Willingness to Improve Continuously
The key to breaking from the constraints of Karma
I have a profound appreciation of the word “willingness” after reading a book 《活学 - 金惟纯》by the founder of the business magazine 《商业周刊》.
He suffered 7 continuous years of losses. The harder he worked, the more it seemed to get deeper into the quicksand. Finally, he got a break, and the business turned around and became the largest media empire in Taiwan. This book is a reflection of what he learned about life and business.
Willingness 愿力 to break free from Karma 业力
The turning point was not any lucky break or due to any magic bullet, he credited the turnaround to the change of his mindset（转念）by first admitting and accepting that the current outcomes (results) were his fault. This simple switch turned on all the light bulbs, allowing him to see how he could work on himself. Magically things happened when he was no longer in a stressful state, the team was also influenced by his change, the tension in the workplace was reduced, the positive energy spread wider into the company and the business prospered with a happier team.
“业力是轮回，愿力是解脱。” — 金惟纯
We can interpret “karma” as repeating the life lesson we have yet to learn. The challenge will resurface when we have not passed this life lesson, like a game we must pass before advancing to the next level.
The profound suggestion from this book is to use the practice of “willingness” to escape from karma. This reinforced my journal about “Willingness and Dopamine Drives”. When we have the delusion (妄想） that we are only happy if we attain our goal (achievement), we are often in a stressful state, imposed by the judgment that we are still not good enough (compared to the ‘perfect’ outcome that we fixed as target). This negative emotional state creates a negative reinforcing loop (Systems Thinking —> Causal Loop) that leads us to be less productive, more depressed, have a lousier team spirit, have a toxic work culture, etc. We work harder out of desperation, without joy, satisfaction, or fulfillment. We are feeling worse and hence performing poorer. Refer to the concept of redefining success with ‘achieving’ vs. ‘achievement’ in this article about Kaizen.
“苦的源头是妄想，执着和昏沉 。 境随心转, 充实自在。” — 金惟纯
If we switch our attitude and mode from ‘desperate’ to ‘willing’, things start to turn positive. From “I have to” do xyz, we change to the gratitude mode of “I get to” do xyz, seeing every issue as an opportunity to change for good (Kaizen).
willingness to admit mistakes even if we cannot see our blindspot
willingness to ask if in doubt
willingness to learn if I don't know
willingness to make fewer complaints
willingness to improve continuously (Kaizen)
willingness to serve with good intentions
willingness to help, wanting others to be better
willingness to let go
willingness to surrender our ego
willingness to be authentic, to be ourselves
“面对， 接受， 处理， 放下。” — 圣严法师
“觉知，接受，臣服，三者缺一不可。” — 金惟纯
The power of prayer in many religious practices has a similar effect. Surrendering our ego to a mightier power allows us to face it, accept it, deal with it, and let it go. “It” can be issues, wishes, or anything that is well out of our control or reach with our current abilities.
[Million+ devotees willingly perform the ritual of fulfilling their vows to Lord Murugan. Thaipusam at Buta Caves, Kuala Lumpur.]
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” — The Serenity Prayer
”心愿成真“：愿，不是愿望是愿意。愿这个字就是上原下心， 是原本的初心。
“心想事成”： 只有妄想是不能成；一心愿意想把事情做好，事即成。
心想事成，不是脑想事成。心想不是空想，是用心去做。
心想: 心甘情愿真心想去做， 事情变容易完成了。
In the popular book The Secret, many people misinterpret that we merely have to wish for what we want, and the laws of attraction will work magically without us having to take any action. A different perspective of the law of attraction is when we take actions willingly, fully surrender, and align with the vision, removing the friction that obstructs our growth towards the goal.
Friedrich Nietzsche, the great philosopher (1844-1900), suggested that people will lose their sense of purpose in life if there is no absolute truth. Hence, he hypothesized that the motivation of living organisms is to survive, and the “will to power”, to grow stronger is a natural way to increase our odds of staying alive. We can see a similar theme here: continuous improvement.
In short, when we face challenges in life, feeling lost and not knowing where to begin the next step, we can start with our WILLINGNESS to make the tiniest improvement. Just do it willingly, with a willing heart. Willing to improve continuously.