Here is a beautiful concept I came across while watching one of the Satsang’s(Spiritual discourse) of Mahatria Ra, a spiritual leader from South India.
We need to operate in life with a scientific bent. Science at a fundamental level is about understanding the laws of everything in the context of Cause and Effect. We should bring this same perspective to the laws of life too.
Everything that we experience in our life has a Cause and Effect.
As we evolve and mature as individuals, we should get better at understanding this relationship between Cause and Effect. Maturity is the process of mental evolution where for any given situation or experience, I look at the Cause instead of getting stuck on the Effect. I then moderate my behavior and actions to deal with the underlying causes if I want to change any outcome.
As I develop this maturity, when something happens, I don’t go running to complain about external factors or circumstances. I create those quiet moments where I introspect and figure out the Underlying Cause.
- If I am feeling sluggish and low on energy, that is the Effect. I figure out that the Cause is the late-night or disturbed sleep I had. The disturbed sleep in turn could be because of a lot of digital exposure I had just before I got into bed.
- If I am struggling with some stress at work, the pressure I am experiencing would be the Effect. The Cause could be rooted in something I may or may not be doing. Those, in turn, could be rooted in some underlying limiting beliefs that are controlling my actions.
- If you have good results in your final exam, that is the Effect. The Cause would be the effort and discipline you have demonstrated in your preparation. This discipline may, in turn, be stemming from a significant purpose you may be having about getting into an Ivy League College.
When we start focussing on the Cause more than the Effect, we start leading more efficient lives. Efficient people manage to achieve maximum results with minimum effort because they don’t waste any time, resources, or energy in dealing with the downstream Effect. They focus on managing the causal factors to gain maximum leverage.
I realize that we all know the principle of Cause and Effect as the Law of Karma. We all reap what we sow. Focus on the sowing the right seeds in the right manner at the right time. That is where value is.