Reflections 2022- a commoner

Last year I posted "Reflections 2021". I posted that on my FB too and when that popped up a week back, I been thinking what can post for 2022. I came up with only three points I wanted to share

Survive, Be happy, Pay it forward

Why these three? We all survived the greatest pandemic world has seen ever. We are survivors not just because of this but many other ways; we are breathing, eating, have a cover over our head and above all we are still around. Second one being happy, is a state of mind, in my opinion. Are you happy? retrospect yourself. Third one is very close and dear to my heart; to do whatever you can to help without anticipating anything from anyone. Let me go in detail about these below

SURVIVE: At work, in life we face change as a constant. How do we go thru a situation during change is what makes us survive. We can think positive and move forward or don't want to say the other one as I always let people stay positive. When we all went thru the pandemic, we looked at a lot of information coming our way in multiple ways, and we made our own decisions. Likewise at work also make sure whatever you hear and see, just be a data person, analyse the data, and make an informed decision that will help you. While we were going thru a huge change at work, I managed the integration process and survived. Stayed close to my management to get right information, shared transparently with my teams and kept everyone informed of the future what management is planning. This helped us all sail thru and we all survived the change. I am happy to have the best team that I work with now after we survived. For all of you out there never think half glass full, never worry about anything but have an open conversation with someone you trust that will help you thru any incident, situation, problem and unexpected act in your life. "Change is not a threat it is an opportunity. Survival is not a goal, transformative success is" A beautiful quote I found on internet

Be Happy: I was reading an article by Ravi Venkatesan whom I admire and respect. He was our India head when I worked at Microsoft. I read his post a few times. I realized I follow some of the points he was making. (1) Post | Feed | LinkedIn Sarround yourself with people with positive mind set. I always have my high school and engineering friends and alumni who keep me grounded as they are different walks of life. What is happiness for everyone is self-defined just like work life balance. I enjoy sunrises with a coffee and love to watch sunsets. Spending an hour with my young alumni energizes me. Educating and mentoring some of the alumni and friends' children leaves me with great joy. Cooking a small dish for kids at home and seeing a happy smile on their faces brings a smile on my face. Is one gives me more happiness than the other- I don't think so. Serach for what you enjoy the most to make you to have a smile on your face always. Do that... "Being happy never goes out of style" A quote from internet but my exact feeling

Pay It Forward: There is a great movie called "Pay it Forward" from 2000. I watched in US, a classic for many to know what it is called "Pay it Forward". I did not know till now that this concept was used in a regional movie too. Growing up as a railway kid, watched my father and his colleague who were union people. What stuck with me till date is their honesty, integrity and helping people. When I think back, they were paying it forward. They were helping the people without expecting anything back. I learned and been practicing this for so many years in my life. When you help someone, you forget. They meet you after a long time and remind you - in my mind that joy and happy state of mind cannot be described. How you want to pay it forward is up to you; time, money, and anything that you can share. If you believe in Hindu Karma philosophy, whatever you give comes back in multiples in a different from, shape, size and place. I experienced this a number of times. Remember when you ask for something to help others the universe will help you. I don't think I can have a better quote than this to complete this section "?“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill.

In summary the year 2022 taught me a lot. I learnt to be listening more, help more, lead well, and became even more humble. Share if you experienced the same way of 2022 in comments