Execution Is Worship: How Daily Discipline Became My Spiritual Practice
Imagine your biggest goal as climbing a mountain.
Maybe it’s building your brand or scaling your business. Maybe it’s healing your mind or body.
Maybe it’s creating your life’s work.
We all start at the bottom, but most of us never get past basecamp.
We spend a lot of time preparing—planning routes, reading maps, buying gear—but never actually climbing.
Or worse, we climb but aimlessly in circles: busy, exhausted, but rarely ascending.
I’ve been there, stuck at basecamp—overthinking, overwhelmed, paralyzed.
For years, my mind was chaos. Battling severe bipolar episodes, trying desperately to complete my first half-marathon, determined yet failing to turn my dreams into tangible businesses—I felt completely stuck.
Then one afternoon, while driving and obsessively thinking about building my business online, I saw a familiar line painted on the back of an old Indian truck:
"Karam hi pooja hai."
English translation: “Execution is Worship.”
I’d seen it a hundred times and ignored it.
But that day, in the middle of my chaos, it hit me hard.
Execution is worship? What the hell does that even mean?
Initially, I thought it was about hustling, being disciplined, or working hard.
But no—that felt shallow.
As I thought more deeply, I realized: execution itself isn’t the worship; worship is what it leads to, which is creation.
When you take what’s within you—a vision, an idea, a calling—and bring it to life.
That’s worship.
In the Gita, Krishna says to Arjuna:
"Karmanye vadhikaraste, Ma phaleshou kadachana."
You have a right to perform your dharma, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions.
This verse is often misunderstood. It doesn’t mean “don’t care about results”—
It means: don’t be attached to them.
Krishna isn’t saying “don’t aim high.”
He’s saying: root yourself in your dharma, not in the drama of outcomes.
He’s saying:
“Show up and do what you are born to do—not out of desire, fear, or ego, but from inner alignment.”
You may win or lose, be praised or attacked—that’s not the point.
The point is to act from the deepest truth of who you are.
Because when you act from attachment, you create anxiety—in yourself and around you.
But when you act from alignment, you create growth, clarity, and calm—in yourself and in the world.
And the results? They are never fully in your hands—
They depend on countless variables outside your control.
But what is in your control?
Your clarity, intention, decisions and execution.
Once I understood that, the real question became:
How do I execute daily—consistently, efficiently—and if possible, effortlessly—without constant lag or distraction?
After years of trial, error, and breakthroughs, I discovered three powerful psychological tools that transformed everything for me—from overcoming bipolar episodes, to running my first half-marathon, to building The Ascend Media.
And today, I want to pass them on to you.
Each one is powerful on its own—but together, they’re genuinely life-changing.
1. GSD – Get Shit Done
This is the daily climb.
Early in my journey, when severe bipolar episodes left me paralyzed, even simple daily actions—writing a single email, making a necessary call, finishing a workout—felt impossibly overwhelming. I was drowning in mental chaos, feeling stuck.
The breakthrough happened when, instead of obsessing over productivity hacks or perfect routines, I started choosing just two or three most important tasks daily.
My only rule was: finish these tasks, no matter what, before going to bed.
Most days, I failed. Some days, I didn’t even open the task list.
But I kept returning—again and again.
Eventually, it became doable.
And over weeks, months, and now years, it built a new identity: someone who consistently follows through.
Each task completed reinforced a powerful belief:
“I am someone who finishes things. I am reliable. I can get things done.”
To start GSD practically:
Each evening or morning, identify 2–3 most important tasks—tasks that genuinely move your mission forward.
Complete these tasks first each day, before distraction creeps in.
Repeat daily.
Soon, execution will become your second nature.
2. AAR – After-Action Review
Action without reflection is just motion.
We all know someone who works really, really hard—great at getting things done—but somehow gets nowhere.
That was me too.
When I first started building The Ascend Media, I was incredibly busy each week, exhausted yet frustrated because nothing truly moved forward.
Without reflection, I stayed trapped in loops of busywork.
Then I implemented AAR.
Originally developed by the U.S. Army in the 1970s, AAR was designed to turn every mission into a learning opportunity.
Because Soldiers knew action alone wasn’t enough—without reflection, mistakes get repeated forever.
By simply asking myself three clear questions at the end of every week—
What went well?
What went wrong?
What can I improve next time?
—That simple ritual changed everything.
Suddenly, I saw patterns, unnecessary tasks became obvious, and I stopped climbing aimlessly in circles and started ascending intentionally.
Just 5–10 minutes of reflection each day or week can turn scattered effort into focused progress.
3. OODA Loop – Observe, Orient, Decide, Act
"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."
— Mike Tyson
The truth is—on the Mountain of Life, there is no perfect decision or plan.
Unexpected storms and shifting terrain happen all the time.
You can’t hesitate or freeze in the midst of change or uncertainty.
This is where the OODA Loop comes in.
Developed by Colonel John Boyd, a U.S. Air Force pilot during the Korean War, OODA helped pilots make rapid, intelligent decisions under intense pressure.
It stands for:
Observe: Clearly assess your situation.
Orient: Quickly interpret what’s happening.
Decide: Choose your next move decisively.
Act: Execute immediately. Then repeat.
If you don’t know The Ascend Media started as a content creation agency for coaches and conscious entrepreneurs—branding was just something we offered on top of it.
But a few months in, it hit me hard: Without a clear, aligned brand strategy underneath, all that content was just noise—money and energy wasted.
So I ran the loop:
I stepped back and really looked at what was happening (Observe).
I realized the root issue—these coaches didn’t need more content, they needed clarity, alignment and strategy. (Orient).
I instantly shifted our core offering to Holistic branding (Decide).
And acted on it immediately—new messaging, new product structure, new client approach (Act).
That one decision changed everything.
Why These Three Together?
Individually, they’re powerful.
But together, they’re transformative:
GSD ensures daily forward movement.
AAR ensures reflection and continuous learning from each action.
OODA ensures you rapidly adapt and evolve, no matter how chaotic things become.
This system profoundly transformed my life—and it keeps transforming it.
I hope it does the same for you.
Your Simple 3-Step Protocol to Start Right Now
Don’t wait for perfect clarity.
Start simple. Start now.
(You can integrate this later—daily or weekly—whatever works best.)
Next morning: Pick your 3 most important tasks for that day (GSD).
At night: Reflect briefly (AAR)—what worked well, what didn’t, what can you improve tomorrow or next time?
Throughout the week: Practice rapid OODA loops—Observe clearly, Orient quickly, Decide decisively, Act immediately. Then repeat.
You’re not here to hustle mindlessly.
You’re here to ascend purposefully.
You can stay forever at basecamp—planning, dreaming, scrolling—
or you can climb intentionally, executing your vision into reality.
One aligned step at a time.
Until next time—keep climbing.
– Shaan
