I had a funny performance Eval!

The performance eval season is going in full swing and I discovered something unsual

I work in a Tech company in New York, and during my performance evaluation meeting, I saw my manager talk to me about my accomplishments from the past year. And considering some of the points were coming from sharp observation, I saw a sudden shift in my mood. By the end of the eval, I was laughing, not because I didn’t know all the things I did but because I had forgotten the whole. And having someone I respect repeat it felt as if it opened up blocked vistas from within my mind. I was psychologically freed up, my mood had turned playful, and I felt a sudden surge of energy going through my system.

Reflecting on it now, I am joyful because I received a precise summary of all the decisions and work I had accomplished in the past year from a trusted source.

I have a profound interest in scriptures originating from the Indian land, for the mystique and the broadness always bring a smile to my face. The same thing that I felt above was felt by Hanuman when Jamvant, a close friend of his, repeated deep insights into the greatness inherent in him. Only after Hanuman heard this did he feel the confidence to jump a vast distance, and then he managed to do it. Hanuman is now worshipped as the deity of strength and fearlessness because of the kind of things he managed to do overall.

What I am trying to get at is that sincere compliments or praise with determined energy can do wonders for a person. All the gloom and despair that a person faces essentially is nothing but thoughts. As it is said, diamond cuts another diamond; a forceful stream of thoughts coming from a trustworthy source has the power to cut through insurmountable thought loops or spirals that might not be serving a person well.

Does this mean one has to reach out to people and ask them to praise oneself? Haha, I don’t think this will work in the long run. I mean, it might work now and then, but I can’t think of this as a solution for daily practice. However, what can be used as a daily practice is to read inspirational texts that are “self-referencing” in nature, and a person has explicitly found it through one’s own life’s journey. We all find particular snippets of words that feel right to us for the situation we are in. These nuggets can release more power, and one can enjoy them more if they are read or listened to daily with a good mix. Since one has sweet memories of discovering these, they psychologically break through incorrect thought patterns through this process at any other time, too.

I am saying all this because I do this myself. I am enjoying the outcome, for I have built a toolkit wholly based on my mind. It is like a Spotify playlist, just that, in this case, the outcome is not enjoying the music but rather breaking me from precisely those thought patterns that the mind might have habituated into and which might not be serving me well in the long run.

What do you think? Would this work for you? Do comment!