From Darkness To Light

It is only through a man’s deliberate attempt to understand his world and ultimately himself that he is able to achieve a truly meaningful life. Ignorance saves a person from the tedious process of knowing the answers to every difficult question, yet it is ignorance that imprisons the person to what is superficial and illusionary. In today’s market-driven society, people easily fall into the trap of the same run-of-the-mill desire for material things and for the glitz and vivid colours of the media. Their blind adherence to seek material and physical pleasures prevents them from breaking away from such a cycle. This is not a new phenomenon. Socrates had addressed it two thousand years ago. He said that most men cannot see beyond the illusions of life and are stuck with the shallow and false appearances of the world at the surface level. They are like men chained to the ground inside the caves since childbirth and are unable to plumb the true meaning of what they see. However, once a person is set free to investigate the outside world, he will at once begin to perceive reality in all its overwhelming plenitude. From there he would be able to pursue a life, which is full of meaning and significance and would thus achieve lasting happiness. True leaders are those who are able to leave the cave of darkness of their conditioning and find light in the form of achieving their own individuality. Their transformation from darkness to light would influence fellow human beings to follow their way of leading life.

Appreciate

Just your salary and the perks attached to your job can motivate you to come to work in the initial years of your career when your dreams to attain something in life are gradually shaping into reality. However, there is something beyond the material benefits that provides the feel-good factor at work. Everyone craves for appreciation and recognition, which is inexpensive for the person who is giving it but is extremely valuable for the person who is getting it.

Have you wondered why people share their pictures or anything that comes across their minds on the social networking sites? It’s because they feel good when appreciation starts pouring in, in the form of comments. Perhaps this  is why more and more people are hooked to such sites even at work.  The virtual world gives them what the real world fails to provide. You can make the real worlds of people around you as encouraging as their virtual worlds. 

Wouldn’t you love to be recognized and appreciated for your job; even when you are hired to do just that?  If you want appreciation at work; you should give away appreciation as much as you can to those who work with you. You don’t require a special occasion to do that. Tell your colleagues how much you value them and their support not only when they have been helpful to you but sometimes when they are least expecting it. Spread your snippets of appreciation all through the year and in return you will feel more valued the whole year long.

It is very easy to distinguish between genuine and fake appreciation. Never appreciate for the sake of doing it. It might get perceived as sarcasm or an insult. It can get even worse by making you look stupid to the person whom you are faking. So don’t jump into appreciation every now and then. If people appreciate too often; others stop taking his opinions seriously. Increase the value of your appreciation by using it when it is actually required. Also, never leave a chance to do so on genuine occasions.

Surround Yourself with Good People

Good leaders are great followers. You can expand your leadership skills by following the good traits of people. If there are more good people around you, there is more scope of observing and imbibing good qualities.

All of us have our own limitations. We are not experts in all the fields. Surrounding yourself with good people will enable you to get valuable insights about how to tackle problems that does not follow in your realm of expertise. Good people would help your team to achieve great results and can actually make all this; a pleasure-filled experience.

Not only in your professional life, but in your personal life as well, you should always make friends who contribute to your mental growth. An abundance of connections in your social life is of no use if they are not able to bring out the best in you. So focus on quality not quantity. However, never treat your friends or colleagues as just a means of your progress or advancement. Follow their good qualities and try to apply those to your own personality. If you maintain good relationships with them, the positive vibes will automatically have a great impact in your personal and professional achievements.

Build Good Human Relationships

The first snippet of leadership is to build good human relationships. Go beyond good manners and exchanging customary greetings at the beginning or end of the day. Create an environment that is conducive for the growth of all. For this keep a positive attitude, indulge in lateral thinking, lead a healthy lifestyle, and be genuinely good to people both at home and at work. If you are able to build successful interpersonal relationships with your superiors, peers and subordinates you are heading towards excellence.