Kim Mi Jin / Office Employee

 

I had my last finals before my graduation and was preparing for job interviews. During my job search to see what would be a good fit for me, I came across a foreign consulting company and submitted my resume. This was a prestigious company for its field but more so than that, it was a job that I really wanted and so I worked up the courage to apply for the job. On the day of the interview, I sat alongside many other applicants who were more qualified than I was. We were given an assignment ahead of time to write a project proposal and so I began to go through the questions one by one.

 

I discarded my mind of “I have to make a good impression” and just spoke wholeheartedly during the interview

I discarded my mind which, before, I tried to fancifully idealize and instead made an effort to write about myself as truthfully as possible. ‘I don’t know too much at this point, but I will learn and work diligently.’ Because I had written my proposal truthfully, I was able to speak wholeheartedly during the interview, but the other applicants who had embellished their proposals started to panic. Ultimately, I, who was most at a disadvantage, passed the interview.

People tell me that I was really fortunate, but I know that the reason I was able to land the job was because I was able to empty my mind through this meditation. I lived all my life doing my utmost in order to hear from others that I was superior and smarter than other people. However, as I emptied my mind, I came to realize that being honest and truthful was more important than trying to embellish and pretend. I used to be the type to get tense easily. If this were in the past, I would have been greatly trembling, but since I threw away the mind of “I have to make a good impression,” there wasn’t anything to tremble over. Instead of trying to stand out with my answers during the interview, I made an earnest effort to answer sincerely. Later on, the interviewer told me that it was rather refreshing that I showed the will to work diligently.

 

When times are difficult, I do this meditation – very helpful for my work and work relationships with colleagues

And that is how I began my work life. I simply thought that if I just deal with people honestly, then that would take care of everything, but human relationships in social settings had many variables. There were many people who spoke badly of me either because they were only speaking from their own perspective or because they were being competitive. When things were difficult, I meditated. First, I became the perspective of the person who spoke badly of me or was competitive with me. I got to thinking that if I were in their shoes, I could have easily been the same way they were. And then, I discarded that mind. Because I am consistent in the way I treat them, ultimately, the other person changed and now we get along well.

Our company specializes in Corporate Education, but this year, at my suggestion, we also started a “College Education” program. At first, people were skeptical whether this would actually work. The reason why I was even able to embark on this kind of project without fear was because I discarded the mind of fear and was able to focus in those moments.

The words I hear most often from people these days are, “It’s great to see you bright and lively; you make a good first impression.” I was not able to hear such words prior to starting meditation, but since starting meditation, I find myself laughing a lot and so I think I just naturally changed accordingly. Unlike before, when I used to struggle and try so hard, now I simply empty my mind and because I just do my best with a grateful mind, I find that things just pan out on their own.

 

Source: www.meditaitonlife.org