The Pursuit of Worthiness

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Two weeks ago, after much deliberation, I decided to quit my job.

This was by no means an easy decision. For starters, as much as I hate to admit it, there is a certain level of comfort that comes with logging into your bank account every 15 days knowing that you’ve been awarded a paycheck; secondly, in spite of the many challenges that the company has faced in the last eighteen months, I am still hopeful about its prospects of achieving profitability by the end of the year; and finally, as trite as it may seem, I have become quite fond of my colleagues – many of whom have contributed immeasurably to my growth, both as a person as well as a professional.

However, if there is one thing that I promised myself when I graduated three years ago, it’s that I would never pursue a belief, an idea, or a vocation without being fully aware of and invested in my underlying motivation. Therefore, when it became clear that my reasons for staying revolved more around self-preservation (e.g. security) than self-worth, I knew I had to make wholesale changes.

Leaving was merely the first. For, as I came to realize, if you are truly committed to making difference, you must be willing to:

1) Find a Central Idea Around Which the Details Arrange Themselves – Gandhi. Einstein. Nightengale. In many ways their transcendent careers were defined by their singular focus – be it non-violent resistance, theoretical physics, or the creation of modern nursing practices.

2) Give Yourself Fully – It is not enough to simply affiliate yourself with a cause you believe in; you must be willing to dedicate yourself completely to its undertaking – even if that means sacrificing pleasures  (e.g. entertainment, material goods, sleep etc) that you’ve grown accustomed to. 

3) Become Thy Master – In order to give yourself fully, you must first gain control over your mental faculties – so that you have the discipline to avoid distraction, the fortitude to meet obstacles head on, and the flexibility to adjust as the landscape around you evolves.

4) Take the Path of Least Resistance – Part of being disciplined means avoiding the temptation to thoughtlessly “impose your will” on external circumstances regardless of the cost. Sometimes, the most effective approach is to simply let matters unfold in front of you – thereby giving yourself the opportunity to move intelligently (and more importantly, without impediment) towards your ultimate goal.

5) Find Like-Minded Individuals – Finally, seldom is a journey as meaningful alone. By “advancing with suitable allies, towards a common [ideal], everybody benefits and makes his/her bright virtue more brilliant (I Ching).”

In short, if there is anything that I have learned in the past couple of weeks, it is that as challenging as it may be: only by aspiring to be worthy do you truly become worthy of your aspirations.