Compassionate Living Psychology

As I sit in front of my computer, trying to work, I keep thinking about a recent discussion with my friend regarding how much of our work is replaceable by AI. It is a threatening idea that I feel uncomfortable to dwell on, for it can trigger lots of self-defeating thoughts and self-doubts. Yet the conversation keeps coming back at the worst timing when I try to focus in my work (and perhaps proving that I could bring greater value than AI would).

To a certain extent, questioning if AI could take away our job is like wondering if the market would love a to-be-released product. We could conduct various research, analyze the data, plan a marketing campaign but we would not be able to foresee the outcome. Things could change anytime, perhaps even before we notice. The uncertain aspects of work can be nerve-wracking and anxiety regarding outcome could trigger procrastination: We are not very good at not thinking about things that worry us and may end up ruminating and feeling bad, hence attempting to distract ourselves by reading the news or browsing the phone. Previous failure could, understandably, trigger anxiety and procrastination, but so do previous success. Once we got there, we need to cope with expectations to keep up with the quality work and the mounting pressure could sometimes become too much to handle.

As my stream of thoughts flow further and further away from my work, I remind myself to focus on the process. It is not a mere slogan, but also a way to keep us going by bringing our attention back to our work and saving us from being sunk into the waves of worry, rumination, and procrastination that get us nowhere. It does not mean that we should jump into a project without considering the stakes. On the contrary, the planning phase is part of the process and it is the knowledge that we are taking a calculated risk that allows us to comfortably reassure ourselves that “we can always start over again in the worst case.” Fears of failure are not always irrational and to be prepared for emergencies and setbacks is part of being a mature and responsible adult. Therefore, we begin a healthy venture by setting a reasonable goal, clarifying our limits, and drawing a back-up plan to fall back on.

The point of focusing on the process is that, once we have moved on from the planning stage, it is time to focus on the present tasks, rather than dwelling on the previous phase and revising our plan meticulously and repeatedly, or mentally travelling to the future phase and panicking about the outcome.

1. Start each working week with a to-do-list. Completing the tasks is my short-term goal for that week.
   
2. In response to self-defeating thoughts, tell yourself: they come from the anxiety-driven system and are merely ideas in my mind that are no truer than thoughts and expectations to succeed. I do not have to debate with these opinions. Acknowledge these worrying thoughts, take a breath, and remind myself of the task at hand.
   
3. Make sure to celebrate completion of each to-do-list because this is a chance to validate the efforts we have put into our work. Try not to schedule new task for the week if you complete the list earlier and treat the break as a reward.
   
4. Equally important to acknowledging good progress is approaching delays with compassion. It is awful enough to fall behind schedule and it is not necessary to add to the burden. Address the sense of frustration and try to find out what happened. Maybe the list of tasks was too ambitious for one-week time? Maybe there were unexpected challenges? Maybe you underestimated the difficulties of some tasks? Maybe you simply had a bad week? Become your own source of support, not criticism.
   
5. Treat every project as independent from each other. If it was a success, be proud of it. If it did not turn out well, it is alright to be disappointed. Either way, it is important for us to draw a line between our previous work and the current one. Notice the time when our mind drift to think about what happened in the past and react as if it is happening again in the present. Remind yourself: I am naturally affected when I recall these earlier projects, but these are not the presence. We all like to reminisce from time to time, but this is not the right timing when I am trying to focus on the current process.

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