Self-Management Personal growth and Lessons from Ancient Indian Education System

Self-management is our ability to manage our behaviors, thoughts, and emotions in a conscious and productive way.

Someone with strong self-management skills knows what to do and how to act in different situations. For instance, they know how to control their anger when the umpire unfairly calls their child out at a little league game. They know how to avoid distractions while working from home, so they can maintain focus and stay productive. They know what they need to do to achieve their fitness goals and they follow through.

Self-management means you understand your personal responsibility in different aspects of your life, and you do what you need to fulfill that responsibility.

From an organizational perspective, the ability of team members to self-manage is critical to the effective functioning of an organization. Imagine an environment where the majority of those working within it were unable to stay on task, on strategy, and on schedule. That would make it very challenging to complete projects.

Self-management is even more important when we talk about empowering employees across the organization to be more innovative and resourceful. When every team member understands their responsibilities, goals, and what it takes to achieve them, they can make better decisions and do their part to achieve the team and organization objectives. Part of effective self-management with empowerment is that employees make good decisions about when to seek additional help or input.

Skills:

Goal alignment: Organizational success relies upon team members working together to reach a common goal. In order for this to work with a team of self-managed individuals, each of us must understand the big picture, and align our own goals with those of the organization. This will allow us to stay on track and maintain sight of what we’re working toward.

Priority-setting. Now that we know what we need to do, we need to set priorities so we can achieve our goals. This can help ensure we get to the most important tasks and projects, even as other demands on our time arise. In our example, Ibrahim sets his priorities and decides he needs one day each week for the next three months to get through the first phase of his plan. To accomplish this, he blocked off time on his calendar to work on this project, and he pushed out less important projects by communicating with stakeholders.

Emotional regulation. Being self-aware of our feelings is a prerequisite to regulating them. For example, fear can be distressing and provoke a fight or flight-type reaction if we aren’t able to elevate it to our consciousness. Ibrahim’s self-awareness allows him to understand his fear that he may not be the right person for the task at hand. He’s able to overcome this emotion by thinking rationally about his strengths and how they apply to any market segment. This allows him to refocus on what he does best, and work through his discomfort.

Role clarity. Those with role clarity know what our responsibilities are, who our work matters to and how we are measured. We also know who we are dependent on to get our work done. In short, we have a good sense of how we fit into the system and how our work serves the organization.

Strategic Planning. The next skill in this progression, strategic planning, is the ability to understand what we need to do in order to support organizational goals. We work backward from the desired future state in order to determine what we need to do in order to get there.

Self-Awareness. The ability to consciously access our thoughts, desires, and feelings can help us control our behaviors. This, in turn, can have a direct impact on our performance, and how others perceive us. For example, as Ibrahim works through his plan, he begins to notice some anxious feelings within his body and finds himself ruminating at night. He begins to sense his “ego attachment” to the opportunity to succeed in the eyes of others and a sense of worry about whether he is the right person for this project.

Personal growth and Lessons from Ancient Indian Education System

1. Each stage of life was marked and sanctified by an appropriate religious ceremony which in course of time became a part and parcel of the social life of the people.
2. Education at that time was-free and accessible to all (universal) except the Sudras. But the rule of begging was prevalent. The society had an obligation to provide alms. The system of education was intimately connected with the social structure.
3. Kings and rulers of the country had nothing to do with education directly. It was a private affair of the people managed entirely by Brahmana teachers.
4. The teachers depended for their support on the goodwill and charity of the people. It was the duty of the people to give alms.
5. Teachers were a highly honoured class. They were more honoured than kings who were honoured only in their own countries whereas the learned men were respected everywhere.
6. Teachers behaved as parents to their pupils and the pupils also in their turn behaved as members (sons) of the teacher’s family. The house of the teacher was the school. Teachers and pupils lived together and their relation was very cordial.
7. Knowledge imparted in those days was of two types:

(a) Para Vidya and

(b) Apara Vidya.

Para Vidya means Supreme or highest knowledge for self- realization or knowledge of the Supreme self. Apara Vidya means the lowest knowledge of the four Vedas and six Vedangas etc.

8. The ultimate aim of education was the complete realization of the self. It was neither a preparation for this worldly life nor for life beyond. Education aimed at freedom from bondage and knowledge or illumination makes one free from this bondage and helps to unite with the Supreme self.
9. The immediate or proximate aim of education was to prepare the different castes of people for their actual needs of life.
10. The subjects of instruction varied according to the needs of the different castes. These included the Vedas and Vedangas in the case of the Brahmanas, the art of warfare in the case of the Kshatriyas, the art of agriculture, arts and crafts in the case of the Vaisyas. Ancient Indian Education was thus caste dominated.
11. Pupils were taught individually. No class instruction was provided. Sometimes senior students acted as teachers of junior ones. This was known as the monitorial system. Ancient Indian Education was individualised and not institutionalised.
12. The method of teaching was mainly oral through debates and discussions which received due attention.
13. The method of study consisted in:

• Sravana: Listening to the teacher.
• Manana: Reflection on what was listened to.
• Nidhidhyasana: Constant repetition of the subject of study.

14. Travelling was regarded as necessary to complete the education.
15. In ancient India, education was for education’s sake, and not for examination or for getting a job. Education was all-round, i.e., complete or total development of personality intellectual, physical, moral and social.
16. The place of education was generally the forest which was far from the madding crowd and ignoble strife. The ancient Rishis established the earliest schools in hermitages or Ashramas in the forest. The system of Guru-Kula was then in vogue. The home of the teacher was also regarded as a school.
17. There was generally no provision for corporal punishment. Discipline was free. Self-reverence, self-knowledge and self-control – these three alone can lead life to sovereign power. Self-discipline was the best discipline. Ancient Indian Education was dominated by strict moral codes of conduct.
18. Girls were educated privately in their homes by parents, elders or husbands and not publicly as boys. Education that girls received was highly intellectual and it reached a very high level as in the well-known cases of Gargi, Maitreyi and others.
19. There was no formal system of examination of the present day. The teacher was the sole judge of the standard of achievements of the pupils.
20. The period of studentship was longer, i.e. twelve years, because there was no printed book in those days. Everything had to be memorised. Hence memory played a very prominent role in Ancient Indian Education.
21. Teaching was practically honorary. Taking anything from the students was regarded as sin. There was no pecuniary relation between the teacher and the taught. At the end of studentship some honorarium (Gurudakshina), of course, could be paid to the teacher either in cash or in kind.
22. Strict celibacy had to be observed during the period of studentship.
23. The teacher was regarded as the only source of knowledge and as such he was highly respected.
24. There was no formal system of admission. The teacher was the only deciding factor in matters of admission.
25. Education (teaching) in ancient India was regarded as a religious duty and intimately connected with the performance of some ceremonies or rituals (Vidyarambha, Upanayana, Utsarjana, Samavartana etc.).
26. The aim of Ancient Indian Education was to develop both the body and the mind. It intended to develop sound mind in sound body.
27. Ancient Indian Education was both spiritualistic and materialistic.
28. The Vedic education was caste-ridden.
29. Moral upliftment of the pupil was the cherished goal of the Ancient Indian Education.
30. It had both catholicity and elasticity in outlook and as such it had the power of adaptability. It was not rigid but flexible. So it continued for centuries.