Unlikely Inspiration
Years ago, I picked up a book that seemed completely unrelated to my world of project management—Miyamoto Musashi’s The Book of Five Rings. Known as the greatest samurai of his time, Musashi lived with an intensity and focus that feels almost unimaginable today.
He was the greatest samurai warrior of his time. When I mentioned this to a friend, they were surprised – why this book? What has a warrior book got to do with project management, That’s right – very different. I felt a bit judged and I stopped reading it.
Ruthless Single-pointed Focus
Admittedly it was a hard book to read. Firstly it’s been transliterated from Japanese that Miyamoto Musashi wrote himself. Secondly the subject matter was so alien to me. Still, I was so fascinated by his life ideology – he advocated holding no possessions and have no attachments. In his book he says ‘don’t own a home so it doesn’t tie you down to one place’. He never married. This single pointed obsession and commitment to one thing – fighting, was so captivatingly refreshing. Doesn’t surprise me to know that he NEVER lost a single fight in his life. He lived for fighting and refine his skill of fighting. Not to be rich or famous. Only to be the best fighter. He died of an illness unknown in his time, but the symptoms point to cancer. A focused, high achieving well lived life. Why don’t we live like this anymore?
I still haven’t finished the book and plan to pick it up again. But I read enough to admire his single pointed focus on just becoming a good fighter. This single pointed focus is what I and many others today struggle with. The reasons abound – Too many distractions, too many goals, too much consumption, lack of mindfulness, misalignment with the inner compass to name a few. The pressure to belong and blend in keeps us drumming to the beat of the world rather than answer our calling.
My Way of Finding Single-Pointed Focus in a Distracted World
I believe these 3 buzzwords can help us all towards cultivating that single pointed focus that is so important for deep work, efficiency and mastery.
- Alignment – We Need to deconstruct our self-image that was built by the people around We and many a times our ego, and rebuild a new, improvised one based on WE. The essence of You. Once you start recognizing and investing more time in things that align with your personality you will start to enjoy life and not see it as a burden.
- Connection – To build a new self-image, identity and how We view ourself, we’ve got to connect with ourself like we would with an old friend. Like getting to know them all over again.
- Environment – Curating your environment to make it more conducive to engage in activities you align with makes a huge difference. The easier your access to a space that allows an aligned activity, the happier you will be. Think a clean home gym to workout, a quiet writing space, a well stacked pantry and kitchen for cooking, an open area for yoga. Having said that we all face restrictions in our lives. Instead of letting it frustrate us we can use these preset parameters in our lives as reminders to put our creativity to use. To create a workaround and still be able to access the activity that creates alignment. Rainy day? Think calisthenics workout indoors. Mental block for writing, pick up a book or go for a walk. No bathtub for a bath soak? Try restorative yoga or a dip in the pool. You get the drift. Get creative.
We may not all live like samurais, but we can borrow their wisdom. By aligning with who we really are, connecting deeply with ourselves, and curating environments that support us—we can cultivate the same kind of single-pointed focus that made Musashi unbeatable.
Think about it
Which writer or book has influenced you to change how you live your life and in what way?