Is our project-based lifestyle creating a barrier to our spiritual life? Do a mindfulness exercise during work and experience the pull in the opposite direction.
Projects and spirituality – two distinct domains of life. How is that even possible? Crazy – right? Our project-based life ‘primes’ our life in a way that the pursuit of spirituality can cause a ‘cognitive dissonance.’ Bear with me for a few minutes.
Do we experience spirituality the way our forefathers did? Probably not. Materialism killed spirituality. Whenever we think of materialism, the images of cars, houses, brand-name clothes, yachts, and private jets fill the mind. We singularly blame our obsession with materials. But there is a more cryptic agent in play that sets up a barrier against our spiritual growth. I am not preaching spirituality here; I am just realizing how our modern work life works as a barrier.
Life is a catalog of projects.
Life is full of personal and official projects. Every project has a scope of work, a defined timeline, expected deliverables, and performance criteria. When my kids are going to school, they have a semester (defined timeline), curriculum and exams (i.e., scope of work), assignments (i.e., deliverables), and grades (performance measures). If you think about it, most of the things we do in adulthood are projects.
Throughout the day, we are priming our minds with project parameters and artifacts – all visible or tangible, whether cognitively or physically. Then, we enter the spiritual realm for a few minutes, where hardly anything is visible or tangible.
What do I mean by spirituality?
Spirituality is an agent for inner transformation. It focuses on an individual’s search for meaning, purpose, values, compassion, and connection to something larger than oneself. It is often unique to each individual and may involve meditation, contemplation, reflection, prayer, artistic expression, etc. Spirituality, however, does not have a timeline, deliverables, or performance evaluation like a typical project framework; this creates an invisible conflict.
The unexpected conflict: Mind is the source
Our project-based life ‘primes’ our life in a way that the pursuit of spirituality can cause a ‘cognitive dissonance.’ Let me explain these two psychological terms.
First, Priming is a phenomenon in which exposure to one stimulus (i.e., projects) influences how a person responds to a subsequent stimulus (i.e., spiritual life).
Cognitive dissonance is a psychological concept first studied by social psychologist Leon Festinger in the 1950s. It refers to a mental discomfort that arises when someone holds two contradictory states of mind, beliefs, or attitudes. This discomfort is caused by inconsistency between thoughts, words, or actions. Practicing spirituality is inconsistent with the project framework. This inconsistency results in cognitive dissonance.
Conflict mitigation & its cost
At this point, an individual may avoid contradictory situations altogether to restore consistency, i.e., forsake spiritual exercises. After the end of a busy day, it’s easier to sit back on a recliner and get inebriated with a beverage of choice than fighting cognitive dissonance.
Then, there are ‘conformity effects’ to combat dissonance. People will align their thoughts and behaviors with perceived social norms to avoid standing out. So, if your friends are not pursuing spirituality, you won’t want to stand out. The virus of dissonance spreads.
So, what can we do?
Practice spiritualism more often. When is the time?
In his book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Daniel Pink emphasizes the importance of frequent micro-breaks. Following are some of his recommendations:
- Take “microbreaks” of 30-60 seconds every 10-15 minutes. Even very short breaks help concentration abilities.
- Take a 5-minute break every 90 minutes. This allows the brain to recharge.
- Take two 15-20 minute breaks, one mid-morning and one mid-afternoon. These breaks will rejuvenate you.
- Detach yourself completely from your work during your break.
My recommendation will be to add some spirituality to your breaks. Do a quick mindfulness exercise or meditation – whatever you are used to doing to improve your spirituality. Just add a little portion of that to your breaks. You can call this your Spirituality Project Management.
References:
- Psychology Today. (n.d.). Priming. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
- Cherry, K. (2020, June 14). What is cognitive dissonance? Verywell Mind.
- Harmon-Jones, E. (Ed.). (2019)Cognitive dissonance: Reexamining a pivotal theory in psychology (2nd ed.)12. American Psychological Association.
- Pink, D. H. (2018). When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. Riverhead Books.
Picture Credit:
Photo by fauxels
