Spirituality for Techies.

Tools to Become a Mindful, Happier Software Professional

Sep 04, 2024

🎤 Announcement: New podcast episode

I had an insightful chat with Sitesh on his podcast. I shared my journey across companies of all scales and how it shaped me. Tune in to satisfy your curiosity about career changes, adapting to cultures, or find inspiration!

Justin Bieber is one of the world’s most popular music artists. He has it all—Grammy awards, over 150 million albums sold, and a massive social media following. 🎤✨

Yet, Justin opened up about his struggles in an interview with NME.com:

“I am struggling just to get through the days... You get lonely... People see the glam and the amazing stuff, but they don’t know the other side. This life can rip you apart.”

This experience isn’t unique.

We, as software pros, seem to have it all. We have high-paying jobs, loving families, and good friends. We also have some savings. Yet, we still feel unhappy. 😔

Negativity and burnout are common on platforms like Blind. In the race to become a 10x techie, we lose it all and become 1/10 at life.

Since returning to Seattle from a life-changing spiritual retreat in Dallas, I've been reflecting on the powerful insights shared. The retreat was led by my guru and attended by top tech leaders and engineers. The discussions on happiness deeply resonated with me

Today, I’m sharing what it means for the tech world to practice spirituality and the key strategies it offers for understanding and finding happiness in the moment.🌱💻

👋 Hey there, I am Gourav. I write about Engineering, Productivity, Thought Leadership, and the Mysteries of the mind!
Today’s article is bit different but I feel its important to take a step back and think about inner-engineering.

Spirituality 101. What is it?

The best thing about spirituality is that you can define it for yourself!

There is no fixed religious school of thought tied to it. That’s why:

Spirituality ≠ Being Religious

However, you are free to choose a religious tool, refer to a scripture, or knowledge if you want to.

It's a personal, broad concept. It seeks meaning, purpose, and peace in life. It also seeks a connection with something greater than oneself. 🌍✨

Here are some key aspects of spirituality:

Self-awareness and inner growth: Reflect on your thoughts and feelings. It will help you understand yourself and the world.
Connection to a higher power: This could be a connection to God, the universe, or a sense of greater purpose or meaning beyond the material world.
Mindfulness and presence: Often using tools like meditation or mindfulness, which help us stay present and find peace. 🧘‍♂️

How can it help Software Engineers and Managers?

Spirituality can help bridge the gap between high performance and personal well-being. It helps resolve conflicts at work and within.

As a personal example, I used to be aggressive and defensive when people questioned my methods. I’d often complain and find faults in others, not realizing I was doing no good to myself.

I started practicing spirituality a while back. Now, when I face tough times at work, I can take a step back. I analyze the situation from a new perspective. I handle it peacefully and, most of the time, I am happy within. 😊

How do I find happiness within? Read on.

Destination Disease of Happiness

At the retreat, a Senior Tech Leader at Capgemini asked a question

“With growing challenges, expectations, and layoffs, how can we find happiness in our everyday lives?”

We often fall trap of thinking:

I’ll be happy if I could land that dream job at a top tech company, or
I’ll be happy once I am done with this project, or
I’ll be happy once I get promoted to senior engineer or manager.

These are just illusions. Chasing future goals for happiness is like trying to debug an endless loop—it never stops. 🔄

Answers from the Retreat

What is True Happiness?

Whatever we do throughout our lives, we do it for the ultimate goal of happiness.

From school to top colleges, then to high-paying jobs. Then, marriage, kids, and wealth. All the hustle is to meet a single goal: to be happy! 🎯

It’s natural for us to seek happiness continuously because we are part of a perfect, blissful universal energy where everything functions in balance.

Take gravity as an example—it’s finely tuned to hold everything on Earth together. If gravity were to fluctuate even slightly, the consequences would be catastrophic.

True happiness comes from recognizing this balance and then striving to give it back.

In simpler terms—it's a state of mind to practice:

Serving others and providing value 🤝
Satisfaction and gratitude 🙏

What Happiness Is NOT

We conflate happiness with temporary pleasures.

Happiness is NOT materialistic. Pleasures are. Happiness lasts, while pleasures fade sooner.
We often look for happiness in the wrong places—material things or milestones. These excitements fade, and soon we find ourselves chasing the next desire.

When material desires aren’t fulfilled, we get distressed. When they are fulfilled, greed often takes over, creating more desires. 🛍️

How to do I practice Happiness daily?

1. I practice a tool called Karma Yoga

"You have the right to perform your duty, but don't let attachment to the results consume you.” - it says.

Simply put: Rather than thinking of personal gains every time, think of your work as a contribution to the society of which you are a part. 🌍💡

Personal Experience

When things are going well, I feel gratitude and enjoy the moment. When things get tough, I treat them as lessons and find ways to serve others in the best possible way.

When I push a major code update and it works, I take a moment to appreciate it. I resist the urge to worry about the next task.

When things go wrong, I see it as a chance to learn. This includes software incidents, project snags, and failed leadership tactics. Instead of complaining, I accept it and find ways to solve for customers.

2. I try to do Daily Meditation

Just as you need the right tools to work well—like a powerful IDE, automation scripts, or AI—your mind needs tools to stay sharp and focused. Meditation has become one of those tools for those of us in high-pressure careers.

There are different ways to meditate. Sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and try to focus your mind in various ways:

Take deep breaths and observe them, or
Imagine sitting in a beautiful place and appreciate nature, or
Think of a godly image and serve it virtually.

Personal Experience

For a long time, I thought spirituality and meditation were things you started later in life—something for when you’re older and have more time.

What surprised me most was how this simple practice started influencing every part of my life.

My problem-solving skills improved. I became more patient and thoughtful in my interactions, whether in a code review or a meeting. 💡

My way of meditation relates to the third method: “praising the creation of this vast world.” I do it like this:

I wake up early and, after sitting comfortably and closing my eyes, I begin to "zoom out" from the place I’m sitting.
From my room to my house, to the sky, and to outer space—I visualize and appreciate the vastness of creation.

This simple, yet effective, approach helps me ignore small issues and take a broader view of life. 🌌