Identity & Purpose

Mondays are not the most cheerful part of the week usually.. And when you have meetings on Monday mornings, well one can understand the after effects..

However, this Monday morning started with a real insightful session on realization of your identity and purpose in your organization and your team.

Two concepts that really hit a chord with me, and which I would like to share are, are:

TWIN CITIZENSHIP

“Federalism is an age-old device for keeping the proper balance between the big and small. Big in some things, small in others. It is never easy, because it means allowing the small to be independent while still being part of the larger whole, to be different but part of the same. Twin citizenship makes it possible. If there is a sense of belonging to something bigger as well as to our own smaller unit, we can see the sense in accepting some restrictions on our local independence, if it helps the larger whole. Sovereignty is not ceded but shared. The larger unit is not ‘them´ but also ‘us’.”

….Charles Handy

THE DOUGHNUT PRINCIPLE

“The heart of the doughnut, the core, contains all the things which have to be done in that job or role if you are not to fail. In any formal job, these things will be listed and will be called your duties. Even when they are not listed, these duties are often well understood. The core, however, is not the whole of the doughnut. If it were, life would be all chores. There is, thankfully, the space beyond. The space is our opportunity to make a difference, to go beyond the bounds of duty, to live up to our full potential. That remains our ultimate responsibility in life, a responsibility which is always larger than our duty, just as the doughnut is larger than its core.”

….Charles Handy

The essence of these two principles lies in “Finding a balance between what we have to do and what we could do“. 

An interesting concept to understand and work forward with…

Next I need to jot down how I realize my identity and purpose in this organization and in my life… the twin citizenship and the doughnut principle being kept in accordance..

…..This is gonna be an interesting exercise! Once I have jotted down this one I’ll share it here too(in my handwriting, as the instructor insists 🙂 )

Till then, c ya soon!

Meanwhile, if you are able to realize your identity & purpose in life, pls do share 🙂

~ by Neha Sinha on June 10, 2013.