I recently had the pleasure of going to a seminar presented by Dr. Srikumar Rao regarding the topic: Mind the Epicenter of Good - Business, Health and Life.  He was a fascinating speaker who was broadly talking about his books, Are You Ready To Succeed? and Happiness At Work. This was a business seminar, but one could quickly discern that at the core of his concepts an improved outlook on life would improve your business as well. I recommend his books since I can do little in this short format to fully articulate the depth of his teachings.

Much of his speech focused on three large principles, mental chatter, mental model and the me-centered universe.  The mental chatter is the everyday flow of information through your brain.  Your mental model is your notion of the how the world works.  The me-centered universe is exemplified when you ask yourself "what's the impact of this situation on me." 

The mental chatter was described like the Matrix movie - we live in a fabricated life bubble.  Life is "real" but your thoughts formulate how you perceive it.  The mental model is your mind labeling things good or bad.  Dr. Rao warned that a me-centered universe will lead to a mediocre life.

He drove home the point that if you do not live each day living radiantly, passionately and with deep meaning then you're wasting your life.

He indicated that your goals should be rooted in a sense of well-being that you will always be okay.  You have a choice of how you label things every day.  The work is in your mind that likely needs some cleanup.  Profound change comes from systematically looking at your mental models and making changes.  Self-suffering begins the second you label something "bad" also shuts down your potential to experience good. He gave examples where situations he originally thought were bad turned out to be a good thing.  Like getting fired from a job but which subsequently opened up much greater opportunity.

In order to reach this enlightenment he indicated that we need a high degree of mindfulness to help fix our mental models.  Dr. Rao challenged the room with, "stop right now and evaluate your life as it is right now.  Are you, by and large, happier now than you have ever been? Do you have the inner conviction that you are on the path that is just right for you, the one that is transparently leading you to fulfillment in your career, relationships and spiritual development?"

I don't know about you, but I have some work to do.

If you would like to join a discussion about this topic or Appraisal Best Practices contact Jeff Hicks.