A roadblock indicates that there is a road ahead.

I still recall the first day of my work at the Corporate office in my previous organization. The assistant was a peculiar person. It was not easy to get her to teach me the skills required for the job. To learn something new, we have to be ready to humble ourselves and serve the other person. By all means, I could have disregarded her and hindered my learning. But, I have learned that learning starts with being determined in the face of all odds. A roadblock is an indicator of the road ahead. If you want to be the finest, you have to be prepare to handle the toughest. You have to be prepared to leave your comfort zone and take a leap of faith toward the unknown territory. Ready to face the opposition, I still showed up every day. I had to reassure her that I was not trying to take her position but I was ready to serve her. The price is willing to lay down your ego, being humble, ignoring the unnecessary remarks and being able to sit through the discomfort of not being able to understand another language or even being made responsible for something you have no clue about. An unknown territory could be difficult but not impossible to navigate through if we have made up our mind. Through ups and downs, valleys and mountains, every learning has its own set of challenges. Just like when I first learned to write, I remember how messy and difficult it was to get my grip on the pencil. I remember erasing several times till the paper would tear apart. But, day by day, page by page, I started to get a grip of holding the pencil and develop my handwriting. We might not understand the people who are working with us but we can still choose to be kind to them. They might resist us but we can choose to support them. In doing so, we can bring healing to them. There are many reasons why people react the way they do; we might never know but underneath all, one thing is certain, they are often hurting. Sometimes the only way to get through to them is by being kind to them. A harsh word stirs up anger but a soft response usually calms down the situation. So, I often asked this girl, "How could I help her?" And as she started to soften, she would delegate small tasks to me and I started to do them with excellence. No task is too small if we are willing to learn. At times, I needed to just listen and not answer back her rude remarks aimed at discouraging me. I had to make a commitment to listen which is when learning begins to happen. Listening eases the tension more than anything. I have learnt that I might not have the answers but when I listen, half of the battle is already won. Just listening to someone going through a difficulty helps them to be calm. If they push us to respond, all we have to do is to repeat what they already said. Empathy can gain influence. It often times heals the person who is going through so much pain. Sometimes, you meet people who irritate you because they need to be healed of the pain inside. You don't fight back but say to that person, let me help you. This in no way means putting up with wrong behavior or actions of others but it means that when people are angry or agitated, they are really calling for someone to help them. The more we help them to overcome the anger, the more our influence grows as a leader. So, I continued to support and learn from this person. Over time, I started to climb up because I had learned a great deal in the process. Leaders keep climbing up as their influence starts to grow. Each of us has an opportunity to develop and invest in ourselves. The thing that hinders us most is our limited mindset. Our mindset could limit us from achieving good things. If you have an idea, see the big picture, conceptualize it in your mind because that is where it begins. Then, start to work toward it. If you need to learn some new skill, pursue it. Have foresight, calculate the cost and then consistently work toward it. You have to be a good steward as you manage someone else's property or resources. The girl in my story started to assign me important work because she started to trust me. We have to be good stewards of the work assigned to us. We are always managing something valuable and we have to learn to take responsibility and manage the resources well. So, I started to handle the work with care and my commitment showed her that I was ready to handle the work. So, keeping aside my pride, reputation and job title, I learned my job. Looking back, I can confidently say that one of my best learnings came from one of my toughest experiences with her.