The Light Within : How to balance ambition and inner peace without losing yourself

Namaste and Hello!

Welcome to 'The Light Within'.  In this episode, we’re tackling a topic that resonates with many professionals: how to pursue career goals and aspirations while maintaining a sense of calm and balance in your life. Whether you thrive in a fast-paced corporate setting or seek stability while balancing work and personal life, this episode has insights that will resonate with you.

We’ll explore why ambition isn’t the enemy and how striving for success at work doesn’t mean sacrificing your well-being. From understanding different professional mindsets to integrating practical spirituality and mindfulness into your daily routine, we’ll discuss how you can stay grounded even when life’s responsibilities pile up. We’ll also touch on the power of reconnecting with your “why,” letting go of perfectionism, and embracing gratitude to align your purpose with your peace.

Thank you for listening! Please leave a feedback if you found value here!

Transcript

0:17  
Namaste and Hello. Welcome to yet another episode of the light within in this episode, we are going to dive into the topic, which is close to my heart, finding balance between ambition and inner peace. As working professionals, we are constantly juggling demanding jobs, personal responsibilities and our aspirations for a fulfilling life. It's easy to feel tone between striving for success and maintaining a sense of calm and well being, while I often discuss spirituality and healing as a standalone concept. Today, I want to bring a more practical approach to this balance. I am a working professional as as you all would know, and I have been navigating both the corporate world and path of personal growth as well. So I'm really excited to share my views on this topic with you. How do we balance ambition with inner peace? How do we prioritize both? How do we balance out something which seems like very difficult to balance out. So in this episode, while we are talking about balancing peace, purpose and ambition, obviously we're going to talk about ambition in the context of your workplace. A lot of you would be self employed. However, most of what I am going to share about is contextual to people who are working in corporate jobs. This is simply because I know that context better. Being a corporate employee myself, I know that context better, and hence I want to focus there. There may be some takeaways for people who are self employed as well, but I just want to clarify before we begin. I don't consciously want to call it a nine to five. It sounds like slavery to me. And these days we see nine to five being ridiculed and criticism around how those who work in nine to five are part of rat race, etc. I find it very, very amusing we have a tendency to put people in boxes. The problem with this theory is the assumption that all people are the same and they are competing with each other, which is not true. The working class and I mean the category of people that work in corporate jobs are a mix of people. Let me clarify this. The first category belongs to people who love what they do at work. They don't want to take risk, and hence they are happy to use their skills in a controlled environment and a place that aligns with their values and the vision as well. They thrive on competition, and they do not mind working long hours to meet their goals. They are ambitious people. The second category belongs to people who seek stability and satisfaction, both from work as well as personal life. They are motivated and inspired by meaningful work, but not at the cost of their well being. These are people who want success but also value work life balance, or whatever you want to call it. I just find it very cliche to call it a work life balance. They long for a steady career progression without sacrificing their personal life. They stick to what they know, which is their job doing just about enough. And these are the people who would get needs, expectations in their appraisals. So people who who are in for stability and who want to balance both their professional and personal life, and they are not so ambitious that they would sacrifice their personal life to climb the corporate ladder. These are the kind of people who fall into the second category. The third category belongs to people who want to prioritize job stability. They are happy with a reliable paycheck and long term security over fast track career. Okay, so they are completely, completely risk averse, and prefer having financial security and a very predictable routine. As such, they would value a safe work environment where it's not too much competition. They do not want to be seen too much. They do not want opportunity to shine and and be seen, etc. And hence, these are the people who would keep a low key at jobs, most of us working professionals get pulled in different directions. Sometimes we are comparing watching someone with the same pedigree and experience grow more than us. Corporations run to make profits, and there's nothing wrong with that, unless. Because the values or integrity is compromised. Right to be a profitable business, organizations have to manage driving accountability, which can lead to stretch targets as people working in these companies, we need to understand the role we play objectively striking a balance between our ambition and balancing our personal life. It is not the responsibility of the corporation. It's not the responsibility of the company. They are doing what they are doing, because they have to, at the end of the day, make profits. If it does not suit you, if does not suit your style, then you need to take a call rather than becoming an activist. I'm not talking about the extreme cases. I'm talking about in general, because there is a tendency nowadays where everybody is talking about mental health and everybody is complaining about how companies are giving stretch targets just to make profits. They are there to make profits so that you and I can get employed. And also, if the intent is not that, then how would we make the economy run? Right?

6:07  
I just want to clarify that is not taking sides, but I'm just saying that we as individuals need to take the responsibility and see for ourselves what is working for us and what is not. Now, while the balance can be myth, because there is a there is always one aspect that may need your attention more, and it can be different on each days, right? Some days your personal life could be more demanding. Other days, your work life could be more demanding. And there could be days where both require you to stretch. There's no denying the fact that businesses are more dynamic that they were earlier, while the opportunities are exponential. There are startups, there are mature organizations, there are opportunities where you can start up something of your own, like a side hustle, or something like that. The need to unlearn and relearn keeps us on our toes all the time, and to top it all, you have very misguided influencers who are talking about nine to five is not good, or somebody getting successful by just launching a YouTube channel, and you feel that you have probably more talent, and yet you have not taken the plants. So there are these variables, all kind of information floating in, and it just sometimes gets too much to consume, to decide for yourself what's good, what's not good, right? My intent with this episode is just to share a little bit of context and views about this whole scenarios, so that you and I can have a better understanding where, where are we in in that sense. So first thing is that you can probably figure out which category do you fall in, and then later, as the episode progresses, take in what resonates and leave the rest. I would be more than happy to hear your feedback, but you know, this is what my intent is. Now that I have explained the workplace context, let me also share the personal context with you. So some of us are settled with families. Some of us are in our early 20s, early 30s, mid 40s, etc, etc. I think most of my listeners fall into the category of, say, mid 30s to mid 40s, and I think a lot of information could be relevant for for these people who are not in this age category as well. So some of us are as as I mentioned earlier. Some of us are settled with families. Some of us are have chosen to delay it consciously because we wanted to focus on our career. We and such people may have a very strong financial background because they focused on their career so much, but they may have been left with loneliness, and then now they want to settle in right. Some of us who took a call to pursue the career and family both are bogged down with responsibilities, because at this age, our parents are also aging, right? So we have children who are who need our attention at the same time, we have parents who need our attention at the same time, then there is this constant battle of, how do I realize my own potential, and how do I make sure that there is food at the table, and buy food at the table. I don't want to talk about the bare minimum. I am saying that we are responsible to to pay our EMIS at the end of the day, right? So no matter what the scenario, what's common to all of us is that we cannot stop. We cannot stop whether the work is super demanding and our parents need our attention at the same time. We need to manage both simultaneously. We cannot stop paying the EMIS while intending to leave nine to five completely and start something of our own. Isn't that true for some of us, planning for our kids education, sending them abroad, figuring out schools for then taking care. Of aging parents relocating while we accept promotions and what not, the list just does not end right? Superimpose the work context shared with you earlier with the personal one, and now look at the kind of people you work with in your workplace. I'm sure there'll be a lot of compassion, there'll be a lot of understanding that you would find while we struggle with all of these How do we ensure we maintain our inner peace while we aim for the moon? Because remember what I said, balancing ambition with peace. My understanding is that all of us are ambitious, and I am not saying ambitious to the level of cut throat. Competition, ambition here in my vocabulary, means that you want to put your best every day. You want to realize your potential. You want to use the skills that you bring to the table, not just from a work context, but also the gifts that you have within yourself. And you want to figure out that, how do I use all of this with the 24 hours, because that is not going to change, that the number of hours that we have in a day are not going to change the demands of society, the family, the workplace, are not going to reduce. How do we then ensure that we are at peace? Because only when we are at peace will will we be able to bring the best self to all these scenarios. If you have heard my earlier episodes, you know that I talk about spirituality and practical spirituality. I have never, ever said that leave everything and do meditation, because my life's philosophy is that there is nothing more important than duty. Duty comes first. What we ought to do comes first than anything else. In my opinion, desires are not bad. Desire for money, better home, lifestyle, health, desires, ambitions keep us going, and I am a huge proponent of productivity and high goals in life. Desires to do good is something that we should feed in to every day, and our work life plays a very huge part there spending 12 to 14 hours, which is more than 50% of your life at work, if the work that you do on a day to day basis does not align with your goals in life, it's a huge problem, isn't it, desire to find meaning in what we do is at the core of our nature as human beings. And until we find the balance, or that sense of fulfillment on every single day, we feel the hollowness which cannot be filled with, say OTT food or other century pleasures, find your ikigai is what they say. But what if you have not? Then what do you do? Then it's a daily struggle, right? You You keep showing up at your workplace, but it is not aligned to you. So there you need to find what works best, what is the kind of work that you want to do. And here's where people struggle. It is very important to understand that each one of us have a unique journey, and we need to find our iki guide without depending on anyone. There are a lot of people and influencers who are talking about, find your purpose. Find your purpose. No, it doesn't work like that. It's easy to get caught up with the idea that purpose equals success. However, here's the truth, even when we are still searching for that purpose, life does not stop, right? You cannot leave the job just because the job does not align with what you really want to do in life, you will have to keep doing it, which means that you have to still show up at work and give your best while you keep finding that purpose, work responsibilities and expectations will keep piling on however. You need to stay grounded while you are still figuring it out for yourself, and that is where I would like to help you find the balance you might have find your ikigai. Very good, brilliant. Good for you, good for everyone else around you. But if you are on that journey, and which most of us are, nobody is there you know, then you have reached the stage of self actualization, which is not true for most of us. So we are on a journey, and we have our own struggles, our own responsibilities. How do we keep ourselves grounded and how do we keep ourselves calm, peaceful and balance everything. And you don't need to become a saint. You don't need to say that. I'm

14:26  
100% there. I'm

14:27  
saying that on a scale of, say, one to 10, if your calmness level on on most days is say at a 405, how do you take that scale from a 4025, to a seven or eight? That's my intent with this episode to help you out with things that you can do on a daily basis, so that that level of calmness, that level of balance, becomes better. Now with that context, and I've spoken a lot about these things, let me share a few insights with you that can help you get closer to peace and harmony and balance every single day. First one. My list is create conscious moments of mindfulness. I know that most of you are aware of what mindfulness means, and so hence I'm not going to explain what mindfulness means. If you don't do this consciously, the world will swallow you with its demands. I don't need to explain this. You know it better for yourself, right? No matter how hectic your schedule looks like. Find the activities that energize you or drain you avoid the latter ones, needless to say, and, and these could be very simple ones, okay, limiting conversations with people who are habitual complainers. So you would find category of people at workplace there are habitual complainers there if you indulge in conversations with them, you will be left with no energy, and hence you need to consciously avoid those conversations. So it's just an example of how do you consciously create moments of mindfulness? Put in a few minutes for yourself. So example, during your commute, use a few minutes to practice mindfulness. It could be a podcast encouraging, inspiring podcast. It could be reading books. It could be listening to good music and not emotional music, okay, the music The kind that inspires you, because we have a tendency to to get into our moody zones, which does not help, and then we try to listen to the same music, which again, reinforces the same mood. So be very conscious of the kind of music that you choose. Okay, that's another one at work. You need to take short breaks, intentional breaks, between tasks. So whatever you are doing on your task list, you complete that task? Take a five minute break, and not a break where you drain your energy, but a conscious break. Okay, stand up, stretch, take, walk, whatever helps you to recenter yourself before you move on to the next task or next project. These are small moments that can help you manage your whatever stress levels or energies throughout the hectic day. So this was the worst one. The second one on my list is reconnect with your why. Very, very important. A few years ago, I had read this book, start with why by Simon Sinek. I know that a lot of people, especially the corporate employees, would be aware of this book. It's a brilliant, brilliant book. And Simon Sinek is one of the most brilliant guys out there. I keep listening to him. I keep reading his stuff. He explains that successful leaders and organizations are driven by clear understanding of their core purpose, or why the belief or the mission that inspires everything that they do, why they are doing what they are doing. Simon Sinek explains that the concept of golden circle in his book and which consists of three layers. So these three layers are, why, which is the purpose, how, which is the process and what? Which is the product or service? So this is in the context of business, but I know that you can apply it in your daily life as well. Most people and companies start with what they do and move forward, but truly inspiring leaders and the people who understand this concept, they start with the why and communicate this clearly. So what they are doing, no, no, no, no. Not the focus there, but why they are doing what they are doing. And I think it's, as I said, this concept is applicable to personal life as well. In fact, everything we do can be summed up and fit into the Golden Circle of why. So you keep revisiting your why and stay crystal clear on why you're doing what you're doing. And if you have doubts, you speak to people you admire, you trust, build network with intelligent people and successful people as well. Do not hesitate to pivot. So in case you need to change something in your lifestyle, you need to change something in your schedule, do not hesitate to reach out to people for help. We have got this life, and we have to make the most of our potential, isn't it? So why wait reflect on how your hard work contributes to your personal growth or lifestyle you want, keeping the why at the center. I have not been able to explain this in detail because it's very deep. However, I highly recommend that you read this book or read the summary of this book. It's easily available on Google, and apply it on not just on your work life, but on your personal life as well. Now the next one on my list is learn to let go of perfection. This is an advice that I cannot keep insisting upon. We're all juggling with multiple things. Do not give too much attention to tasks or things which are not your priority, not more than what is required when you're juggling with multiple projects and a long work day, recognize that some tasks need to be done efficiently and not perfectly, and this is a difference that you will have to figure out for yourself. This is not something that people can teach you. You will learn from your own mistakes. Uh, the same thing you apply in your personal life as well. That what are the things that you can delegate to others? What are the things that you can take help from and not strive to do it all by yourself? You must have heard of the 8020 rule, or Pareto Principle. I know, I know that a lot of corporate professional must have heard about this. This can help change the way you look at productivity. It's very simple. About 80% of your results come from just 20% of your efforts. Take an example, when you get up in the morning, if you are a morning person, and you get up in the morning, the speed with which and the finesse with which you will finish something is way better than how you would approach that work in the afternoon or in the evening if you are a morning person, same is true if you are a evening person, and your productivity would be much better as compared to in the morning right now. When is the most productive time for you to put out those 20% effort is something that you have to figure out for yourself and plan your work, professional and personal accordingly. I think we are all smart to figure these things out. The problem is that we are not disciplined enough to follow through with actions. If you follow through with your actions, if you apply this knowledge, if you are able to execute your things, keeping this knowledge in mind, the peace, the purpose and the balance will follow. The last one on my list is cultivate gratitude. Gratitude is not hardwired in humans. Fear is a lot of theories out there, a lot of information, a lot of knowledge available to tell us why we are hardwired for fear, right? However, if you consciously choose to be thankful for everything, no matter how bad it appears, you will connect with the higher energy, and you will be able to hear the guidance what to do next will be clear to you without any external validation. Trust me on this one. These are practices which need practice. My preaching or reading something about gratitude is not going to help you unless you make it a part of your routine. I have a habit of saying thanks in my mind, and that's a prayer that I listen to every morning or during my commute. I listen to a prayer, and that's a reputation 108 times it is up to you how you want to practice it, but you have to consciously do it, even if you don't feel like doing it. And most days, trust me, you will not feel like doing it. Emotions are good, but being driven by emotions is not good. So it's a habit that I have built for myself, and I don't have a data to report, I don't have any numbers to report to you how much it work. What did I manifest? Etc, etc, but I can tell you one thing for sure, with 100% guarantee that it keeps me closer to myself. The simple practice of finding reasons to be grateful has given me moments of peace and joy that cannot be described in words. So cultivate gratitude and do it consciously, and do it even when you don't feel like doing it. It. Make it a part of your schedule, in the morning, in the evening, in between, however you want to do it. It's up to you, but when you have the knowledge with you, you need to follow it through with actions. To summarize, there are a lot of things that we have spoken about today, and the goal is not to choose between ambition and inner peace. It is to find a sustainable way to pursue your aspirations without losing touch with your well being. And you can be driven. You can be productive and still carry a sense of calm within you. I For for example, I'm extremely driven and ambitious, yet I prioritize my spiritual practices, because I know that that is the thing which is going to keep me grounded. That is the thing which is going to keep me closer to myself. That is the thing which is going to keep me guided and make my vision clearer and start with small, intentional practices

24:13  
that will keep you grounded and allow your ambitions to flourish without costing you your peace of mind, I have absolutely loved this conversation with you, and I love hearing your feedback. There were requests from my listeners to make my podcast a little more practical in terms of day to day application, and this is my effort to listen to my audience, my listeners, I have thoroughly enjoyed this conversation with you. I look forward to your feedback. May your soul be illuminated with the light within. I will meet you in the next episode of The Night within