Reflection - Module 3

Akash Kyal
1811252

The first 2 modules of the course had been quite an enriching experience in terms of self
discovery and learning and module 3 was no different but in it’s own ways. We were
introduced to new topics and not surprisingly, I found some of them to be quite interesting.

In the first session for module 3, we were asked to create a mental model of how we view
work. We were introduced to the idea that not necessarily are work and fun mutually
exclusive. What we perceive work as is something productive or something useful. And there
are activities that could be both fun while being useful. When asked to think and write about
20 such activities, I could not think of even 1 at the first go. But as Ma’am started prompting,
my mind started flowing and I was surprised as I filled up the page with 17 such activities
which even included attending PVGCO class. A similar exercise was done with regards to
activity that we love and which could potentially be used to make money. I came up with 18
such activities. After this exercise, I reflected on the mental model that I had made earlier.
Through the exercises, my perception about work had changed significantly. It was now
much broader than what I had in mind when I drew the mental model.

On reflecting upon Dan Ariely’s talk about work - a major takeaway for me that for me money
was just another enabler for work and not an important one. Amongst the 5 things that
motivated me to work - money would have been just another factor with other factors like
challenges and learning probably taking the front seat.

In another exercise, we were also asked to write the similarities and differences between
work and sport. While the exercise seemed a little confusing at first, given that any sport
could be considered as work as well. But I went ahead with my perception of the two
activities to me. As I pondered, I could find more similarities between the two than
differences. After a discussion at a class level, the differences that I perceived also found no
place in my mind. The exercise was plain, simple and it made it’s point. Work and play/ sport
are not as different as we have perceived them to be in our heads.

The next topic that I found to be quite interesting was the topic of FLOW and how it helps us
in our day to day endeavours. After having explained the topic, we were asked to pair up and
discuss about a time in our work-life when we were in flow. As I began recalling, I could think
of multiple occasions but chose to discuss the most recent one from my work place before
joining IIMB. Talking about it itself made me feel about myself as I always used to think I lack
focus and can’t concentrate on a job. However, I did realize that in those moments of flow, I
had been super productive with very little distraction. As we discussed in larger groups, this
also appeared to be the consensus amongst a lot of us. We realized that some of the most
common factors that promoted the state of flow in each of us were autonomy/ being given
responsibility and when we ourselves took initiatives. We also realized that the state of flow
had for all of us resulted in boost of confidence and productivity with the end objective being
met with accolades.