Rozina Asif
WHY say or claim something that we cannot model through our personality? Yes, we cannot be in other’s shoes all the time but we know the size of our own so why not talk about what we can walk comfortably and confidently? It is just a matter of being true to our self by knowing the real strength and weaknesses. Why do we have to pretend and impress all the time? Why do we not enjoy being original?
Our actions should match our words to have a long-lasting impact, people observe you more than your exhortations. You cannot grow the culture by just imposing the rules till you are not in the game yourself. You need to constantly work on your skills and evolve to gain the trust of people and work towards team building.
Do what you believe: Strategy which is based on personal belief gets more success, therefore, do what you believe. If you are not convinced about anything yourself; how will you be able to take others on board? Anything without a strong vision has no energy to reach the height of success. Here you need to identify your passion, that how deep and how strongly you want something. Here you need to define the best supportive strategy to reach the goal. It is very crucial to find out the real depth of your idea by cross-checking it with your belief and passion.
Become the change you wish to see. It is not enough to give a good speech and to demand others to bring the change that you desire. We spend a lot of time and energy trying to change other people. There is, after all, so much wrong with them: they’re egotist, big-headed, bullying, scrawny, cold, deprived and so on. So, we try to point this out and often meet with confrontation, denial, or sheer indifference. This can be very disturbing and hence renders us cross and severe. Instead of teaching directly is it not better to teach by example? We can at least take pride in the integrity of our position, knowing that we have had the strength and dignity already to have started to become the change we want to see around us.
Explore, read, and learn: The more you explore you gain confidence about the implementation of your idea(s). You learn when you read, compare, discuss and share. It is okay if you do not know the detail of something but it is not okay if you do not want to know. Somewhere inside, you need the confirmation that you are on the right path, and you get this confirmation when you gather more information, where you discover every bit of ideas coming your way in this journey of exploration. Embrace the process and feel the change in every step of this learning. Intelligibility in thoughts will make you walk more assuredly.
Do not make false commitments. Your words should mean something. If you start failing to meet the expectations and promises you set from the beginning, then no one will have no reliance on you, no trust in you, no belief in you, and you’ll slaughter your reputation. This lack of integrity won’t let you walk confidently. Sometimes you cannot fulfill your promises, sometimes emergencies occur and you can’t bring on and fulfil what you promised. Not a big deal, reach out and explain the situation, most people are sensible. You need to work to make it right to gain the confidence of the people.
Own your idea and lead from the front: Your idea is your baby, no one can work with the same interest the way you can, so own it and expand by devising the right strategy. You have to lead your idea in your unique way. By being present in the process, you can keep injecting your passion and energy at any stage of the process.
Take criticism positively: Very important to get connected with the right people not only to learn but to get the right support. Ask them to check on you and highlight where you are deviating from what you said or even if you are saying something which you cannot justify as per your personality type. These constant checks and suggestions will help you grow more confident and into a stronger personality. It will help you learn the ways to live up to your words. Let this New Year be a year of your true self where you walk your talk more flagrantly.
—The writer is an educationist based in Islamabad.
