Get up and move forward

In my previous edition I was talking about How life could be unpredictable and How much we need to have a calm mind while facing difficulties in life and control our reactions! And how thankful I am towards life in general.

In this edition I will talk about the difficulties that I faced How I overcame those difficulties.

I was an average student with rebellious mindset from the childhood.

I used to live with my grand parents as the school was near to the place. My grandparents used to follow all the rituals and traditions and I used to question those! Sometimes they were annoyed by the questions and my arguments however they loved me a lot so they tried to adapt with the mindset of the kid. For instance, in my grandparents home western culture music and film music were not allowed. They used to love their classical songs, gazals and bhajans. Once I bought a cassette (Yes I am that old) of film music, from my pocket money which created a huge fuss in the family. However they later understood and gave me the permission to listen to it once in a day for 30 minutes. They were trying adapt with the new mindset of the kid. Another example I can think about was once there was a death among one of our relative. The ritual is that relatives of the very person who died can't eat non-veg items. However as my grandfather knew that I absolutely hated to eat veg items, he used bring delicious chicken items for me at night and told not to share the information with anyone in the joint family set up and used to say "Go near the window, I am closing the door. Have your food and throw the packet at the roadside, use the tissue paper and clean up your mouth". I used to follow each and every instructions and act accordingly.

Just think a traditional old man who used to love his kurta and dhoti, used to hear devotional songs changing for the grand kid he used to love.

He also taught me how to lead by example by giving small tasks. For example, for the first time he sent me to nearby shop for buying few items and gave me an extra amount, which I returned to him after buying those products.

He did ask me 'Why you didn't use that to buy something for yourself?'

I replied 'You didn't tell me that'

He then smiled and told me to keep it as a pocket money.

He then asked 'What are the things that I noticed while going alone towards the shop?'

I replied 'Nothing much, I was too concerned about the things I have to buy and figuring out the road so I didn't focus on anything else.'

He told me 'Always notice things happening around the surrounding, staying aware is the key to lead'.

That is how I learned from my experience about honesty, leadership, empathy, adaption to change, communicating with clear instructions.

Time flies and I was in the middle of a behavioral workshop as an employee where my previous 2 colleagues were training students of management institute which was the institute from where I completed my MBA. I was trying to understand the process of experiential learning and co-operating with them. To be very honest I was not satisfied with the outcome as I felt they were not prepared for the questions which was out of the box. Second day was cancelled by the institute for that reason however they gave us the last chance to perform on the third day. At night just before the third day I got the information from my hometown that my father passed away. I could have left the city and came back for my father's funeral, no one would have felt offended. I informed my family that I will come after a day so they have to delay the funeral. They fortunately agreed. I stayed back and requested one of my friend to go with me next day to the workshop so that I can save the behavioral training workshop. As I was sure about his quality as a trainer however I am a kinesthetic so I needed to see him perform. After the day, me and the management from the institution was happy with the outcome. I didn't had money to come back to the city so I requested my friend to give me some money and went to the airport. That was my first flight and no one was with me, I didn't had any ideas about the rules and regulations of the airport. However I was calm enough and was aware of the situation to understand the procedures. I boarded the flight and landed in the city and straight went to the hospital where my father's body was! Performed the funeral rituals and consoled my sister and took my niece on the lap and started playing with her. Someone has to hold the brave face to control the situation.

So What I did in the difficult situation?

First, I calmed myself down, focused on the job in hand, prioritize the situation which needed to be taken care first. Then followed the heart.

Secondly, As I learned from my grandfather about staying aware of the situation helped me to control my emotion and be rational about the thought process.

Thirdly, I was empathetic towards my colleagues who were doing their first training workshop as trainers. And I felt it's my duty to make the behavioral workshop a success.

Fourthly, I used my communication skill and persuaded my friend and convinced him to go with me.

Fifthly, I used my leadership skills to ensure the workshop was a success and I can attend the funeral as well.

Sixthly, I used my crisis management skill to introduce a new trainer on the final day.

Seventhly, Didn't allow my mind to overthink! Just did tasks one by one so I can successfully do both my duties with utmost sincerity.

The reward for this was I got sacked by the employer for unknown reason.

Anyhow that's life!

I came back stronger out of that situation. Thinking How? Will reveal it in the next edition. Keep on reading!

?"It ain't about how hard you hit.?It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward.?That's how winning is done!” Rocky Balboa