Reviews
I read the whole book while on vacation, nodding along to the valuable workplace tips that felt like listening over a drink with a very senior colleague. I recommend it to anyone having a hard time at work.
The title drew me in, but this is a book I feel bad keeping to myself. I think it may be required reading for anyone who works in an office.
Hearing about someone else’s difficult times is always fascinating, but when the story also applies to me, I cannot read it just for fun. Once you work in an ‘office,’ where people you never thought you would encounter in life coexist, it is hard not to deeply agree with the author’s advice to practice mind training. I had already heard from senior colleagues so often that I needed to build ‘mental muscles’ that I was sick of hearing it, but I did not know how or what to do. For office workers
When I heard that my friend had decided to quit their job, I got very angry about their reckless challenge and tried to persuade them. Even so, they did not change their mind; they gave up all their worldly privileges and returned to being an individual. Later, when we met from time to time, I sometimes played the role of ‘listening’ to the results of my friend’s mind practice. (-9-) Ordinary people complain when it rains, asking why it had to rain today. When Michael had negative thoughts
This book gave me deep insight into how Korean office workers can effectively manage the various stresses and pressures they experience at work. Drawing on the author’s long career, it turns the difficulty of mind training into practical advice and persuasively explains how work itself can be the greatest practice. What particularly impressed me is that mind training is presented not as a purely theoretical or philosophical approach, but as specific methods that can be applied in real working
When people work hard and reach their 30s or 40s, they naturally become leaders of large or small teams at work. Every leader tries to be a good one, and few think of themselves as bad leaders. I became the leader of a small team too, but I was always concerned about whether my approach was right and whether my guidance and advice reached team members with the good intentions I meant. I chose this book after seeing the cover line saying it was for office workers who dream of being good leaders.
Jeong Hae-seung: Work life is the best form of practice.
Korean office workers have it tough. Commuting, overtime, and work dinners wear us out physically, but these days our mental health is even more threatened by relationships and pressure to meet performance targets. As mental well-being has become an important topic, interest in mind training has grown. But it is harder than you might think. Even after reading books or listening to lectures, the obscure Zen riddles are difficult to understand, not just emotionally but intellectually. Many people feel the need for mind training, yet it is extremely hard to keep at it. How did executives at major companies—people considered successful at work—manage their minds, overcome so much stress, and reach those positions? Few of them practiced mind training in a formal way, but they managed their mental health in their own ways and rose to become executives, the pinnacle of an office career. The author spent 29 years working at a major company, including nine years as an executive. This book argues that although executives’ ways of responding to stress and managing their minds differed in process, their results were the same as those of mind training. For Korean office workers who have tried mind training but could not keep practicing because it was so difficult, the book shows how to realize that ‘work life is the greatest practice’ and what mindset can help them overcome workplace stress and become successful leaders. The first section, ‘Since It Has Already Happened, Let’s Just Accept It,’ introduces ways to stop resisting what has happened and accept it as it is.
Korean title: 직장 생활이 최고의 수행이다
Korean author: 정해승
Korean publisher: 헤르몬하우스
ISBN-13: 9791192520988
Reviews
I read the whole book while on vacation, nodding along to the valuable workplace tips that felt like listening over a drink with a very senior colleague. I recommend it to anyone having a hard time at work.
The title drew me in, but this is a book I feel bad keeping to myself. I think it may be required reading for anyone who works in an office.
Hearing about someone else’s difficult times is always fascinating, but when the story also applies to me, I cannot read it just for fun. Once you work in an ‘office,’ where people you never thought you would encounter in life coexist, it is hard not to deeply agree with the author’s advice to practice mind training. I had already heard from senior colleagues so often that I needed to build ‘mental muscles’ that I was sick of hearing it, but I did not know how or what to do. For office workers
When I heard that my friend had decided to quit their job, I got very angry about their reckless challenge and tried to persuade them. Even so, they did not change their mind; they gave up all their worldly privileges and returned to being an individual. Later, when we met from time to time, I sometimes played the role of ‘listening’ to the results of my friend’s mind practice. (-9-) Ordinary people complain when it rains, asking why it had to rain today. When Michael had negative thoughts
This book gave me deep insight into how Korean office workers can effectively manage the various stresses and pressures they experience at work. Drawing on the author’s long career, it turns the difficulty of mind training into practical advice and persuasively explains how work itself can be the greatest practice. What particularly impressed me is that mind training is presented not as a purely theoretical or philosophical approach, but as specific methods that can be applied in real working
When people work hard and reach their 30s or 40s, they naturally become leaders of large or small teams at work. Every leader tries to be a good one, and few think of themselves as bad leaders. I became the leader of a small team too, but I was always concerned about whether my approach was right and whether my guidance and advice reached team members with the good intentions I meant. I chose this book after seeing the cover line saying it was for office workers who dream of being good leaders.
