vision - HR Footprints

Inspiring Life Lessons from Nelson Mandela

“Nelson Mandela is the leader who walked the talk and illustrated how one life can change the world!” The icon of leadership, Nelson Mandela (Madiba) inspired the whole world with his vision to end apartheid in South Africa. His effort to bring a peaceful transition to a democratic society was uncompromising. Some inspiring life lessons that we can learn from Mandela’s life are: Vision Perseverance Forgiveness Vision: Mandela had an un-compromising vision of a free, democratic and anti apartheid South Africa! When he raised his voice against the system of racism, he along with several of his colleagues was sentenced to life time imprisonment! When Mandela was sent to jail, his vision to end apartheid was an unconquerable goal! But still he envisioned it! The power of his vision to get a free and democratic South Africa gave him the strength to fight! He became president of ANC (African National Congress) and after four years of negotiations with then South African President, F.W.De Klerk he could accomplish his vision of abolishing apartheid in his Nation! Perseverance: Mandela’s central goal was that South Africa will be ruled by South Africans! That was the cause of his life and he achieved it. In early 1960s Mandela led the ANC on the road of armed insurrection against the apartheid regime in South Africa. When all means of peaceful negotiations exhausted, Mandela went underground to lead the struggle. In 1962, Mandela was captured by the government and was sentenced to hard labour at Robben Island in South Africa. He was released from prison in 1990 at the age of 71. Government tried to bend him by restricting his moments and actions. But he refused to bend. His courage and perseverance never allowed him to stop the revolution! Forgiveness: He walked his whole life not for self but for freedom of his nation. It is not that Mandela is aman of perfection. Young Mandela was a head strong and arrogant person. But he transformed himself when his nation needed him the most. He transformed himself to be a measured, compressed and strong person who understood not only other people but also understood himself. Mandela understood that he could never show his bitterness and what he needed to show was the face of forgiveness. He forgave all jailers who made him struggle and the system who made him a stranger in his own country. He wanted to always make sure that he is depicted as a man of flesh and blood and a man who had weaknesses and flaws! With his wisdom and courage, Mandela made South Africa a prosperous nation of equality and a model for other nations! By: Divya Shalini, Member at HR Footprints. Follow us on twitter @hrfootprints

Don’t work only for money!

Leave a Comment / Careers and Concerns / HR Footprints / 21/11/2013

“To learn how to enjoy work, we must ask ourselves a deeper question why do we work.” Follow Dr.Raj on twitter @drraj29 Do we want to spend one-third of our life in sadness, despair, misery and frustration? If the answer is an obvious no, then we need to find ways of making our work a joy, for one-third of our life is spent at work or preparing for it. It is not only one-third of life we must realize the impact of the one-third on the remaining two-third of life. If work has to be joyful, then we must do what we enjoy doing. As the old saying goes if you enjoy your work, you do not have to work. To learn how to enjoy work, we must ask ourselves a deeper question why do we work. Why do we work? Whenever I asked this question, people think that it is a redundant one. But let us realize that work is much more than making money. In this context, we tend to think of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The question then is whether we work because we need money, name, fame, status or do we work to satisfy our inner calling, or to contribute towards humanity? Interestingly, whatever might be our drive or need, work is our means to achieve the same. Work is our way to make money, to learn, to express our talents, to have a social interaction, to attain status, to earn respect and so on. When work can give us so much, then our outlook towards work must be that of joy! Work and Joy of Living! If we define what gives us joy, then we can recognize that we tend to use work as a means to joyful living. Also, if we understand what drives us to work, we will automatically be able to identify the factors that do not drive us to work. Such understanding will help analyse the reasons for dissatisfaction with work. Imagine the internal dilemma that one faces after a few years of working what am I doing this for? Is this all for money? Fame? Status? Is it really worth my lifetime? Then dawns the `proper selfishness’ in the words of Charles Handy.They discover themselves, realign their work and move towards joyful living. They have succeeded in making a mid course correction to their life strategy. On the contrary, imagine the plight of those who put this question to themselves a little late in their life. They hardly have an opportunity to redefine the meaning of their work. They end up cursing work, hating their boss and organisation, waiting for weekend and so on. It simply means that they have decided to spend one – third of life only to make money and foregoing the opportunity to derive joy of living! What should one do? Gaining deeper understanding of oneself, articulating personal vision, and remaining goal focused are necessary to embark on a purposeful and joyful living. Individuals may seek professional advice on these aspects to lay a solid foundation to their work. Individuals should also be conscious of other factors that may induce oscillation of thoughts. Seeing success through others’ lens or redefining success from time to time will surely dither the pursuit of joyful working. It does not mean that one needs to be rigid in one’s own definition of goals or means, but any redefinition has to be triggered out of greater self awareness rather than getting generated out of comparison or jealousy! A deep conviction in the vision and strong will power to realize the vision are necessary to overcome any hurdles in the process. Individuals who are able to align work with joyful living are the ones who experience a sense of fulfillment. They are most likely to skip the feeling of emptiness towards the fag end of their lives. The earlier one excavates one’s own drive to work, the better vision towards life. Cases of running after wrong targets will be minimized. We will have individuals who are lot more contented; yet achieving what they wanted. After all, joyful living is what one defines for oneself. Work is a vehicle to pursue the journey of joyful living! It is a sure way of tuning right attitude towards work! This article was published in: HR Mirror Hans India Follow us on Twitter @hrfootprints

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