I haven’t even noticed how gradually I learnt one of the most important lessons when it comes to work. The event that helped me to understand that I learnt this lesson was yet again the interview with Shah Rukh Khan, from whom I learnt so much.

He told in one of the interviews that all he could do is to act his best, and then it’s not up to him whether the audience likes his performance or not. Of course, he feels saddened if the audience doesn’t like the movie, but he is disconnected from the movie once it’s released, because he did his best, and there’s nothing more that he can do.

I cannot agree more with this, and this is how I personally work, although I’ve never defined this. So hearing him say this made this work process of mine come to my conscious awareness.

(In relation to this, I’ve heard many artists having the same feelings about the work that they do. It’s very personal up to the point of release. Once it’s gone public, they no longer feel it’s theirs. I feel exactly the same way.)

So I do my best, and then it’s up to the audience to either accept or reject my work. Shah Rukh Khan also can never tell whether the movie will do well or not; sometimes he thinks a movie will be a hit, when it turns out to be a flop. And this applies not only to the destiny of movies but to all kinds of work of artists.

I’ve heard this so many times – artists being surprised that their work which they thought would receive an average acceptance gaining wide recognition, and the one they put a lot of work in receiving only average success.

It has also been my experience that you can never tell whether the audience will like your work or not. Sometimes I write an article thinking it’s simply okay, when the audience loves it. And sometimes I put so much work into an article and the audience doesn’t receive it well. So you can never know – all you can do is to do your very best, and then it’s not up to you whether the audience receives your work well or not.

And this is what allows me to be at peace with my work no matter whether it’s accepted or rejected by the audience – I do my best, and then it’s not up to me whether the work will be received well. Because I try my best, I’m at peace when it’s released.

If I would not put my all into what I do, I would be worried about how my work would be received by others. But because I do my best, it’s really nothing more that I can add, so I feel relaxed once my work is published.

So if you’re not already putting your all into work, and you find yourself worrying about your performance in your free time, try this tip. Be as perfect in your work as you can, and you will find that it’s then much easier not to think about the work once it’s done.

This also allows you to be present in your free time. And, of course, you should allow the mind to rest by disconnecting from work; and this indeed can be achieved if you did your best and you could not add anything more anyway.