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Nothing is difficult

At the end of the terrorist cleanup operation at Taj Hotels in Mumbai, seeking a sound bite, a Times Now TV reporter asked a Commando of the Indian Army "Kya bahut mushkil tha?" (Was it very difficult?)

The Commando, all smiles, replied her back "Hamareliye Koyi Mushkil nahin" (Nothing is difficult for us)

That is the attitude we all must have. 

When you attempt something and show commitment as if your life is at stake and remain selfless, nothing is difficult.

Moral Classes

When I was in the school, we used to have a one hour class every week called “Moral Class”. We used to look forward to that class as that was when no boring subjects were taught. A teacher will come to tell us stories, give us story books from the school library to read in his class or ask us to take turns to tell a story to the class.

The only criteria for all the stories that were told or given to be read was that it should have some moral and instil a sense of morality in the young minds. So that the student grew up with good values imbibed and the country in turn got good citizens who have high moral values. A strong and far sighted view.

Once you have the people with high moral values in the society, it is easy to get honest husbands, wifes, teachers, doctors, engineers, lawyers, accountants and politicians.

When I look back and think about those classes I note that a majority of moral values and good attitude that I have today were shaped by those classes and stories that I heard.

It also makes me think that they were too few to make a strong and sound impact. The fact that the moral classes and inpartation of moral values were inadequate is very evident when you look at the society around you, including yourself. We have too few morally strong people around us. All of us sacrificy morality and honesty at some area or other. If it gives some monetory gain we are prepared to do that.

However, the little amount of moral values inculcated in us do come out time and again as we do not intrinsically like dishonesty. We do not want to be one, but we are pushed to that by the larger society. It is the society that has grown up with lower level of moral orientation that forces one to disregard the moral values. I think that no one, including the politicians whom we think are most corrupt and have no moral values, do not want to be that way.
We all crave for a morally strong socieity and that thought keeps coming out in some form or other. Take for example the many emails that we receive, with some moral story, as forwards from our friends and relatives who in turn received it from their friends and they from their friends and so on.

These emails get forwarded because each one who read that story considered that it is a nice story, it contained a nice message. The person forwarding the message was impressed by the good message in that story and that story made an impact on that person. And he considers it a good thing to share the good message with his friends and relatives so that they are also enriched with that good message or thoughts.

If you think about it deeply, the spreading of these good messages emanate from a desire that we all have. A desire to have a better socieity. A society with stronger moral values. A society with an improved degree of honesty and trust.

If the small amount of moral dose that we got in the school prompts this small activity what impact it would have had if only we had lesser 10 minutes less of Maths, Science, English and History in each school day and added those minutes to moral classes?

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I was inspired to write what you read above on reading the story below that I got on email from a friend.
A blind girl hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her.

She told her boyfriend “If only I could see the world, I will marry you”.

One day, someone donated her a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she could see the world. She could see everything, including her boyfriend.

He asked her, “now that you could see the world, will you marry me?”

The girl looked at her boyfriend. He was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn’t expected that. The thought of living with a blind man for the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him.

Her boyfriend left her in tears and days later wrote to her a note that said “take good care of your eyes dear. Before they were yours, they were mine”.

This is an example of how human brain works when there is a change in the status. Very few remember what was life before and who was with them during the painful times.

If you serve you will never work

A Paradigm Shift

One evening a scholar was addressing the participants on the concept of work culture. One of the participants asked the following question:

"I am a senior manager of Materials Department and I joined an organization 25 years ago as an Engineer Trainee and over the last 25 years I have gone through every experience in the organization.

During the initial part of my career, the job was very challenging and interesting.

However, all those exciting days are gone since I do not find my work any more interesting because there is nothing new in my job. I am now feeling bored because I am doing a routine job.

However, Sir, I am living in the same house for over forty years, I am the son for the same parents for over forty five years, I am the father for the same children for the past ten years and the husband for the same lady for the past twenty years!

In these personal roles I do not feel bored Please tell me why I am bored of the routine in the office and not in the house?"

The response from Scholar was very interesting and convincing. He asked the executive the question:

"Please tell me for whom does your Mother cook ?"

The executive replied that obviously the mother cooks for others.

Then the Scholar said that the mother "Serves" others and because of this service mindedness, she is not feeling tired or bored. But in an office,we "Work" and not "Serve". Anything we consider, as service will not make us feel bored. That is difference between Serving and Working.

He asked the executive to consider his work as service and not merely a work !! Whenever you put a larger context around your work and see a broader meaning for your work, you will take interest in your work and it will make a very big difference in your internal energy.

Attitude Matters !!!

If you think you are working for the organization you will get frustrated. If you feel you are doing a service you will find happiness. After all, doing what you like is freedom but liking what you do is happiness!

Victor Menezes, former CEO of Citibank in his final mail to Citibank staff worldwide said: "If you like what you do you will never work for a day in your life".

Long ago (over 15 years back) one acquaintance told me this: "When you have something to do, never think that you "have to" do it. That is forcing yourself to do something and you will not be able to put in your 100% into that job. Always tune your mind to say "want to do it". See the magic when "have to do" becomes "want to do".

Have you seen my other blog?

Brand New - Hare & Tortoise story

Modified to your benefit

Please read till the end!

The following is a story narrated by the famous Sh G. Narayan, which serves as a lesson for survival in today's context.

A hare and a tortoise live in Ahmedabad. They are good friends and like all good friends sometimes have a dig at each other. One day in a light mood the hare ridiculed the tortoise for his slow pace. The tortoise reacted by challenging the hare for a race between Paldi to Navarangpura.

On the appointed day and time the two assemble at the starting line and start the race. The hare dashes off the start line like a flash. After crossing the midway mark he feels that a short nap would do no harm.

The short nap turned out to be a bit too long. Meanwhile the tortoise crosses the hare and reaches the destination. The hare wakes from the slumber, oblivious of the time, and dashes off towards the finish. To his dismay he finds the tortoise having a nap at the finish line.

The moral of the story is "Slow and steady wins the race."

The story does not end here.....

The hare goes home and soon understands that complacency and overconfidence were the reasons of his defeat. He vows not to repeat the mistake again. He then invites the tortoise for another race. The tortoise agrees to his friend's request. They meet at the appointed day and time at the starting point. The race starts. This time the hare dashes off to the finishing line without taking a break and wins the race comfortably.

The moral of the story is "Fast and steady wins the race".

The story does not end here.....

The tortoise goes home and thinks hard. He was aware that the hare cannot be defeated in speed. He then ponders over his core competence. At last he finds a solution and invites the hare to another race. This time the course is changed. It is from Paldi to Airport. The hare agrees.

At the appointed day and time the two meet at the start line and the race begins. The hare dashes off like a flash. Soon he arrives at the banks of river Sabarmati and is overwhelmed by a sense of dejection as he did not know how to swim. The tortoise comes to the bank looks at the hare with sympathy and coolly gets into the water. He swims to the other side goes to the airport and comes back.

The moral of the story is "Core competence wins the race."

But the story does not end here....

Both the friends decide it was enough of racing against each other. Why not think hard and find a way by which they together could travel from Paldi to airport at the minimum possible time. At the end of a brain storming session they come out with a solution and decide to try out the next morning. At the appointed time they meet at the starting line. The tortoise sits on the back of the hare. The hare dashes off form Paldi to the banks of Sabarmati. There the hare gets on the back of the tortoise and the tortoise swiftly crosses the river. On reaching the other side the tortoise again sits on the back of the hare. The hare runs as fast as he can to the airport. Thus they both reach airport in the fastest possible time.

The moral of the story is "Innovation and team work wins the race"


Have you seen my other blog?
And another one?