Satisfaction

An article on job satisfaction by Subroto Bagchi (COO of Mindtree), triggered a train of thought on satisfaction in general. A while ago, I read that satis in Latin (and most probably in Greek and Hebrew) means 'enough of' or 'sufficient'. It would therefore seem to indicate that satisfaction is nothing but the feeling at the end of having taken 'sufficient action'. So why does it seem so difficult to attain, considering that most of us are working our butts off or in this context taking a hell of lot of action.

I submit that the problem for at least me has been figuring out what my actions are oriented towards achieving without which I have no real way of knowing what is sufficient. And that ladies and gentlemen, is what I have resolved to do for this year - figuring out both the cause (what I desire out of life) and experiencing the effect (satisfaction). Along the way here, over the past few months, I had a realization (which most people have figured out as a given early in their lives!!) that the actions that I take in life cannot be of only the kind that adds up to that sufficiency. At the risk of being gross, the pleasure derived from taking a dump is accompanied by the not so pleasant task of wiping your behind!!

Before I end, however I have one comment on Subroto's article. His main thrust seems to be that the onus of finding satisfaction is solely and squarely on the individual, with which I am in agreement. But that does not absolve the organization of creating the environment, the motivators and opportunities that align with individual aspirations...the great companies are those that have figured out how to do it day in and day out.

Wishing all of you a 'satisfying' New Year....