MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Here’s an inspirational story that I first heard from my favourite teacher, Fr. Gatti... A visitor to a beach noticed that the waves brought along hundreds of starfish. However, when the waves ebbed, they left behind many starfish to die. The man decided to save the starfish. He would pick them one by one and throw them in the water.

A passerby observed the starfish saviour with amusement, ‘There are hundreds of starfish. How many can you help? What difference does it make?’ This kind-hearted man immediately responded, ‘It makes a difference to this one.’ And he threw yet another starfish back to the safety of the sea.

We need to ask ourselves: what difference are we making? Big or small, does not really matter. Surely, if everyone made a small difference, we would be responsible for a big difference. Importantly, for the one who is impacted positively by our initiative, we will have made the difference. And for ourselves we will have made the difference of moving to being part of the solution rather than being audience to a predicament.

Those who initiate efforts, only if results of great magnitude are assured, can never really make a difference. Ayn Rand has said it so well, ‘Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps, down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision.’ To make a difference, we must be better at taking initiative, without getting trapped in gauging the scale of impact.

In every situation, let’s BE BETTER at making a difference

... by distancing our actions from the success reference!

- Pravin K. Sabnis

PRAVIN SABNIS conducts UNLEARNING UNLIMITED outbound workshops. MONDAY MUSE is based on JCI-India’s National President’s theme: Touch To Transform (2004), We Are The Future (2005), Speak Through Action (2006), Develop New Dimensions (2007) & the JCI theme – BE BETTER (2008 onwards).

TRUE SELF

An eager student approached a Zen master with a poser, ‘I don’t know who I am. Please, help me see my true self!’ The master just kept silent. The man began to plead and persist, yet the master gave no response. Finally the man resigned to his frustration and moved to leave. At that moment, the master called out to him by name. ‘Yes!’ the man exclaimed as he spun back around. ‘There it is!’ exclaimed the master.

This Zen anecdote reminds me of the number of occasions when I search for my spectacles, only to have somebody else point out that I am wearing them! Obviously, it is yet another funny search to find what already is in my possession. Ditto for our search to discover our true self!

However, if we really look, our true self need not be a blind spot. Our true self is obvious to the ones who encounter us often. Others can see the obvious because they see it in our behavioural responses. If we analyse the consistency or the lack of our behaviour in response to varied persons and situations, we will be able to understand the choices we make based on our wants and needs.

Others can help us realise what we really are, but it is only we who can choose what we want to be. Hence, rather than spend time, effort and energy on getting to know our true self, let’s be better at becoming the true self we would like to be. It is important to focus on what we would like to be, instead of only determining what we are!

Let’s BE BETTER at being true to our self…

Rather than a shallow search of our true self!

- Pravin K. Sabnis

WIIFM

In most organisations, leadership responsibilities include the important tenet that motivation to achieve goals is proportional to the extent that self-interests are satisfied. This theory is popularly known as ‘What’s in it for me?’ or WIIFM. To put it simply, the WIIFM principle states that self-interest is the greatest motivator.

The WIIFM principle is used by many motivators to find out needs, desires or motives of their team members. These needs are determined by asking people what they want directly or indirectly by observing what interests them. Unsatisfied needs can make one experience the drive to pursue goals and satisfy his needs.

However, self-interest need not be of selfish nature. It is pertinent to note that helping others can satisfy self-interest. Surely, even being humane results in an experience of need satisfaction. For instance, not everyone participates in community work to satisfy the self-interest of recognition. So many do it because it satisfies their self-interest of making a difference to the situation or maybe just feel good!

Persons who involve in positive, proactive work have actually aligned their WIIFM with a broader vision and a larger mission. They are the ones whose self-interest lies in looking at larger interests of society. All of us need to be better at ensuring that our WIIFM is progressive and sensitive to the greater needs of humanity.

Let’s BE BETTER at looking beyond where self-interest stood

WIIFM should align with needs of the greater common good!

- Pravin K. Sabnis

CUP OF CAFFEINE

One night, a businessman was working late in his office on a crucial assignment. He was exhausted and was finding it difficult to remain awake. He reached out for the bottle of coffee that his secretary kept in her desk and made himself a hot cup of coffee. He immediately felt refreshed and was able to complete his work.

He mused over the magic produced by the cup of coffee in altering his tired mind into alertness. He was convinced that the crucial ingredient in the coffee that made the conversion possible – caffeine – was indeed a remarkable substance. He decided that he should thank his secretary for her thoughtfulness in keeping that coffee bottle in the office.

The next day, he presented a box of sweets to his secretary, profusely thanked her and waxed eloquent about the wonders of caffeine that was in the coffee that was in the bottle in her desk… Hearing this, his secretary began laughing and showed him the label of the coffee bottle which read – decaffeinated coffee!

His ‘belief’ that caffeine would drive away his tiredness transformed his state of mind. If he chose to believe, even a plain glass of water would have had the same effect. Our mind rules our body and our beliefs rule our mind. It is pertinent to note that conviction borne of strong belief needs no other crutches! Not even caffeine!

No need for crutches like cups of caffeine,

Let’s BE BETTER at beliefs that sustain!

- Pravin K. Sabnis