Gratitude - Suresh Dinakaran's Blog

All at sea with courtesy ?

Connections lead to possibilities. More conversations and discovery. Establishing a genuine two way street. Creating more possibilities. Keeping the door open. For the next. For the better. To be going forward. Onwards and upwards.

Connections do lead to asking favours. And receiving them. And when you take or receive a favour, there is no shame in expressing gratitude or a thank you. Make the favour giver feel special, so that she or he feels motivated to make it second nature. Courtesy takes less than a few seconds to get across. And inertia should never get in the way. For all those who hide behind the hustle culture inspired ‘ lack of time or need ‘ narrative. And when you don’t show that what gets established is that you don’t want to acknowledge the obligation or connection.

There is a reason why it’s called a two way street. Because not just the person receiving the favour but the person offering it benefit as well. Keeping the door ajar for more possibilities. Making the connections better. And the virtuous cycle of more and better.

A favour is not an entitlement. And so long as that is the noise in our heads, civility will get the nod. As it should.

Because it is not a faucet which can be switched on or off, courtesy should be a continuous action.

And just like ‘ please ‘, ‘ sorry ‘, ‘ excuse me ‘, ‘ thank you ‘ falls into the category of magic words. So, let’s not make that go out of fashion.

Spread the magic. It’s a courtesy call.

ENDS

The New Year and Resolutions, I tell you..

“What the New Year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the New Year” – Vern McLellan.

It is said that you may be whatever you resolve to be. Nothing relieves and ventilates the mind like a resolution.

As we say adios to another year and get ready to welcome another, let us take a look at some potential resolutions that we will bravely (or tamely) bring to fore.

“I want to laugh more, the laughter that makes you cry and makes your sides ache.” Now that is worth a standing ovation.

“My intention for 2023 is to replace mean thoughts with kind and patient ones.” Keep the applause going.

I stay resolved to take “everything (especially politics) and everyone less seriously and try to be the best person I can.”

Going further, another one can go like this..

“I resolve not to take anything personally or overthink or politicize any comments … just play dumb and not engage, like a robot, like I’m Siri.”

A more succinct one would be..

“I want to be better at understanding others.” That’s a great starting point.

And a perennial one for a lot of us would be: “talk less, listen more”.

” To live with gratitude and an acceptance of our mortality is a fine realization not only on New Year’s Day, but every day “. Give this the cult status.

Will be speaking for many of us when you say, “Less screen time, more real-world time.”

How about ” from time to time, send handwritten snail-mailed notes/letters to family and friends.” Definitely worth the ink that will be used.

How about some idiosyncratic resolutions? Like “I intend to eliminate very and really from my vocabulary”. That is really a very good idea. Oops. Sorry.

I heard about a resolution from a friend which was to have “someone repair the wristwatch his dad bought him for his high-school graduation in 1985, so he can wear it again.” This is truly timeless.

Here’s one with a purpose ” I would like to continue and increasingly support biodiversity in urban areas “. Enrollments are open. Let’s go for it.

That seems a lot more complicated than my big idea of going back down one pants size, but a plan’s a plan.

Some of us are charging right at 2023 with angry-rhino determination. Keep the fire in the belly burning.

“Good resolutions are like babies crying in church. They should be carried out immediately.” ― Charles M. Sheldon

So, let’s Begin Again!

ENDS

Why 5% > 95% ?

No. The arithmetic may not look right. Contrarian and defies established norm. Yes.

But, dare I say, this is the new math.

A lot of our attention and effort is spent and invested in trying to onboard the laggards and the lurkers.

And it done by dumbing down. Offering more incentive. Creating urgency. Re-posting. Hustling to see if they would take some action.

Certainly not worth it. And very frustrating for anyone who leads.

Progress operates on a different GPS. It has a different route to take.

..then huge things would begin to happen.

The 95% who lurk and remain non-committal will almost always lurk. Thats okay.

The energy and the emotional labour has to go into the 5%. The place to focus on.

Because when their persistent, consistent and generous action begins to add up, change happens. And that may bring the lurkers along. And who knows, even activate them. They will catch up when they need to.

The chasm will get bridged at its own pace. And that’s perfectly fine.

There’s nothing wrong with the laggards and the lurkers. Remember, they are potential action-takers.

But for now, our focus, action, respect and gratitude is for all those people who are already showing up. And shipping out. Which is the 5%!

So, let’s stop falling over ourselves to dumb down. Average it out. Trying to appeal and please everyone and anyone.

When you seek to engage with everyone, you rarely delight anyone. And if you’re not the irreplaceable, essential, one-of-a-kind change maker, you never get a chance to engage with the market.

So, seek your MVA(minimum Viable Audience). This would be counter to what are taught (or expected to learn) in the ‘ School of Capitalism ‘ , but this is the simplest way to do the work that matters, impacts, changes and leaves an inspiring legacy.

Now you know- Why 5% > 95% ?

ENDS

The incredible power of AWEssibilities!

Dear Us:

It is an annual ritual to glance over time’s shoulder each year and reflect on what has made it most livable and worthy of living — always the clearest mirror of what irradiated and perturbed our hearts and minds as our uncommon planet made its steady revolution around its common star.

Inevitably, patterns emerge that were not obvious in the moment-by-moment experience. Inevitably, those patterns reveal that however tumultuous the ‘ seasons of being ‘ might feel — and what a tempest of uncertainty and disorientation 2021 has been for all of us in the world, the things that make life most luminous with aliveness are variations on eternal themes, impervious to our passing perturbations.

Here’s to the stubborn symphony of aliveness, the immense power of gratitude, the significant strength of collective hope and the power of incredible AWEssibilities for a wonderful 2022 to you & yours.

Stoically always

Mediocrity is never an accident,it’s by design,so,watch out!

“It’s lonely at the top. 99% of people are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for mediocre. The level of competition is thus fiercest for ‘realistic’ goals, paradoxically making them the most competitive.”

-Tim Ferriss

Ironical isn’t it that we are knowingly ultra competitive when we are striving for mediocrity. And, ironically, the fiercest competition is for the second-class prizes. And we still don’t get it!

It’s a long never ending tirade. Justifications that are shallow, hollow and mere escapism. I am referring to the reasons why we endorse and end up doing mediocre work. Let’s look at the usual suspects..

The brief was lousy..

I hardly had any time..

The customer does not value quality..

We never get the right price..

It’s a one way street, we are always the one being short changed..

Does it really matter? As nobody ever notices..

You are always critical..

This market never appreciates high quality..

The management will never understand..

I have always done it this way..

My boss is a jerk..

I don’t want to fail..I rather play safe..

Half hearted, half baked, short cuts, excuses. Period. Nothing else. They are all sad facades, masking the real issue. The outcome where sub optimal emotional labour is committed will always reflect a huge gap between what could have been and what is.

If you’re not willing to fail, you guarantee you’ll stay average-at-best.

If you want to grow into an extraordinary version of yourself, you must be willing to fail — a lot.

“Stay in your lane.” Focus on you. Learn all you can. Experiment, fail, discover what works.

When you see the 25 to 70% off ad screaming from every second billboard in town for every second brand, that is when you come to realise the often heard ‘ herd mentality ‘. Find safety in numbers. Conform, adhere, comply, fit in, exist, survive, get along, pass by. By design, the quest for supreme mediocrity(read comfort food) is perennial and offers perpetual succour. Or so it seems considering the seriousness with which it is latched onto. And there is no letting go. And that, amongst a community of really bright minds who came into the profession with a clarion call to make their own little dents in the universe. And what are they managing to do- drive people away from the profession.

You have to decide to opt either for the wood or for the trees. Do you want to care enough to create something better? Introspect and the answer will be very close at hand.

Most people will stay in mediocrity.They’ll continue fighting with the majority for average, subpar prizes.

It doesn’t have to be this way. The road that leads to an incredibly exciting, fulfilling life is waiting for you. It’s free and open, and there are no crowds. And pay no heed to the ‘ wisdom of the crowds ‘ narrative- it’s just a more sophisticated coinage for finding solace in the average, the sub par, the mediocre.

You can either take a ‘ leap of faith ‘ or retire to a ‘ sleep of fate ‘. What got you here is not going to get you there. As Todd Henry so beautifully captured in his book ” Die Empty ‘- Unleash your best work every day. Practice the art of non-conformity! That’s what we preach and practice at ISD Global. And we get to do that every day. Gratitude!!

ENDS

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