Note From President Vineet Bhatnagar
PURPOSE – this was the subject that Dr. Anish Shah, MD & CEO of Mahindra Group, spoke about when he addressed our Club members last week. He offered the perspective of M&M as a corporation and laid down its purpose very lucidly and could even condense it into a few lines.
I have always struggled to find true purpose. Not necessarily for the business enterprise that I work for but surely in finding the purpose of my life as an individual. Many of us have no clue what we want to do with our lives. Even after we finish the school. Even after we get a great job. Even after we’re making adequate money.
It’s a struggle almost every adult goes through. “What do I want to do with my life?” “What am I passionate about?” There are no ready answers and very often, no short cuts either.
DISCOVERING WHAT YOU’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT IN LIFE AND WHAT MATTERS TO YOU IS A FULL-CONTACT SPORT, A TRIAL-BY-FIRE PROCESS.
None of us know exactly how we feel about an activity until we actually do the activity.
The enemy is just old-fashioned complacency. We get into our routines. We distract ourselves. The couch is comfortable. And nothing new happens. This is a problem. What most of us don’t understand is that passion is the result of action, not the cause of it.
WHEN PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE NO SENSE OF DIRECTION, NO PURPOSE IN THEIR LIFE, IT’S BECAUSE THEY DON’T KNOW
WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO THEM, THEY DON’T
know what their values are. And when you don’t know what your values are, then you’re essentially taking on other people’s values and living other people’s priorities instead of your own. To live a happy life, we must hold on to values that are greater than our own pleasure or satisfaction.
Someone once mentioned that death is the only thing that gives us perspective on the value of our lives. Because it’s only by imagining your non-existence that you can get a sense of what is most important about your existence. What is your legacy going to be? What are the stories people are going to tell when you’re gone? What is your obituary going to say? Is there anything to say at all? If not, what would you like it to say? How can you start working towards that today?
Finding a problem one cares about and to start solving it is a good start. Obviously, one is not going to fix the world’s problems by oneself. But one can contribute and make a difference. And that feeling of making a difference is ultimately what’s most important for one’s own happiness and fulfilment.
Discovering one’s “purpose” in life essentially boils down to finding those one or two things that are bigger than yourself, and bigger than those around you, values that will determine your priorities and guide your actions. It’s not about some great achievement, but merely finding a way to spend your limited amount of time well. And to do that you must get off your couch and act, and take the time to think beyond yourself, to think greater than yourself and, paradoxically, to imagine a world without yourself.
— President Vineet Bhatnagar