The time to live is now; sadness, happiness, whatever the situation, the moment to live is now.
Everything given in this life is transient, both good and bad. When we lose someone or something precious, we have to remember that all that we have, is given in trust by the Divine, as a gift. We can only be thankful for the wonderful moments we were blessed with, but we cannot hold them back. Its like trying to grasp sand in your hands.
Whenever tragedy strikes or we face a situation which overwhelms us, take a moment to step away and view the situation in its entirety. Maybe there is a hidden lesson or meaning therein. Even if you can’t see it then, in hindsight you will always reflect on the lessons we learnt during that time.
Reflect on the following questions:
- Do you believe that there is some meaning in every loss?
- Do you forgive others?
- Do you forgive yourself?
- Are you waiting to be happy one day?
- Are you carrying the baggage of the past and future?
- Do you believe in the saying: ‘destiny is in the journey’?
- Do you carry self-inflicted guilt?
- Are you able to turn a minus into a plus?
Extraordinary people don’t allow obstacles to diminish who they are, but use the experience to strengthen their resolve even further. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years for opposing apartheid. After his release, he said: “I am working now with the same people who threw me into jail, persecuted my wife, hounded my children from one school to the other… and I am one of those who is saying: Let us forget the past, and think of the present.” One of Mandela’s greatest legacies is starting the national healing process from the moment he was released.
Viktor Frankl’s experience in a Nazi concentration camp inspired him to write the book Man’s Search for Meaning about the importance of having a purpose in life. Frankl noticed that his fellow prisoners typically lost their sense of purpose before they sickened and died. This taught him that a sense of purpose can help us through the most difficult of circumstances.
You may be wondering how this lesson applies to business. On September 11, 2001, airlines were forced to shut down for days while the United States was recovering from the unprecedented terrorist attacks. This meant that all airline passengers, flight attendants and pilots were stranded across the country. Instead of merely sitting and waiting, Southwest Airlines encouraged employees to cheer up passengers by taking them for bowling or to the movies to pass the time.
Following 9/11, the airline industry had been badly affected, and many airlines were forced to cut their workforce by up to 20 percent. Instead of following the trend, Southwest Airlines announced only three days after 9/11 that the airline would keep all its employees and start a $179.8 million profit-sharing program for them.
Southwest CEO James Parker believed that because Southwest had built its company on sound business principles for the past 30 years, they were able to deal with this situation better than other airlines.
Businesses can find inspiration in smaller setbacks. Starbucks’ founder Howard Schultz was inspired by his father’s struggles with poor health to make Starbucks the first American company to give health care options to part-time employees. Schultz used his life experiences to build a company that was a reflection of his personal values.
Tragedy struck the company in 1997 when three employees were killed in a bungled robbery at one of its Washington D.C. outlets. Instead of a “corporate” response designed by PR people and lawyers, Schultz flew straight to D.C. to comfort a hurting store and community. He spent the entire week with the employees and their families, and his compassion helped heal those closest to the tragedy.
To summarize, every misfortune or suffering carries the seed of learning. All that is required is trust in life and all that it has to offer us.
(Excerpt from our latest book, ‘What You Seek is Seeking You’ by Azim Jamal & Brian Tracy)