to stop, wait, weigh, assess and then deliver. It takes some time for the brain to do that for us. That is why in the meantime, ambivalence holds high utility.
In ancient Oriental spiritualism it is said – ‘There always are two extreme potentials of a situation, which we may call our destiny. Humans always stand on either side of the two. Only God can be present with both probabilities and potentials (destiny) at the same time’. However, with practice, a human with receptive mind consciousness and skill of ambivalence can do the same, which is available to God. How?
Often, when we say ‘yes’ to one probability or potential, the other possibility or destiny stands closed for us. For example, when I say, ‘I shall never be affected by what others say about me’, I say YES to ‘I’ and NO to ‘they’. This opens the probability of Confidence to ‘I’ but simultaneously closes the probability of Learning possible good things that may come my way from the side of ‘They’.
However, if I say, ‘I shall always listen to all, try to know their side of things and then assess the pros and cons of all aspects; finally, I shall decide what is ideal for me’. This ‘avoidance’ of decisive and presumptuous ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ gives me the golden latitude to get the best of both probabilities – Confidence plus Learning.
Good life-management is all about skills of ‘Judiciousness of Appropriateness of Delivery’ of life choices. This judiciousness is not something we are born with. It is cultivated after persevered practice. This happens when we stop being reactionary and lend enough and appropriate latitude of time-lapse to the receptive mind consciousness.
A very learned man said something very crucial about receptive mind consciousness, which qualifies as core principle about life-engineering. I am reproducing below. It needs to be internalized –
“Modern man discovered intelligent thought, a rigid methodology and a mostly painful process. Totally unsung, it came from the artisans (not the philosophers), while seeking repeatable methods to build dependable products. It required the learning and application of provable knowledge and a rejection of that which could not be proven in an unceremoniously emotion-neutral objectivity. The engineer was born, vilified by the intellectual from the beginning. The intelligent thought process is not entertaining, like art, music, sports, literature and philosophy, and it isn't easy or fun.
It requires: –
And if something is really important, such as developing safe air flight, it is always used. Indeed it is demanded. The education of our children, long an intellectual toy, must someday join the list of 'important' things that deserve the same treatment. The uncontrolled application of imagination and conjecture to an intangible basis, such as now exists in our modern social studies, is the direct inverse of intelligence and can only breed mischief.”
The simple idea, which is there to be accepted is – if we wish to be good and right with our lives, we need to use ‘intelligence’ and this intelligence is in being an ‘engineer’ of life. Of course, entertainment has its rightful utility in life and living. However, when it comes to taking ‘crucial decisions’ about life-living wellness and excellence, we have to accept a mind consciousness of an ‘engineer’, which relies primarily on singular logical, objective, verifiable and replicable ‘methodology’.
This surely does not mean imagination is bad. In fact, the very basis of human intelligence is his or her mental capacity to imagine, which no other creature can do. Both science and art has common origin in intelligence of imagination.
However, all imaginations must pass the test of rigid methodology of objectivity and verifiability, if it relates to key life-living decisions. And why not even in entertainment and fun...! This is a healthy and fruitful marriage of science and art.
Let us all be this smart and successful ‘life-engineer’ with a resolve that we shall always use this ‘intelligence’ of humanity. Even while we have fun and entertainment, this ‘intelligence’ would never be allowed to be compromised with....
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