Discovering a higher purpose in professional life

Some Reflections after a long professional career

After having spent around 30 years since my graduation in professional life, I have beeen reflecting on what I could have done do make it more fullfilling. Day-to-day professional life is highly transaction oriented with several daily battles being fought at peer, management, client level etc. I felt high with the small victories and low with the small defeats / setbacks.

Professional life itself is a subset of the overall life in general. If the day-today life is 100% occupied around transactional matters, it can rarely become fullfilling. Spiritual development is itself about discovering certain higher realities from the day-to-day transactions

Applied to professional life, an understanding that the purpose of the professional role is not just to earn a living or recognition , but understanding the place of ones profession in a broader context. If we undertake some efforts to understand the ecosystem around our professional roles in that how they relate and impact to the complex network of entities around us, it will lead us to a better understanding of our roles in a broader / universal context. I believe that this is the only way to achieve professional fullfillment

If I am an engineer who helps businesses getting their products built better and faster, then I am having a very significant impact on the industry and society on the whole. My contention is that one needs to take specific efforts towards understanding the most fundamental questions - who am I? how do I relate to the world around me? How do I impact is positively / negatively ? These are not just spiritual quests -- these are questions that need to be answered on on ongoing basis towards a fullfilling professional life. And if this is done effectively, one need not really expect any recognition from others.

On Patient responsibility

A lot is being spoken about patient centric health care and the quality of care received. Also the role of the government, the employers and the care providers. Is'nt it time to talk a bit about patient responsibility?
In a consumer driven society which believes in adages such as "customer is king" it feels as if the customer has no responsibility. Another misguided concept is that of the patient as a consumer.
I believe that each individual is personally responsible for his / her state of health. Taking help of the society or the health care sector is warranted in some situations but not without owning up the individual responsibility.
The so called unhealthy socialist approach happens when the individual expects the society to pay for his / her unwise choices.
Any healthcare reform will not succeed unless we as individuals develop a sense if individual responsibility, compassion for the social institutions and respect and consideration for the care providers.

Apollo Hospital Chennai

Visited the Apollo hospital today and was impressed with the patient friendly atmosphere there. The place was incredibly crowded but extremely streamlined and the thing that struck me was extremely well behaved and "patient" patients.

In India we certainly have significant responsibility being taken by patients, which eases pressure on the healthcare system.

Also it was evident that the patients had a very high level of respect for the care providers , which makes the job of carer providers relatively easier. Also patients are willing to adjust



Overall impression is that compared to the US, the overall atmosphere at the large hospital seemed very relaxed inspite of being crowded. A refreshingly different model, and a lot to learn for the users of the healthcare industry.

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