Dichotomy - Corporate ladder vs Spiritual ladder

Let's label 2 people at the outset - Spiritual Guru (SG) & Corporate Guru (CG), whom we will keep referencing in this post.

As you get closer to a decade or more in corporate- chasing those stretch targets, aspiring for that next role, moving to a 7 figure salary etc. there is that small switch inside of you which starts switching on, unknowingly! That switch magically starts triggering some inner voices, starts altering your social media algorithm ...all of this leading to a start of conflict within you! For anyone who has worked OR is working in cut-throat work culture (I am assuming most), suddenly being exposed to spiritual quotes on LinkedIN creates a 'culture' shock! And that's the dichotomy I am sensing and unearthing.

The spiritual quote

Refer this image to your left that I randomly came across on my social media feed (Yes, it's the effect of that darn magical switch). Try telling to this to someone who is trying to climb the proverbial 'corporate ladder' in any of the typical MNC or Indian orgs and you will immediately be met with 'stillness' and 'silence', post which you will be labelled 'nuts'! But only you know that this is now getting serious- a fight between your 'paapi pet' (hindi slang for greedy tummy that wants to be fed) Vs 'hungry soul' (pretty evident what this means). You have been brought up by CGs (read: peers and managers) with things like "Speak up in meetings, no matter how small a point" , "showcase bias for action if you want to be visible among leadership" and then you read this!

Below are some more examples of dichotomy that I sense around me!

SG: "Stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says, distract you from your goals"

CG: "Always be open to feedbacks- that's the only way you will know your shortcomings and strengths all of which will help in your 360 degree growth"

SG: "Nothing will bring you greater peace than minding your own business"

CG: " Never say 'that's not my job'- always look for opportunities and see if you can pick-up other team's problems and solve them"

SG: "Realize deeply that present moment is all you have- make NOW your primary focus "

CG: "Focus on the long-term- we are ok to sacrifice the short-term for a more fruitful long-term"

SG: "Focus on the journey, not the destination"

CG: " In the end, no one cares about how you got the results as long as you deliver results and meet your goals"

SG: "Pick your thing and never give up on it just because of the time it may take to accomplish it"

CG: "Let's try multiple things and fail fast and move on- so that we know what to discard and what to focus on"

SG: "Yes, you may not agree with someone's views, but remember, Silence is the most powerful scream"

CG: " If you don't agree with someone, respectfully disagree even if it makes things uncomfortable and if you believe it's still not working, escalate"

I am sure you would have related to one or more of these dichotomies , making you chuckle a little and if you are unlucky, trigger that 'switch' inside of you!

And yes, there is that rational, pragmatic, logical part of you that is yearning to say- " All this is good on paper, not practical in real world" and that sets it up perfectly for the topic for my next post.......the "CONTEXT"

Remember the corporate equivalent of "How are you?" before starting any meeting --->

" Before we get started, let me set some context for this meeting" !!!!

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