CHANGING THE ROOTS!

Benjamin Franklin once said, “For the best return on your money, pour your purse into your head.” Looking back at our years of education in school and college, it appears that our parents did just that – invest their hard earned wealth to create the knowledge we now hold in our heads. But was the objective of our education to only help us land a good job? Years of assignments, continuous assessments, projects, exams and extra-curricular activities had but one objective for us – to continuously and progressively learn! Yet, it is disheartening to see how this objective was long lost in a shallow “copy-paste” outlook that correlated our capacity to mug up information, with impressive scores and grades. Having entered the workforce now, where everything revolves around performance, deadlines and SLAs, our focus has shifted farther away to job titles and pay checks that are socially attractive and conducive to an easy lifestyle. And thus, the spark of continuous learning that our education system hoped to spur in us, embarked on its steady demise.

The above story does not have to end tragically though. After all, the spark to learn that was once sown, still exists within us. We merely need to search within ourselves and revive the embers of learning; to open our minds and hearts so we can continue in our self-evolution of becoming the “BEST” that we can possibly be. If you, like many others have resigned to the idea of self-development over the years, then let me encourage you if not challenge you today, to rekindle the fire in you. Let us start with a simple test. If you have made it this far and are reading this sentence, then you are already on the journey to revival. Your “curiosity” and “interest” kept you going. So give yourself a pat on the back and read on!

To be a learner, “curiosity” and “interest” are very important. We possess an abundance of these in our lives by design, but often misplace their use which results in less learning and more distraction. For example, if you had an option between looking up the dictionary for the first three words in this article that you didn’t understand (try it! I dare you!) and using that time to catch up on weekend gossip with your pals, what would you find yourself being pulled towards? If your honest answer is the latter, you have an opportunity to channel that curiosity and interest you have within you, to learn something that develops you apart from what merely entertains you. So, here’s your chance to strike a balance!

But you may ask – what opportunities do I have to learn and develop myself? Can I be sponsored for further education? Do I have the time to spare? My response to you is, “If you want to change the fruits, you will first have to change the roots.” And that begins with your “outlook”. Decide that you want to learn so you can be the best possible version of yourself, and you will begin recognizing the opportunities in front of you. Your outlook will soon create a thirst and hunger for knowing more which in turn will trigger your curiosity and interest to focus on things that enlighten and develop you. Re-channelled focus means the time you were spending on your distractions is now available at your disposal for the time needed to invest in your learning! It will help you get out of your comfort zone and put in the effort and sacrifice needed to develop yourself.

To help you in your journey, we at Pride have provisions such as the Pride India Dojo, Aarnavi, Josh and other learning initiatives such as the Global Mentoring Program. These are aimed at your overall learning and development as an individual. Are you taking advantage of these? If not, start today! For those of you who work elsewhere, pay attention to the opportunities in your organization.   Nevertheless, don’t forget that you hold the key to your future. So unless “you choose” to invest your time, energy and effort into yourself, no amount of external facilitation can prove useful.

Therefore, let us leave our past and its ways behind and start afresh today with a renewed focus on learning and self-development. In the words of Socrates, “Let him who would move the world, first move himself!”