Technology TransactionsFocus On What You Want, Not The Outcome
“And in our willingness to step into the unknown, the field of all possibilities, we surrender ourselves to the creative mind that orchestrates the dance of the universe.” Deepak Chopra, M.D.
I was walking through the office one Tuesday morning after having attended our weekly sales meeting and on my way to the conference room to meet one of my clients, a developer whom I represent in the sale of eighteen condo units. I had just the day before put nine of the available units under contract and was feeling the pleasure and excitement of a job well done. I passed one of our newer agents and could sense sadness by the look on her face and by her deflated body posture as she stared at the computer on her desk. I was into myself and my own thoughts when I remembered one of my commitments to my daily existence is to practice kindness when I witness someone in distress.
Not wishing to be intrusive but at the same wanting to demonstrate caring, I asked Elizabeth if she were all right. She seemed eager to talk and replied to me that she felt very unsure about coming into real estate at this time. She said,”I planned to make a sale every week, and seven weeks have gone by, and I haven’t made even one.”
Seeing her fixed and rigid face, I replied,” Perhaps if you let go of the outcome and instead focus on what it is that you want to accomplish, you’ll reach your goal.”
“When you fixate on the outcome instead of the process, your anxieties and fears are reflected back to you,” I offered. ”These are distractions that stand in your way and make it more difficult for you to succeed. What is it that you really want?"
She replied,” I want to make my customers and clients happy and create an income to provide more fun and joy for my family.”
A week later Elizabeth had completed her first sale. When I stopped her desk to offer my best wishes for her success she replied happily, ”You know, I am and will continue to be driven, but I kept seeing my family in my mind’s eye as I worked on my first sale and much of the tension and "have to do this at all costs attitude" just disappeared."
Then she thanked me.
Elizabeth’s changed focus proved the Law of Detachment, one of the principles of Ayurveda, a series of understandings, events, and practices to help people better understand the mind and body as taught by Deepak Chopra,M.D. I am also an instructor of Ayurveda, and was taught by Dr. Chopra to use these universal principles in my own life as well as to teach them to others.
Are you failing to reach your goals? Worried over the events of September 11 and how they may be affecting your business? Perhaps you could use some techniques to help you let go of the outcome and get better results.
In Ayurveda, the Law of Detachment states that in order to acquire anything in the physical universe, we have to relinquish our attachment to a specific outcome. The energy of the universe responds not to our mind but to our feelings surrounding the thought or goal. You don’t give up on your intentions: nor do you give up the desire. You give up the attachment to the result. Actually, by giving up the outcome, you have the opportunity to receive more abundance than you could possibly have conceived.
In our real estate business, maybe at this time more than any other time in our history, we run the risk of being driven by the “fight or flight” response as we react to the slower market and reflect on how abruptly that shift occurred after the horror of September 11. We and our buyers and sellers have had a huge shift in consciousness caused by tremendous chaos and fear. Our daily challenge is to step back from our busyness and doingness and to rest our mind-bodies.
It is said in Ayurveda that we have between 60,00 to 120,000 thoughts repetitiously circling in our heads daily. This staggering number of thoughts allows little or no room for fresh insights and new behaviors leading to new accomplishments. One simple act that will help to quiet our minds and to bring our focus back to who we are, what we are doing here on this earth at this time, and where we are going in our wheel of work, family, pleasure and accomplishment is simply to be quiet for a small period each day.
It’s a big order, but the results are also huge. In Ayurveda we recommend that we stop for 10 minutes early in the morning and again in the evening just to quiet the mind. A suggestion is to sit in a quiet place in nature or in your home or office. Sitting straight, just pay attention to your inhalation and exhalations. If a thought enters your mind, just let it go by and bring your attention back to your breath. This process allows deep relaxation to occur as well as increased alertness.
Deeper practice leads to lower blood pressure and faster recovery from trauma.
For now, the result is that fresh ideas come to us spontaneously at the most unexpected times. Also as you begin a life altering process, make no judgement on your quiet time. Just let it be and see what happens. And as new thoughts come to you in the form of a voice or a message, be grateful.