Stress management strategy – KARMA YOG

In India there is a concept of ‘karma yog’ which is one of the four paths to attain the divine and it is through the path of work. I see karma yog as an excellent stress management discipline. Here is how.

With my limited understanding about the detailed topic, Karma yog is both about the what and how of doing tasks. Three things are important on how to do a task to fit in the lens of karma yog.

FIRST – The task is done without the memories of the past related to the task. For e.g. My relationship did not work the last time OR my past business venture had failed. I was anxious when I did the presentation last month and that might happen again this month.

The idea is to approach any piece of work with a fresh lens without making it heavy/hard with all the bad memories of the past.

SECOND – The task is done without the restlessness of the present. For e.g. My presentation is tomorrow, and I have to make several changes to the slides tonight and I don’t feel like I have enough time. There is a tendency to walk faster, speak faster, worry or overall, not be calm when we are approaching an important piece of work.

Karma yog requires a task to be done with calm and deep focus vs restlessness and hurry or worry.

THIRD - The task is done without the worry of the result or future. For e.g. What if I fail in this interview round or exam? What if my business does not bring the result, it should? We feel entitled to the result of our task. If I have done all the hard work, then I ‘should’ get the result.

Karma yog says we have a right to our action but don’t have a right (or control) to the result. We have to learn to accept any result that may come out of our action. We have every right to do the best that we can and hope for the best but not be entitled to the result.

So, if we can do a task without the anxieties of the past, nervousness/restlessness of the present and worry about the future, wouldn’t that allow us to be less stressful about a task? Let me know what you think in the comment.