Equanimity Definition in Business

Equanimity Definition in Business

Now, admit it, you`re not always the best judge of what`s good or bad for you, are you? Me neither. And no one is. For example, you go to a meeting and halfway through you realize you`ve forgotten something, so you go back to get it. Now you`re panicking. It`s an important business meeting or interview and you`ll be late! This is bad! As you can see, practicing equanimity is about giving up the one hundred percent control you think you have, and yet that doesn`t mean going to the opposite side where you suddenly have zero control and everything is chilled and “out there.” It would be one or the other, black or white. Instead, it`s about applying both and thinking. It`s about recognizing the possibility of control and at the same time letting things be. It`s about having that dance between you and reality. Equanimity (Latin: æquanimitas, having a balanced mind; aequus even; mental animus/soul) is a state of psychological stability and serenity that is not disturbed by experiencing or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that can cause others to lose the balance of their mind. The virtue and value of equanimity are praised and defended by a number of major religions and ancient philosophies. If you receive the news of your budgie`s death with equanimity, it means that you take it calmly without collapsing. Equanimity refers to emotional calm and balance in times of stress.

The Buddha described equanimity as an abundant mind, immeasurable and without hostility or malice. In other words, it is the ability to remain neutral, to observe from afar and to be at peace without getting caught up in what we observe. It is the ability to see the big picture with understanding. Essentially, it`s about not taking anything personally, not getting caught up in the drama – whether it`s our own or someone else`s. Equanimity can be achieved through emotional self-regulation, but it`s not as simple as it sounds because our brains aren`t wired for equanimity – it`s wired to protect us from perceived threats. Difficult situations can also be made more difficult by our perception, the story we make up about the situation, or by our assumption (based on past experiences) that this situation is about to tip. Here is a training wheel exercise to develop equanimity. When you`re on the go, open your favorite music app on your phone, select the entire library, and set it up to be shuffled.

Your job is to listen to everything. No skipping songs you don`t like and no repetition of songs you like. Simply listen to each element with the same awareness and attention and let go of your preferences and judgments. You can skip a route for safety reasons, such as a meditation trail while driving, but not according to your likes or dislikes. This is what happens when you decide to teach. They are tested. Life requires you to prove that you can live it. I can honestly say that the conscious awareness of the need for equanimity in these dark days and the commitment to practice it with integrity is the most important factor for me to do so without getting sick or depressed, without becoming hardened or cynical, and without giving up.

Epicurus believed that what he called “pleasure” (ἡδονή) was the greatest good, but that the way to achieve such pleasure was to live modestly, to gain knowledge of how the world works, and to limit one`s desires. This would lead the practitioner of epicureanism to attain ataraxia (equanimity). In my own life as a risk-taking entrepreneur who adopted a rather adventurous lifestyle early on, I sometimes found myself in extremely difficult situations. During a particular year in my forties, I lost my business, my relationship ended, my ex-wife emigrated with my teenage son, and my mother passed away. I ended the year after selling almost everything I owned and moving in with a friend. On the last day of the year, while playing cricket with his son and some friends, I was hit in the face by a cricket ball and taken to the emergency room. It is not about removing the judgment of good or evil or suppressing the desire to influence things. Nor is it a question of trying to hold back. It`s about really acknowledging reality, the truth, the fact that you don`t control as much as you think, and that your judgment isn`t always right.

If you see this as fact, then equanimity arises spontaneously, and completely new possibilities appear. You become smarter because you treat the situation as it is. You deal with what`s real, and so you make better decisions because they`re based on what`s real and what`s important. If equanimity reminds you of equality, it`s because words have a lot in common. The noun equanimity is derived from the Latin aequanimitÄs, from aequanimus, “balanced, just”, formed from aequus, “right, plane, equal”, plus animus, “spirit”. The archaic expression to endure with an equal mind means “to endure with a calm mind” and is a translation of Latin. The term “level mind” also refers to rest. A close synonym is serenity. This brings us to something that is common in business and corporate life.

When things go wrong, you start looking around to see who is to blame. The questions are asked, “Why did this happen?” “How could this happen?” “Why didn`t you catch it earlier?” To a certain extent, it is valuable and sometimes even necessary. You need to go and see if anyone has slept at work or if something is missing. Another quality that supports equanimity is faith – not necessarily a religious or theological belief, but a faith based on wisdom, conviction, or trust. This kind of faith allows us to face challenges, crises or conflicts with confidence, with equanimity. Or of course AND sorry. Given the perceived threat or trifle, we may even say or do something we regret later. When the specter of threat dissolves, when we realize that we misunderstood someone`s actions as malicious, even if they weren`t, we feel embarrassed or regretted. Looking back, we see the other ways we might have reacted, the options we never considered in that moment of threat or fear. We may fight verbally because we don`t respond in a more appropriate or positive way. But this is not equanimity, it is brooding.

Many Jewish thinkers emphasize the importance of equanimity (Menuhat ha-Nefesh or Yishuv ha-Da`at) as a necessary basis for moral and spiritual development. The virtue of equanimity receives special attention in the writings of rabbis such as Rabbi Yisroel Bal Shem Tov and Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv. The second reference to equanimity I found is found in the book Leading Conscious by Indian academic and author Debashis Chatterjee. He actually uses the word equanimity. He writes, “Equanimity gives the mind purity of perception, clarity of vision, and effective decision-making.” Of course, they found strong evidence that this is the case. In other words, their analysis of the research supports the idea that we can all develop equanimity – just like these yogis. Meditation is one way and probably the best – especially Vipassana meditation. For example, building self-confidence through the right personal development program is another. In this blog post, which takes up some of that content, is a list of how equanimity is expressed in some of the world`s major religions and philosophical traditions.

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