Introduction
Welcome to The ContraMind Code.
The ContraMind Code provides you with a system of principles, signals, and ideas to aid you in your pursuit of excellence.
The Newsletter shares the source code, through quick snapshots, for a systems thinking approach to be the best in what you do.
The Code helps you reboot and reimagine your thinking by learning from the best and enables you to draw a blueprint on what it takes to get extraordinary things done.
The Art of Possibility
by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
In this inspiring book, Rosamund Stone Zander, who is a pioneer in leadership coaching and Benjamin Zander, who is one of the world’s most well known classical musicians and musical director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, write about the importance of changing the reference frame of everything you do or think in life and how it creates a whole world of possibilities. They emphasise that you don’t need to play the measurement game, which is what the world around keeps playing - how much money you make, how successful you are compared to others etc. Additionally, they ask us to focus on our contributions to others. They ask us to practice the art of giving an A to everybody, and then you can see how they come out with their best in what they do.
The Difference Between a Professional and an Employee Mindset
In this conversation, Sivaraman Swaminathan talks about the difference between a professional and an employee mindset. Swami talks about what it takes for you to be the Ronaldo of Coding or the Federer of Strategy or Sales. He talks about the importance of developing and having such professionals at every level in any organisation and outlines what it takes to be a professional.
Listen to the full episode on:
What makes a Good Life? Lessons From The Longest Study On Happiness
Psychiatrist and Pschyoanalyst, Robert Waldinger shares the findings of the longest study on Adult Development conducted by Harvard. They tracked, over the course of 75 years, the lives of 724 people, asking them about their home, work-life, health etc., without knowing how their life stories would take shape!
Playing vs. Being
Most people often end up ‘Playing’ up to the world around them or ‘Playing’ a role assigned to them. They are constantly measuring themselves not against what they want but what others want.
Imagine ‘playing’ at work vs ‘being’ at work. What is ‘being’ at work mean? It is about being self-aware of what you are doing, constantly sensing whether you are giving your 100%, losing yourself in what you do, being in a flow that is not inhibiting your instincts and strengths, having a pulse for yourself on what you are good at and need to keep improving, being comfortable about saying you don’t know at work, leading and be led at the same time - these are a few of things that are good tenets of ‘being’ at work instead ‘playing’ at work.
Similarly, are you ‘Playing’ or ‘Being’ in your personal life, too - as a parent, spouse, daughter or son.
The best individuals develop an inherent ‘Sense of Being’ of what they want to do and accomplish, what sacrifices they need to make and also know what it takes for them to achieve it. They constantly dream of possibilities and don’t hold back on their efforts to make them happen. They spread this infectious energy to others too.
Being is a ‘State of High Involvement’ while Playing is a ‘State of being Present’. The best artists perform at their peak when they reach a ‘State of Being’. Do you today?
Some of the lessons we learnt from this week’s mission:
Don’t play the measurement game. Play the possibility game.
Professional degrees don’t make you a professional. Professional mindsets do.
Good Relationships are at the core of being happy and healthy.
Transform from a ‘State of Playing’ to a ‘State of Being’ in anything you do in life.