What Buddha Can Teach us about Going Big

February is the official month of giving up on year resolutions. I certainly have been struggling to keep up with mine. My background is in business development, which makes me prone to planning, setting deadlines and milestones. As I don't seem to reach my expectations and lose my motivation, I can't stop thinking of Buddha.

It took Buddha seven weeks of uninterrupted meditation under the bodhi tree to get enlightenment. But before he sat there, he didn’t say “I will sit there and meditate for seven weeks nonstop to get enlightenment”. He didn’t know how long it would take and it didn’t matter. All he knew was what he wanted. It could have taken longer or shorter than it actually did. His attitude was “I am going to sit here and do this for as long as it takes.”

Are we "Buddha committed” to what we want?

The story of Buddha goes that as he sat under the tree, he was tempted by the demon Mara. The three daughters of the demon tried to seduce Buddha with all kinds of passions, greed, and attachments. These seductions can be seen as our inner temptations, from our mind and body. Short term gains to relieve us from pain and to maximize our pleasure.

The message is simple: if we want something badly, we need discipline. We need to distinguish what we want most over what we want now. In days where religion is not very popular, we call it making trade-offs. But in essence, it is about making sacrifices. We can have anything, but not everything. Or, in Seth Godin words:

“The art of moving forward lies in understanding what to leave behind.

The reasons why we don’t do this type of work are clear. We are afraid. Who wouldn’t? It did not take me one minute to come up with the list of fears below.

Fear of failing and not having a plan B. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of pain. Fear of choosing wrong and closing doors. Fear of commitment and sacrifices. Fear of social ostracism. Fear of the uncertainty of the unknown.

Still, despite the fear, we need to do the work.

Not only once or twice, but repeatedly. Committing on Monday mornings is not enough. We need to recommit every day. That’s the only way to not make the wrong trade-off and give in to short term compensations. We need to stay seated under the tree late at night all the way to the next morning, over and over again.

“The possibilities for the future are infinite. When we focus on the unfortunate possibilities, that’s called fear. When we remember the other possibilities, which are usually more likely, that’s called freedom from fear.” Ajahn Brahm

If 2,600 years ago Buddha was tempted, imagine us, in 2020. We are in the age of 10,000 different holiday destinations to choose from, endless affordable entertainment options. Any possible comfort is one click away. It is this convenience that stands on the way to self-realization. The amount of safety and comfort we fear to lose implies a great risk. And sure, we can play safely. Every now and then, we might be invaded by a feeling there’s something missing. We can choose to ignore it and go buy ice cream. That’s a choice. But if we want more, if we know what we want to go big on, then what are we going to leave behind? How committed are we? Are we ready to go for it for as long as it takes?

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This article was first published on Substack