The Joy Of Building
The Bhagavad Gita says that the most contented man is he who cares more about his actions or deeds and less about the fruits of those actions. He finds joy in the action itself, and so whether the fruits arrive or not cease to matter. He has already found fulfilment in the act of performing the action. And if that action is in accordance with his true nature and his duty, then he will eventually find contentment in his life.
This is perhaps the most debatable part of the Bhagavad Gita because the whole point of performing an action, at least for most of us, is that we want the fruits. The process is supposed to lead to the outcome. Reversing that equation is difficult, and most people never manage to flip the switch. I had the same doubts until I started writing.
Most of my writing has no audience. But the process of writing, of telling stories, of writing essays on topics that I have been thinking about, brings me more joy than seeing an essay go viral on some platform. I hardly bother about the results or the analytics. I am in the process of writing a novel, and every chapter I write brings me immense joy and pleasure.
I realised that I find meaning in building things, in the process of creation itself. The fruits of that labour only provide further validation that I should create. But even if that validation never came, I would be fine. I would continue to produce things, because doing so is my solace.
When I work on serious projects for my work, like building software using AI, solving complicated problems, or automating tedious tasks, I focus excessively on the aesthetics of the things I am building. I am obsessively focused on how efficient and seamless the process can be. It doesn’t matter to most people because they are more focused on the output, on whether it solves their core problem. But to me, these details matter. They bring me joy even if no one notices them.
It has taken me so many years of living with the Bhagavad Gita to finally understand what Lord Krishna meant when he said that the one who learns to find joy in his actions, and whose actions are in accordance with his core nature and his duty, will find contentment and peace in his life.
At this point in my life, I realise where I find peace and what brings joy into my life. The moment I become more worried about the outcome than the process will be a sign that my heart isn’t in it. Either the act is in conflict with my core nature, or the process I have chosen is entirely wrong.