Skip to main content

Change is at hand

I wake up in the morning, the start of a new day. Unknown to me, at some time during the night, the day has changed. I have adapted to this change subconsciously - I knew this change was going to happen. Monday would turn into Tuesday and I at some level in my mind, I have accounted for my approach to this day. However, certain tasks during my day undergo a change. I find that there is no electricity in the morning - I will not have hot water for a bath. Oops! I have to change my system to brace for the cold water on a chilly morning in Bengaluru.

Leaving for work later, I find that the road near a traffic signal has been dug up for repairs. I have to change my route again to be able to reach the office. I have adapted to these little differences in my daily routine, sure. How could I adopt to bigger changes happening around me all the time? There are changes in the government. I don't feel the effect of that change immediately, but surely, at some point in the future, maybe in a few months, years perhaps? My mind changes thoughts faster than I can speak them. I can not control my mind no more than I can control the Stock markets or the result of an India v/s Australia cricket match! So what is the big deal about this change anyway?

The longer I am ensconced in my daily routines, the harder it is for me to adapt to a new situation. It is no surprise to me that the Indian Under-17 cricket teams consistently do well, beating more established processes and systems in place in other countries. Adapting to a situation at hand comes naturally to people who are brought up in an environment where one is never sure about the availability of water and electricity at best. Throw in food scarcity to that mix and of course, handling a situation at the cricket ground in a sport is so much easier. Afghanistan has qualified for a major cricket tournament. Afghanistan! Has there been a more war torn country in the past 30 years in this world? The people there have adapted so well to changes around them that the challenges that a changed location that a cricket match is taking place in has little effect on their psyche.

Change management is a topic in most Management courses around the world. Give me a person who have been through a war torn country, fled and emigrated to more peaceful nations and I will give you a man who will tackle any change head on. Fearing change is to belittle oneself. Surely, there is no way to predict the future, why then do we fear the unknown? The world is unknown - step out with the head held high - change is only for those who perceive it that way. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Eraser is the devil!

An interesting read in today's newspaper had to do with the proclamation by a cognitive scientist that a Pencil eraser is the Devil! Who would have thunk it?! The innocent little eraser, the scrubby little thing, the chocolate toffee sized, multi-faceted pencil eraser is a devil?? Really? As you read along, you would realize that the pencil eraser is used to correct mistakes made and give an appearance of cleanliness, almost as if the contents were all written clean and good at the first time of writing. It encourages children to seek perfection in their presentation at the cost of making mistakes and learning from these mistakes. The act of erasing misspellings or hastily scribbled, illegible notes indicates a need to cover up and not own up to faults and/ or mistakes. Ah! Now that makes sense. When I was encouraging people to make mistakes so they learn from them, I did not realize that the devil of playing it safe and presenting a clean picture to the world germinates from t...

Migration

We have hired a cook who comes in every day. His value to our livelihood is immense - he ensures that the primary requirement in every day life is resolved by cooking our food. He has his quirks, we all do. He goes around to 12 other houses in a single day, repeating the task in a seemingly tireless way. He works hard. He is up from 6:00 a.m in the morning, reporting to his first house at 6:45 a.m, returning home for lunch and a nap in the afternoon before another bout of cooking across multiple houses resumes in the evening. He finishes the day at 10:30 p.m, returning home for dinner and a night's sleep. He forms part of a large migrant community that moves from a smaller town to a big city in search of opportunities and a better livelihood than the one that they experience back home. The blueprint has remained the same through centuries and continues unabated even today. They leave their children and family back there to be brought up by supporting family members while they su...

Honor "No"

As a child, the Amar Chitra Katha was a major source of Hindu mythological stories. The stories often dealt with the kings and queens of the years gone by, part mythological and part historical. Now, the kings, being kings, would order things done and voila! there it would be. One such story narrated the happenings - the king would only have to shout, "Who is there?!" and there would be a few courtiers, soldiers that would come running to receive his orders. Nowadays, if I were to shout "Who is there?!" at home, I would hear back: "What is wrong with you? Who else will be here?" Indication enough that I am best off doing what ever task there was to be done, by myself. Move to the office, shouting "Who is there?!" whenever a task needs to be done urgently will return inquisitive looks from all within ear shot. Of course, the source of enormous levity at dinner table conversations at all the employees' homes would be an appreciable side ef...