Bamboo In The Wind

The presence is real, touchy-feely and believable. The positive presence emanates from a sincere, caring,  and engaging participation contributes to it;  in real-time. But then, often we feel vibe of care even when no such active engagement is underway. It reminds us of someone or something special. We feel the aura of someone's attitude, approach, demeanour, behaviour, deeds, and way of thinking. Such soft attributes have a tremendous power of positive and negative vibes both. One is capable of leaving behind a trail of positive vibes through their careful investment in work, acts, and relationships.   And it is their work and care for us that generates  the breeze of air that makes us feel safe, secure or relaxed. That pumps up inside. Raises our self-belief. We get a strong signal that someone is watching over us. It is then, we are witnessing a lingering presence!

You are constantly hunting for dream work. Despite slogging it out, elevations are elusive. Others judge you for how you are doing at work. Often your version of how you are doing and that of others responsible for you tends to be different. The reason is conflicting goals driven by factors beyond your decision circle. Broad goals are defined at the top of the hierarchy. In the absence of adequate simplicity, the expectations at different levels begin to dilute. Goals are collective organizational responsibility. When they flow top-down, organizations do a poor job of breaking those down into smaller actionable tasks. Emphasis on turning those into simple organizational priorities for everyone striving to achieve those is critical. Organizations are layered with growing experience and expertise going bottom up. Taking the maturity of such a structure into account is paramount when articulating goals. In the absence of an understanding of goals at an emotional level, the belief in the o...

Willpower is the will to control the outcome. It expresses the desire that something is done as willed. Willpower makes one behave in a desired manner most of the time. There are good days when you are compliant with the desired behaviour, but there are also bad days when you are flexible about the undesired behaviour. Willpower depends on the effects of circumstances on emotions to decide how to cater to the willed behaviour. What that means is you can negotiate with your will. Rules, on the other hand, are automatic behaviours. You do not negotiate with circumstances and associated emotional responses every time you need to make a decision. You default to rules and stick to the behavioural patterns defined by them. In the long run, rule-based actions position you for a better future than willpower-based actions.

Boundaries protect and separate both. There is an internal and external part inherent to them. It tells who is included and who is excluded. It defines closer and farther ones. It erects an inner circle and an outer circle. You have interactions all the time. Have you seen yourself drawing an illusionary fence? You place yourself on the side of the conversation - for or against - guided mainly by your biases.  You are either on the side of warm, broad-minded, and accommodating, or you are on the side of harmed, neglected, or excluded. The sides reflect alignment boundaries or non-alignment. Untimely, ill-drawn fences can create a distance, constrain, and trigger hostility. Well-laid fences, on the other hand, are liberating.  They act as some sort of encircling safety net. A trust perimeter where you know you can operate without fear of hurting. Toppling fear gives rise to accommodation. Draw fences to include unique constituents that enhance accommodation. When you do, you wi...

Procrastination arrests any sort of action. Commotion prevents clear thinking. Confusion makes it hard to choose the right path. An optical illusion makes us believe what is unreal. A rigid stance misses the point of listening. Stubbornness misses the point of collaboration. Upheaval is at all levels. Internal and external. Often external ones manifest when we find ourselves unable to deal with internal chaos. But how does one overcome internal chaos? We are alone in this fight. Others are not bothered. The commotion grows with an increasing feeling of how we are left to our miseries. The feeling of hopelessness drives us crazy. Fear that we are nearing the end. Imaginary. You need to walk through all this madness. You usually have someone to take you on a ride of comfort and confidence. It's reassuring. But that won't always happen. There are times when we might be encouraged to walk alone. It might appear rude and careless. But who knows! It might fill you with fear and uncer...

It boils down to what you weave, who weaves it and how. It defines the characteristics of the fabric that is produced. Tolerance for others and solidarity with togetherness stand out as characteristics of the fabric. They are the foundations of any kind of fabric.  Systems and mechanisms can tell how to weave something into a fabric. But usually, that is not enough. You need someone to manage the symphony that goes on in fabric building. Emotions that are at play. The combination that might work better. Someone needs to give it the care and nuture. You need an orchestrator. Someone with soul. Such an orchestrator is a vital constituent. They are often invisible influencers whose role is underestimated. They make sure the components of the fabric cohabit in harmony. They smooth out the rough edges. And nurture the sharpness of colour, shape or elasticity as it evolves.  When the fabric carries attractive attributes, it has an automatic acceptance. Why would it not? After all, i...

Avoidance of mistakes is a common phenomenon. You want to do things that will succeed. Can you guarantee success right at the outset? You never can. Yet every time you are ready to start, your resistance insists on finding signs of success. It would be nice if you could assure success. Yet, failures are the only way to march in the direction of success. There is no way to avoid mistakes and impending failures. Right decisions always follow the wrong ones. For example: Take a test unprepared. You fail and learn what it takes to pass the test. Go for selection unprepared. You get rejected and learn the regimen to be part of the team. Flunk interviews and then know what discipline takes to clear the interviews. Hire bad people for the job, and learn from the poor experience how to find the good hires. There are numerous examples of what experience teaches you. They open the doors to success. Be prepared for slip-ups because that's the best way to know what works and doesn't.  They...

Some circumstances warrant protecting your time and effort. Saying no to everything and ruthlessly keeping space becomes your priority. Space that can hold the opportunity to take something that excites you. There are distractions thrown your way. Carrots are dangling in front of you, making you believe that a brighter future lies in following a defined path. They are others' views of the opportunities, not yours. When you are picky about what you want to do - the right way to go is to say no until you can say whole body yes to something that ignites you. Eventually, what you do may work or not. But you made your choice. Some other circumstances warrant a mechanism for creating opportunities. You ought to find ways to use your time and effort to do something worthwhile. Say yes to what comes your way, and keeping up with exploration provides experience. Experience in what among many options to pick from. By knowing what those options involve. When you are open about what you want t...

The first win lands unexpectedly. You are still grappling with your thing. Usually unsure if that will work, you are having exploratory conversations. You don't expect anyone to pay attention to what you have. But your effort is honest. Your conviction of the utility of what you have somehow comes out. And that's the vital part of doing something. Your own confidence can back your effort like nothing else. Conviction is a sign of belief about having landed something of value. You know somewhere that it is what you would want as much as many others if they knew what you have exists. When such a feeling arises, you know your effort must continue to grow, and others must begin to know about it. You start approaching your interactions with stories grounded in your work. How you came about with the idea, what hurdles you faced, how you made the discovery and how your background helped you overcome the ups and downs. All of it captivates the listener. That is what they usually are lo...

An effort of any kind will stop without a top-up mechanism. The cooking range doesn't work without gas. When petrol runs out, vehicles don't work. In the absence of solar panels, green energy is just a dream. Such issues apply to us humans too. Our ability to work hampers seriously if we don't have an energy replenishment plan. We think we enjoy the most when we do work involving our passions. We think tirelessly doing the same activity will keep our enthusiasm. Like writer's block, there comes a day when our ideas don't work. Monotony dries up the fun. What used to be the reason to be at work feels like the most dreaded place. When we encounter such a situation, it's time to check if our energy tank is emptying out fast enough that we need to land to refuel. Top up is a vital periodic part that recharges us. Different activities, places or people might refuel us with new energy and ideas. But first, be open to knowing you will run out of fuel. Sooner or later, ...