DOES THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI) PHILOSOPHY WORK IN REAL LIFE?
Friday Morning Musing
By
VIKRAM KARVE
Are you a result oriented person?
Yes?
Are you obsessed with the “return” you get when you “invest” your “resources”?
If your answer is yes, then why don’t you try to adopt a different philosophical approach to life.
Here is a saying from Lao-tzu from Tao Te Ching:
Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench.
Care about other people's approval and you will be their prisoner.
Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.
--Lao-tzu, Tao Te Ching, ch. 9
Yes, that is the key - Do your work, then step back.
Or better still, let Chapter 2 Verse 47 of The Bhagavad Gita be your guide:
karmany evadhikarass te maphalesu kadacana ma karma-phala-hetur bur ma te sango stv akarmani
(Seek to perform your duty; but lay not claim to its fruits. You have a right to perform your prescribed action, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results your activities, but neither should you avoid doing your duty).
So that’s the moral of the story, isn’t it:
Always do your best without expecting results and you will be happy.
In today’s materialistic world, when you invest your money you expect a return on your investment (ROI).
Some persons apply this ROI theory to other domains of their lives as well.
For example, they feel that if they “invest” in a relationship, especially marriage, they must get good returns on their “investment” (ROI).
As far as any relationship is concerned, especially marriage, it is best to adopt the following philosophy:
No Expectations, No Disappointments, Happy Marriage.
So, Dear Reader, forget Quid Pro Quo, just do what you want to do and step back.
Do not expect anything in return.
Just do something for the sake of doing that something.
Do it because you want to do it.
Do it because you enjoy doing it.
Do it because it makes you feel good when you do it. Remember what Ernest Hemingway said: What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after. If you feel good after you do something (or you feel good in a relationship) then it is moral and if you feel bad doing something (or have a guilty conscience in a relationship) then you know it is immoral.
But always remember, do not have expectations of a “return” on your “investment”. If you do a good deed, do not expect gratitude or any material benefit in return. If you give love in a relationship, do not expect the love to be reciprocated. Just do what you want to do and forget about the results.
Remember, if you have no expectations you will have no disappointments.
Enjoy your Friday and have a great weekend.
VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2012
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2012
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
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