RAMAMUTHY: It doesn’t hurt to take time to invest in others

Columnists

It doesn’t hurt to take time to invest in others

Tuesday, February 26, 2019 19:49

By THIAGARAJAN RAMAMUTHY |

The battle of self is as old as time and continues to follow many of us irrespective of age, experience and stage in life.

It gets more complicated, yet beautiful due to the fact that we live in an age of unprecedented opportunity replete with ambition, drive, and talent. As we try to grapple with complexities of life, one major question, and which gives many of us gray hair is how to effectively manage our lives - and align it to our own expectations.

The greatest tragedy however, manifests itself the moment we walk the journey of life but continue to fail to realize that we are our own impediment to self actualization.

This situation is compounded when we fail to see that we have – for a very long time – been responsible for our own stagnation in the journey of self management.

It is not uncommon to hear people grumble about the vagaries of life; the question is, why do we grumble about our life? Just why do we keep finding fault with the people and environment? Why do we become impatient suddenly and feel depressed when things don’t turn out the way we would like.

It is all about self realisation. In the absence of the periodical mental health checks and assessment of skills, mindset and knowledge and direction, one would have a jaundiced eye on everything around him. This is true.

Is there remedy? The answer is a resounding YES.

This is what you will have to do; acquire and develop aptitude to acquire relevant and practical knowledge. Do not allow your acquired knowledge to gather dust, apply every bit of it to indentify and build yourself.

Also, learn from experience – and do not hesitate to tweak your behaviour to fit the template of self management. It doesn’t stop there, embrace a few core values and strive to live by them.

And when change pays you a visit, accept the change, and adjust as fast as possible. Once you have learned to manage yourself, aligning yourself to manage people as well as the environment will be a leisurely cake walk. Just don’t forget to be the catalyst where needed.

Most importantly, the values you uphold must be demonstrated in reality. This will legitimize your credibility. In other words, you must be known for something that you live by. The dynamic life demands everyone to be a leader in his own right, taking prudent. Decisions and setting the priorities right. It tests one’s own ability to manage situations, create harmony and progress with the objective to realize positive results.

Invest in good communication skills. Good listeners and moderators handle things better with their communication skill, broader approach and empathy. And while at it, try to do your best by carrying out your responsibilities and in the process creating value for the future generation. It is refreshing and most satisfying to put a smile in other peoples’ faces.

It invites great satisfaction to just take time to stand by those in need, creating the sense of togetherness and drive value to the people in all possible ways.

Often, anyone who is people oriented will have satisfaction, yet sustaining it will be a challenge due to limited resources and probably time.

THIAGARAJAN RAMAMUTHY, Business Leader & CEO, Bidco Africa.