I can tell you the irony is not lost on me that while I have been practicing yoga for over twenty years for the pure benefit associated with the physical activity, physical fitness was never the purpose of yoga. But recently I have ventured into the realms of spirituality taking baby steps into the inner territory of meditation. And if I am honest, it’s more like baby crawling than baby steps. It has taken me years of dedicated practice to be at this point today when I am open to learn more about the deeper dimensions of yogic wisdom. And as I am taking the steps to deepen my yoga practice, I am realizing that many of the lessons learned in yoga are applicable in the workplace, too.
Meditation is a powerful set of techniques for calming the mind in order to achieve a higher level of consciousness and a heightened focus on the inner territory of the self. Something I have been practicing in my own work, and started to work on with clients is the idea of mindful surrender. I have found that most of us working professionals have a natural tendency to challenge ourselves and strive for goals and toward specific outcomes. The downside of being hyper-focused on the end result is that it often comes with an element of fear, stress, or guilt to the point where we miss out on the joy of the process and the fulfillment in doing the work; in other words, we may completely miss out on knowing that the pursuit of happiness is in the happiness of the pursuit.
Simply putting more effort into striving for an outcome can and will sometimes land us at a dead end. Mindful surrender is an acceptance that our efforts to control an outcome may be futile because of all the things that are outside of our control. Surrender doesn’t mean giving up or not making intentional and consistent effort. It means being open to the moment, to what is right in front of us, and to what is unfolding in the present moment. I have heard the delicate interplay of effort and surrender likened to the two wings of a bird – both are necessary for a smooth flight. Birds need to know when to stroke their wings with power and when to surrender and glide on air currents. In our busy fast-paced world, we have mastered the skill of quickly moving from task to task. However, in order to truly soar high and thrive, we need to be able to embrace being in the present moment, to meet life where it is, and to appreciate all that we have.
Making an effort to create what we want in life and surrendering into what life brings our way are equally important components of success. But it is a tricky balance between striving for our desires and surrendering to our experience (rather than to the outcomes.) We can approach our efforts with what-if thoughts (what if I get the promotion, what if I don’t get the promotion, what if I bomb the presentation, etc.) or focus on what is in the moment. Mindful effort is the commitment to do our best work. It is what takes us forward in life. Pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zone is necessary for personal growth. Reaching our full potential (self-actualization) happens when our efforts come from a place of curiosity and a desire to learn. However, pushing ourselves too hard when chasing after specific results can leave us exhausted physically and mentally. In holding a yoga pose, too much effort can cause an injury. Mastery of a pose requires softening into the moment, a release of tension. This is also true at work. Effort without surrendering, without softening, is over-effort that can lead to burnout.
In pursuing our life’s work as well as in our yoga practice, growth lies in the duality of effort and surrender. The ultimate reward of having a job is the full participation in the process, the joy of the journey and all that we learn in the process of trying and doing. When we can find balance between effort and surrender, we open ourselves to new discoveries and endless possibilities.
