Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. - Abraham Lincoln.These words of wisdom came from one of the greatest souls on this planet. They hold true for opportunities, relationships, and habits. Ultimately, what differentiates between a person who is in a state of persistent happiness (or bliss) versus someone trying hard to do more, get more, achieve more and when they do more, achieve more, still remains un-satiated, unhappy, and miserable.

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This begs the question: How can one attain higher BQ (Bliss Quotient) and EQ – not emotional quotient or efficiency quotient but enjoyment quotient?

The answer lies in Habits.

Habits are of two types, good and bad ones. Good habits are difficult to attain, easy to abandon. And bad habits are easy to attain, difficult to abandon.

Once one attains good habits, the work, journey, voyage of life get in a flow—an effortless efficient path in which one performs every task, every duty, every responsibility with a high degree of enjoyment—not momentarily but gains a perpetual state of bliss.

What are some of these habits, and can such habits be so transformational? I have three hacks, tricks, talismans for you. Let’s talk about them.

Delegate or die

Helicopter managers, micro-managing bosses, and obsessive control freaks are common creatures found across various leadership, management, and parenting genres. The result of such phenomenon is not only the person who is micro-managing suffers, but the person who is being micro-managed also suffers. Thereby killing creativity, assassinating independent thinking, and destroying the decision-making ability of the one being monitored and controlled.

A sampling can never grow under the shadow of a big tree. The person who tries to control every possible action of every person (maybe a team-mate, maybe a family member, maybe a social acquaintance) eventually duplicates the same job with no end benefit. It stifles innovation, productivity, and trust and ruins any possibility of scale and growth.

The fundamental rule one should follow is to coach and train the people and allow them to think freely and make choices from all available options. This frees up a lot of time and energy in figuring out possibilities of growth and testing new pathways for the forthcoming future.

Control what is controllable, let go of what is not

Every call, conversation, meeting, text, post, and effort should result in the next steps. Any and every endeavour should move towards or materialise into the next steps. When one makes any effort or attempt, the outcome can be only two – positive or negative.

If negative, one should learn from it and improvise the path, the direction, or execution. If positive, one should move with the next steps and execute. The important thing here is to let go of failure or a negative outcome.

People’s words drain a lot of productive energy, enthusiasm, and motivation. If one sees others’ words as constructive, then one should utilize them to build good for themselves, else one should just move on.

Worries, challenges, problems which are unsolvable, and where one can’t take any finite action, one should let go. The sooner one starts practising the act of letting go, the sooner one’s efficiency, productivity, BQ and EQ will rise (it’s easier said than done; hence practice and self-talk is the only option).

99/1 principle - Paying for peace

Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto founded the concept of the Pareto 80/20 Rule. It can be used in every sphere of life, determining what is important versus what needs to be ignored.

99/1 principle simply states that in life, 1 percent leakage, pilferage, or wastage will always exist, whether monetarily, effort-wise, in ownership of things, or in one’s relationships. Ignore them, forget about them, and let them go.

1 percent is the price one needs to pay—must pay and should pay—to buy peace. Peace is the most important phenomenon, but for some anomaly, rarity, and luxury. This is a small price that one can pay to get in a state of bliss and flow, whether it pertains to one’s work, career, or life.

(The author is Managing Director, Ambit Investment Managers)

(Edited by : Yashi Gupta)

First Published:Dec 18, 2021 1:48 PM IST