Monday Mantra: Be the first to give! Suman February 9, 2015

Monday Mantra: Be the first to give!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPeeZ6viNgY&w=420&h=315]

This video is from the Lead India campaign by The Times of India. I watched it as part of a training program I was a doing a few years back. And what hit me is the determination of this little boy to make a difference. The natural reaction as a small child should have been just the opposite of what he actually did. After all, what can a small kid do when all the grown ups are helpless before this huge hurdle. But his innocence in wondering why isn’t anyone doing something and hence wanting to go ahead himself is touching. And true enough, his faith wins! He seems alone and foolish when he starts but becomes powerful and wise as the other join him and succeed in getting the tree out of the way.

An important element in my training sessions is to motivate the participants to apply the learnings in their everyday life. There is a constant reminder of the main objectives through the session – invest time in self improvement, manage time better, be on top of their emails, be nice to colleagues, be honest in your sales. But more often than not, I am given a string of reasons – I’d call them excuses – for why they can’t achieve what is expected of them. The seniors don’t care, I am not happy with my job, even my boss does the same, honest selling doesn’t meet my targets. So, in short, they are not responsible for carrying out what is expected of them. It is someone else’s job. The blame for their failures certainly falls onto the shoulders of others.

Even as a society, we expect others to do things. None of it is our business. The rising crime rate is the concern of the Police dept. The government is responsible for lowering inflation. The municipal corporation should ensure clean roads. Even if it means we never as much as a throw our own litter into the garbage bin. As citizens, we want all the privileges but none of the duties that might earn it.

But have you thought of the effect if all of us just did what we were supposed to do without worrying about others? It is so easy for us to blame the government, the system, the residential society, the local MLA, the boss and his superboss for what hasn’t been done. How about looking into ourselves and questioning if we have done our bit? Before you blame the police dept, why don’t we ourselves stop ogling at women on the streets and teach our boys to respect them? How about using garbage bins instead of waiting for the Swachh India campaign to kick off in your area? How about helping out your colleague before you expect any help to come your way?

So, the Monday mantra for this week is – be the first to give. Help out. Make that selfless contribution. Be nice to others. And you will certainly see it multiply and come back to you. Do something for others even before they ask for it. Now, your defense will be you are so busy trying to finish your own tasks that going out of the way is so impossible. But try! And you will find ample opportunities.

When I thought of starting this training blog, apart from sharing my knowledge and experiences with others, the goal was also to contribute back to the training community. And it has been my endeavour since to reach out to other trainers and connect with them. It is still work in progress but it is my attempt to help others who may have questions about the profession. And also get experienced ones to share their journey for the benefit of others. I know a friend who is trying to have an online presence. I try to send her any useful information that I can find. And I have always done that even before. I may not gain anything from it but it does help send out positive vibes and strengthen my bonds with others. And again, it may not essentially lead to monetary gain, it just makes me happy.

Giving a little extra is one of the lessons we derived in an earlier Monday Mantra post.

ariaaquoteskarma

Good deeds are like boomerang! They do come back to you!

Photo credit

They say Karma is a boomerang – what goes around, comes around. So send out some good cheer and selfless love everyday and you will see it come back to you. You may stick out like a sore thumb initially but people will see the point and join you soon!