| We are living in a time where an uncomfortable emotion like stress is being called acceptable, natural or normal by many of us burdened by our various roles. A student creates stress about exams and results, a professional worries about managing family and professional targets, and a retired person is anxious about health and finances. Stress is a result of our creation of wrong thoughts. Suppose I am an employee who knows that it takes two years to be promoted as a manager, I sincerely work for it. But my own conditioned thoughts often get triggered - I definitely need this promotion as a manager but will it happen... what if it does not? So I remain uneasy and anxious not just today but for two more years. If one day I sense that my promotion may not happen for any reason, I may even resort to an unfair means to get it. This way I add more layers of anxiety, negativity and guilt to my current stress levels. In this state if I get a promotion, can I play the role of a Manager well? I cannot because by now I have forgotten my nature of peace and happiness. I feel stressed about handling higher responsibilities. My efficiency reduces and I become weaker. I cannot do justice to a role that I had been chasing for so long.
Our first responsibility in any role is to take charge of the state of our mind by increasing inner strength. It gives us the power to remain stable in success or failure. In the above example stress is a result of my anxiety, fear and guilt for compromising on ethics. I had identified myself with the role of becoming a manager. I believed it was vital for my happiness and success. But is Manager who I really am? A significant cause of stress is our illusion, I am the role. When we consider ourselves as the body instead of our inner selfs, we identify the self with our roles, achievements and possessions, which are our outer identities. We are actors in this world drama. We play many roles in our life. Let us not identify with our roles and forget the beautiful qualities of the inner self. The right consciousness is, I am a beautiful and virtuous being playing different roles. Role is temporary, the inner being is eternal. This understanding reduces our stress while playing the role and allows us to focus on values of the inner self – peace, love and joy, in every role. |
