Sore Loser

Elections for the Presidentship of an organisation seemed lopsided with one contestant claiming sure victory. He and his supporters confidently rattled off various factors that seemed in their favour. However, the result was otherwise.

The shocked loser started blaming everyone and everything. He found fault with many things. He blamed others for his loss. He was a sore loser!

 

Nobody likes to lose, but there is a line that should never be crossed… the line between amateur and professional, child and adult. In the heat of the moment, it is not the greatest athletes that shine through, but the best people.

 

Sore losers are competitive about everything. They throw a tantrum when things don't go their way. They try to put the blame elsewhere. They dwell on the situation for longer than they need to. They discredit the actual winner. They get personal.

 

Being competitive isn’t a bad thing, we all want to succeed, but we must know that in reality we can’t always win. Accept that that’s okay – it’s a normal part of life. If you’re a sore loser, it’s maybe because you struggle to manage your emotions in the moment.

 

Acknowledging that you’re a sore loser is the best place to start. Then, make a conscious effort to not react negatively when you lose. We should focus on creating a rational and positive mind-set. Losing a game or an election isn’t the end of the world, so credit the winner and say well done!

Be a truly gracious sport in every game…

Don’t be a sore loser with excuses lame!

 

- Pravin K. Sabnis

Heritage

The word comes from ‘that which may be inherited’ from Old French. It is pertinent to note the component ‘Heir’ which obviously refers to something that is inherited… meaning passed on by someone else from the sometime of days gone by.

Anything that is received from contributions of someone else cannot be squandered away. It has to be retained and maintained… it needs to be restored and secured for the future. To be careless of heritage, is to we lose the valuable fruit of the efforts of our ancestors.

 

Not all heritage may be desirable. It may have negative experiences attached to it. There may be pain or hurt involved in its birth. Nevertheless, it will offer wisdom if we choose to learn lessons instead of blindly glorifying it.

 

The past tells us where we have come from… it does not tell us where we will go! Our future is determined by the way we learn from what has happened before. We must embrace the positives and we must distance ourselves from the negatives. But we must learn either way!

 

May heritage and its lessons lead us to wisdom. When heritage is destroyed, the lessons are lost. Hence we should take care of all heritage: natural or man-made. But the biggest learning comes from the heritage called humaneness… Let’s ensure that it is passed on!

 

Heritage is a great teacher of what happened before

The positive will lead to lessons as will painful sores!

 

- Pravin K. Sabnis

Farewell

JCI (Junior Chamber International) is an organisation for young persons between the age 18 to 40. Last year JCI India started SMA (Senior Members Association) to reconnect older members. At a recently held SMA Conclave, Ashraf Ali Nizari was addressing the valedictory ceremony as Chief Guest. 

He informed that the term ‘valedictory’ was drawn from a Latin origin ‘valedicere’ which means ‘to say farewell’. When conclaves conclude, the delegates disperse while bidding farewell to each other. Ashraf pointed out that it would be pertinent to bid farewell to all that was preventing us from moving ahead.

 

He asked the delegates to bid farewell to the smug situation of stagnation… to the plateauing of aspirations… to the unwillingness to adapt… to the reluctance to learn new knowledge and skills… he urged the audience to find new meaning and purpose to life by ‘saying farewell’ to all that was preventing full-on living.

 

We restrict ourselves when we do not let go of the fetters that are forged due to a slow-down in mid-life. The chains are in the mind and it is there that we have to break the shackles. But  before we say farewell to the fetters, we must first know of their existence.

 

We must identify what restrains us from our passion, potential and possibilities. We must own up to the yokes that burden our progress. When we say farewell to friends and colleagues, it is with an intention to meet again… but with fetters, it should be a final farewell!

 

To all the fetters that frustrate your feet

Say farewell to those and do new feats!

 

- Pravin K. Sabnis

 

60 seconds

The One Minute Manager is a bestseller by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. The book tells a story of three techniques of an effective manager: one minute goals, one minute praise and one minute reprimands.

 The three simple tools, each taking 60 seconds or less, but can tremendously improve how managers do their job: getting people to stay motivated, happy and deliver great work. Each takes only a minute but is of lasting benefit.

 

The conciseness or the shortness of expression increases effectiveness and efficiency. On the other hand, long windedness leads to ambiguity or divergence. While brevity ensures focus and clarity, long-windedness leads to confusion in the communication.

 

Those who speak less often speak best as they get to the point without beating around the bush. Most speak more because they seek to impress the other. But we must remember that it is more important to express aptly.

 

Hence we must speak for less than 60 second every time we communicate goals, praise or reprimand. The one minute frame works for other things as well: giving instructions, sharing feelings, presenting ideas and the list goes on.

 

60 seconds is more than need

When focus you seek to feed!

 

- Pravin K. Sabnis