Self-possession or self-control empowers us to overcome detractors, procrastinations, leading to increased productivity, and more accomplishments
By Viiveck Verma
Hustle culture has taken over most domains of life today. Thanks to the digital age, the boundaries between work and life have been erased, the pressures of being relentlessly available have been intensified and the pursuit of success seems to involve ceaseless labour and competition. We are simultaneously exposed to content that celebrates this never-ending chase, equating all things good with the mindless grind. In such a scenario, staying composed, a traditionally revered virtue, has arguably taken a back seat.
However, in light of widespread mental health distress and burnout, the heavily popular approach of choosing familiar chaos over unfamiliar calmness needs reconsideration. In fact, there are many reasons to choose composure today and sustain it through the highs and lows of modern life. Let us explore this in some detail.
Chaotic Hyperactivity
First of all, it is necessary to not confuse or conflate composure with inertia or laziness. While most participants of hustle culture end up striving to be consistently active, chaotic hyperactivity might not necessarily be productive. For example, if you are studying all the time and are yet, unable to retain knowledge, perhaps the desired results are not to be achieved through putting in disordered labour crudely but through mindfully and strategically going about the curriculum. Through this necessary difference, we can understand what composure is all about. Staying composed involves elements of thinking, self-reflection and assessment, which enable conscious growth and progress. With this basic premise, we look at how composure is beneficial to us in a holistic and long-term way. However, there are reasons to be composed beyond the positive and productive effects, for composure is an act of self-defence against many harmful phenomena.
To think of today’s scenario, where we are constantly inundated with information from social media, news and other channels, staying calm can often be a grave difficulty. Your perspective may be distorted by constant exposure to news. Even though they are significant, catastrophic occurrences and crises have the potential to overshadow life’s positive and meaningful aspects, exacerbating anxiety and stress. In this regard, composure is both a necessity as well as a technique to battle this phenomenon.
Cutting Clutter
When you respond to the flood of information and stimuli with a self-aware and calm headspace, you’ll be able to filter through the clutter. After all, prioritising quality over quantity is a crucial necessity in today’s age of information. You can get the information you need without overpowering your senses by consuming content from trustworthy and reputable sources in moderation.
For example, if you’re dealing with a lot of pressures at work and in your personal life, and simultaneously receiving information about issues you care about and watching content that distracts you, calming down would let you vigilantly set restrictions on how much information you consume and take breaks from the cycle of exposing yourself to stimulus. Notwithstanding that it’s important to stay informed, constantly dealing with unnecessary, upsetting or distracting content can be bad for your mental health.
In the process of setting healthy limits, you can gain the balanced perspective you might have foregone in the chaos and recognise the positive aspects of life by choosing what, when, and how you respond to things rather than passively absorbing it all. This is where composure is not just used to combat unhealthy cultures you unwittingly participate in but also employed to cultivate mental and spiritual stability.
Hows of Composure
Beyond the whys, it is also important to learn the hows of composure. How do we start taking steps towards being composed on a fundamental level? The answer to this significant question lies in the world of self-possession. Possessing yourself, or owning your selfhood is a mixture of self-awareness and agency. At its core, composure is all about strongly owning your core values and not letting disarrays and pandemonium distort your fundamental concerns and imperatives.
Self-possession or self-control is a choice to resist the temptation of instant gratification and make choices that align with our long-term goals and our elemental approaches towards life. This quality empowers us to overcome detractors, procrastinations and distractions, leading to increased productivity and resultantly, more accomplishments. Very importantly, self-possession also helps with ethical decision-making. We are less likely to act unethically when in control of our emotions and impulses and this is indispensable for preserving credibility and trust. Additionally, it helps in the development of emotional intelligence, which is essential for navigating social dynamics. As the cornerstone of self-regulation, it improves interactions with others because it is based on thinking things through rather than acting rashly.
To bolster self-possession and translate it into composure, we need to develop an intellectual, observational and contemplative outlook. We must keenly observe, think things through, distinguish right from wrong and necessary from unnecessary and keep on developing our core values and principles. Once this process is set in motion, we must take on everyday circumstances with a resolve to stick to these commitments, not letting random events ruffle our feathers. We must navigate them with grace and integrity, adding to the trove of wisdom with every encountered experience.
This process can seem challenging and, therefore, we must be open to receiving counsel and even help if our mental health is impacted. Therefore, self-possession and composure are also about staying committed to our wellness, putting ourselves first, before any material or shallow goals. A combination of all these approaches contributes to tremendous internal strength and tenacity, which is central to our long-term resilience and perseverance in life.
All in all, we have all the reasons to not give in to the rat race and navigate the trials of life through a mind that is put together and sure of itself. Self-possession and the consequent composure can prove to be sure-shot solutions to most immediate problems and can let us go through what the world has to offer, with ease and mindfulness. It is time to add the fuel of self-possession to our engines and let our composed selves lead us to summits of success, relief and satisfaction.