Sunday, August 23, 2009

Detachment

People, including me, are so much attached to the things we own, things we are responsible for and even the smallest of things such as the work-space. I mean every single instance I had to change my work-space, I felt that a part of me was left behind. Did that happen to you too?

Is that feeling good? How should true leaders think and act?

Sangeet Varghese described how detachment is a rare quality of leaders these days. The article can be found here. I think Sangeet is spot on, when he says, "Attachment is a curse."

Can we learn to detach ourselves? Sangeet again came out with a few ideas on achieving this. The article can be found here.

In my opinion, there are a few other things that can help.

We need to keep in mind that no one in this realm of life will stay on till the very end. In other words, no one is invincible. We are all meant to be gone after our time's over. So, just keeping ourselves humble from the beginning and making sure we realize that we are here to "serve" a purpose and then walk away. We cannot take stuff while we pass on. Isn't it? I know that detachment is difficult to attain, but I am sure this thought can help create a perspective.

I feel that it's human to look to others when it comes to living life. We try to look to others who are in similar situations such as holding an office and imagine that we need to follow suite when we are in their shoes. But, hey, we are all different. So, why not hold the ground and say "no" when it comes to getting attached to material things.