Personal Branding - The Subtle Art to Success

  

Personal Branding 
 

The corporate ladder for those who choose to climb will not be a simple step forward. Instead, it resembles a journey much equivalent to being a player in the snake and ladder game. Corporate life throws interesting surprises, like the roll of the dice based on the career choices we make or that comes along the way. 

In this journey if you want to be successful, make a name for yourself, there are things that matter deeply, most important being building your personal brand. As the name signifies, it is unique to you, and its value is based on how you create, protect, and grow it.   

The law of nature is a simple equation of risk and reward, fruits of hard work, result oriented efforts. But, some keep working hard but never reach the top, while others rise but slide down falling behind in the race. These are outcomes of lack of efforts or your brand failing. 

Again, as humans we learn from our mistakes and failures are best lessons to success. No one can teach how not to fail, but I intend to share my thoughts on how to mitigate or the least reduce the impact of failures. How to navigate the journey, changing course when necessary, using the right tools that helps in ultimately achieving your career goal. 

Now, wherever you are in your career, let me ask you this:

Do you have a goal, an aspiration of what you want to become, and where you want to be in a short term, say in the next one to three years? If you do not have one then that is your start. 

Set a short and long term goal, self assessing if you are happy in your career path or did you choose the wrong one. It is never late to change, but your self realization is necessary and is key. Do not decide simply based on how your work environment is treating you now, because it is not about whether you like your workplace, rather it is about whether you like your line of work, Step1 is then established.

Step1: I like my line of work, and I want to be ....... in the next one to three years, and I ultimately want to become ...................

Then, we get to Step 2 which defines the path to achieve your short and long term goals. For this, you need to self assess whether you have the right education, skill and competency, and if your current job gives you the opportunity to achieve your short term goal. 

For those enslaved in your current role entangled in the financial burden about yourself and your loved ones, you are the ones who fear the unknown. Just for one moment, set aside your fear of losing your job and not able to find something else and instead process Step 2 self realization objectively. 

Step2: I have the right education, skill, and competency, and my current job gives me the opportunity to achieve my short term goal. 

A side tip, no one is asking you to quit just like that, use the time to sharpen your skills, your education, keep looking for change and never be afraid to take bold steps once you have assessed its path to your goals. 

By the way, I am assuming here that your short and long term goals are aligned, if you are dreaming of relaxing in Hawaii for retirement as your long term goal, then stop fanaticizing desires which are fruits of success. You are expected to visualize the goal that can earn you what you desire.

Pull out a pen and paper, call out the gaps in each step mentioned above because this is going to be your work plan to get to success. 

Corporate career is not about doing your job role well, because that is basic expectation set by your organization which pays your salaries. One needs to have personal objectives, and smart people intertwine personal and professional objectives well and work towards them to become successful.   

Now, let us move on to Step 3, course corrections along the way. It is time to look for a different role, or evaluate an opportunity that comes if it is right for you based on your self-assessment and action plans from Step 1 and 2. Do not be in a rush but do not be late as well, either course will delay your progress and for those who keep delaying the process to change, beware of stagnating and to settle for little. 

Step 3: Be smart, harness your skills, education, competency, keep a good mentor who can help and guide you, continue to build your personal brand, and get into right roles that leads you achieve your goals. 

Step 3 is the most challenging. I wish there is a magical portion that I can give to each and every reader of this blog to achieve your goals. Unfortunately, you are not sitting under a wishing tree that can manifest your expected reality. 

You will most often land in uncharted territory, because you thought the role you took is the right one, but you doubt yourself or it is challenging or there is no scope to progress until probably the ruthless manager of yours leaves (I have a good one at the moment, let us caveat that). 

But, for most people, this is how limiting their mind is, if your manager leaves then it will all become alright. The reason for this is, your experience at work is driven by the interactions you make and your manager is the one you spend most of your interactions directly or indirectly with. 

This is not true, if your manager is making your life difficult to simply get you out of your comfort zone and make you excel, just endure the pain and learn. If this is not the case, you know what to do, find another job where you will learn. The only defining factor here is, are you learning something new that is getting you nearer to your goal? 

Let us talk about personal branding just after I mention about another important part in your journey of success, a good mentor. 

If you are a lucky person, your manager will be your mentor who is your guide, your tutor who can help you get to where you want to be. But, sometimes your mentor can be a different person, your parent, your better-half, a good friend. It is important, to choose the one who is objective and is your well-wisher, but not the one who will impose his/her dream for you onto you. 

A mentor is a good judge, an advisor, and your go-to person to comfort you during your lows and the one who boosts you to get back onto your feet. 

Choose one wisely.  

Now, the most important subtle tool that has to work all along the way to lead you to your success is "Personal Brand". How often have you got a knock to the next opportunity just by someone reaching out to you. Most people land in their next role based on referral and this is often the one that gets you nearer to your goals. This is no miracle, it happens based on the impressions you made in peoples mind about your work, your attitude, and how committed you are. This is your personal brand.

The overarching subtle work you must keep on doing is working on your "Personal Brand", defining it, protecting it, nurturing it. This will involve conscious effort, and the way it is measured is how did you impact people you interacted with. Did you impact in a positive or negative way. If it was positive keep going, if it was negative try and fix it. It is that simple. 

Now, to impact it in a positive way is again simple, but many skip since they think there is a shortcut to success by stealing others' credit. They are the self-consumed ones we see at work, most of the times with ego or selfish behaviors. These are the ones who lack self confidence, fear losing their job which they know that they are not good at, and they feel threatened by your very existence and/or your capability, your performance. 

Let me tell you, I have seen so many along the way and I have also seen life teaching them a lesson. They will learn their lessons, so I suggest we be in our own path not being distracted by petty beings. 

Now, the most important subtle tool that has to work all along the way to lead you to your success is your "Personal Brand". And to build and maintain it, 

• be visible,
• earn your credits, 
• be relentless in efforts; and 
• always remember knowledge grows by sharing it with other and learning from others.

Giving a helping hand at work for those who need it makes you a better person that goes a long way in earning gratitude. Moment of truth, You can earn MONEY very easily, but it is GRATITUDE that is hard to earn. 

Pave your journey to success continuously practicing the subtle art of personal branding, make your story and make it count for yourself and others.  

Do you share your "Emotions" or "Emoji"

Technology has overtaken our lives much faster than we think that the meaning of the word 'chat' is no longer a face-to-face conversation but a text in social media apps like Insta/FB/Snapchat/WhatsApp. Emotions are shared as emoji on social media. Let me ask this, how many of you analyze your average screen time? On a practical day, if you spend five hours on your phone, aside from sleep, personal hygiene, and food, you have spent 40 - 50% of your time on it.

Even though technology has widened our access to learning, fun, and even the world within a small gadget with everything just a click away, what has it taken from us? It's not the technology's fault, but ours that it's taken away the human element. We should use technology for learning and advancement as an acceptable means of communication, but we should know when to use it and when not to. In a simple real-life situation where you're dissatisfied with your loved one, you might say "I don't want to talk to you?" but you actually mean the exact opposite. The body language and tone of your voice convey, "Please talk to me. I really look forward to it.". How often has that happened to you? So, in this internet world of texting, how often have you got caught in a misunderstanding that has made things worse?

We all know that communication is a combination of verbal and non-verbal expression, and texting takes away the most important part of the message that is best understood by tone and body language.  The impact is worse in very personal relationships since texting has stolen the essence of reassurance given by touch & feel.

Sometimes one uses texting as a way of avoiding conflict and not facing a situation that makes them uncomfortable. It happens to everyone, and how often has it caused or solved a problem? Most often, it will delay a problem until a later date, which may increase its magnitude or even create or magnify an issue. One principle that has worked best for me is having open honest face-to-face communication. Despite how bitter the truth might be, it is better to face it because eventually, it will be revealed. By being aware, you have assessed all outcomes and made your decision. I believe it is better to be prepared than to be surprised. Talking about your issues is so much better than texting. Having an uncomfortable conversation face-to-face takes courage, but it is always better than the cowardly act of texting. 

Do you measure your screen time? And if you do not, then it's time you start doing it and mending your ways to keep it old-school, personal, and human. We are humans and conveying our emotions the right way and expressing them with body language, tone, and touch are key to our survival. So let us not forget to give the personal touch which makes a difference in our lives and that of our near and dear ones. So, what are you waiting for? If you agree with this blog post, then go share your coffee not just as an emoji and make memorable moments as we are humans and we are better than AIs.   

Regular Wellness (EGO) Check – It Comes Free with Amazing Benefits.

 

 Wellness (EGO) Check 🙌

I want to start this blog by asking you to think of the moment you or someone you know was showing his/her proud moment, what appears to be a show of contentment or boasting. Now, do you agree that the headstrong are generally the ones who are fully consumed in self-worth, constantly reminding oneself and others of their greatness. Basically, the ones who are never wrong?. Today, I will tell you a way to make that assessment, a wellness check on ego.  I will start with saying, it is not for me to conclude or achieve but for you to realize and give a pat on your back to keep up the excellent work or correct your path. 

What do you see in common with politicians, leaders, bosses? They have the authority, show a charisma of being better than others, always have at the least one story to tell in which they are the hero/ heroine. Do you agree? This means they are expressing one of their state of mind – a sense of fulfillment or depicting their headstrong ego. Let us not forget, being humble makes us human. Most often, every one of us depicts more than one emotion of self-worth, pride, headstrong ego based on the environment or those around us. But what defines you is what is the consistent behavior you have shown. This behavior can probably be a headstrong controlling kind at home while a humble, submissive nature at work and a care-free fun-loving person in the society. So, based on this, how to assess ourselves? Simple, take up a few confronting occasions you have had in each of these environments and check how you have reacted to the situations—even confrontations in day-to-day matters like what to cook or where to eat. 

It is essential to try and self-assess the pattern and reaffirm this self-assessment by talking to the ones you can trust to tell you the top three things that come to their mind about you. Be true to yourself and be open to critics here. Now this decides whether you need to reward or correct yourself. 

Now, why is this important? You need a course correction if you are headstrong, showing ego that is affecting others around since the quality of a human, unlike a lonely tiger, is to live in groups, and you cannot show-off authority when there is no one around you, and this could happen to anyone of us at any point of time in life.

Power and authority should be earned and not self-proclaimed, and your ego should not be misused to control others. If this is what you are and you believe you are eternal, you are living in a fantasy. Life can turnaround in the most unexpected times and challenge you, and when it does, you may be taking your chances with the gauge of kindness left in others instead of reaping the sense of belonging and self-willing commitment that comes from others when they look up to you instead of being controlled by you.

Keep your head high and not strong; the strength is in character, and respect is earned and not forced by an authority. Like a regular health check-up up as you get older, do a wellness (ego) check on your character and values to go to greater strides in life. The best wealth in life are two things, being healthy and earning people – their loyalty and trust. Both are achievable and are within you. They are free of cost and with amazing benefits. So, who is ready to take a wellness check today? I have done mine, have you?

 

 

Theory of Inclusiveness contradicts Survival Instinct

In this blog, I wanted to put  my thought around the Theory of Inclusiveness. The topic caught my mind while following the turnout of events with the recent amendment to the Indian Citizenship Act 1955, which has picked up controversies resulting in unrest across many parts of India. So what did the amendment do?. It said minority groups defined by religions other than Islam from the neighboring countries, namely Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, would be allowed citizenship in India. Now, this is striking caste-based discrimination, and politicians are on a roll, and public unrest is unsettling. Let us take a step back to Indian history and the 1947 independence. 'Bharat' the unified India and Pakistan separated into two countries with this very premise of Islamic community having its own country. It did cause riot then, and it is the history repeating itself again and again and again when religious discrimination keep taking a center stage.

I am not going to discuss or give an opinion about the amendment; instead, I am just trying to understand why there is often such controversial decisions made. In my view, it is an outcome of thoughts linked to the human survival instinct with its fundamental shortcoming of fear. A group of individuals forms a government, and in every individual, the basic survival instinct is hard-wired since stone age. A sign of power is one of the ways human beings combat fear, as with fear comes protectionism.

What an irony that on one end there is a theory of inclusiveness preached starting from religious and countries co-existence and co-existence with nature, and on the other end there is protectionism taking many forms be it the current controversies in India, Brexit, Mexican wall, Arab springs or climate change agend.

Let us take the classic example of climate change. The agenda that all government vow to is to combat it, and the nature is telling us in its own way, and yet every individual or government has not entirely committed themselves to it. I would say the reason why the commitment is lacking is the fear of self-oriented survival which drives protectionism. Nature is taking its revenge, which is a reality of today starting from Amazon forest fires, melting of Arctic ice, and extinction of sea-life and wild-life challenging the very ecosystem. The countries are busy fighting many wars of protectionism, while the war against nature is the war of the world.

I believe that the theory of inclusiveness contradicts survival instincts; it is the law of nature. But, by kicking our survival instinct for the benefit of our self, and contributing our efforts to combat climate change and expanding our community across religion we lead the way for everyone to think alike and eventually the theory of inclusiveness will stand to win. We stand to win having a better world.

Conventional Weddings - Are marriages made in Heaven?

I was viewing a short video covering this topic, "Marriages are made in heaven", and it inspired me to write this blog.
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear people say to you, "Marriages are made in heaven"?.

The first thing that comes to my mind is, married life should be a paradise because its made in heaven then, why many go through hell in their married life that eventually breaks or lies meaningless. How ironic to have hell in a life destined from heaven?.

I come from the land of culture and heritage, "India". In India, marriage most often happens to be arranged by family groups. It a culture where people live in family group having grandfather and great grandfather generations living under one roof or even while living physically away from each other follow a lifestyle wherein, decisions are taken or influenced by the elders in the group. Until today, most marriages are a match-making process taken up by elders in the family. This match-making is more driven by matching persons 'horoscope' (horoscope means, an astrological definition of a person and his/her fortune readings) and family status. Actually, in these conventional weddings the famous quote 'love at first sight' has its real test as two individuals are told that they are destined to each other and they force their mindset to believe it.

In this blog, I would like to talk about these conventional weddings and the made in heaven testimony.

Let me start with the positive side of these conventional weddings. It is not so much of a bad idea, after all since the traditional system of the family requires co-existence within the family group and the community. And, conventional weddings are better since they have acceptance from the family group to become involved with another family group. Meaning, there is one less hurdle over adjusting/ adapting to a change that marriage will bring to one's life. The new person coming into the family will have one less hurdle in winning trust as there is a general acceptance mentality coming from people they need to live with.  In this conventional way of doing things, the family tries to support a lot through difficult times. Especially when people stay in the marriage institution simply because they fear stepping out of it, they get compassion and emotional support from the family group. In a way, this is one of the reasons why divorce rates are less on a comparative scale in countries like India.

What is marriage? In my view, marriage is a relationship wherein you get emotional, physical, and/or financial support as a human being that the law of nature has bestowed. Law of Nature gives this matrimonial relationship to a human being as a need for life to evolve. And like beautiful nature, this relationship can also be beautiful only by unconditional mutual love for the partner. This is the only way to bring balance and make it work wonders in your life. If you believe life is a quest, then you must understand that mutual unconditional love can do wonders and bring the best in you and others.

Failing marriages happen since people have a processed mindset about marriage, which is limited to making family and living in a family culture to fit into society. They forget that the level of intimacy and understanding between life partners is one critical aspect and at the same time the life allowing the time and space for each other as a  matter of a give and take respecting each other's privacy is equally important. This is when we can say, made-for-each other relationships.

The importance of the relationship is not felt in the real sense of marriage by most individuals, more particularly in conventional weddings. The mindset of most individuals in traditional weddings is that, marriage is a process of making a family and keeping it together and once they have children then to execute the responsibility of growing them playing along with the society they belong to. So here are some challenges to keep in mind if you are getting into a conventional wedding.

Firstly, you are introduced to a person you do not know much, and you need to accept the person for who he/she is and love that person truly from the bottom of your heart. For this, most often, you have a few months between your engagement and wedding to know the person who has been introduced to be your future life partner.

So, the typical challenges in making the right decision to a marriage proposal are around, 'Knowledge' and 'Time' and then to cultivate the natural feeling of love which cannot be forced. In terms of knowledge, there is an added challenge. The behavior of the individual will be biased since he/she forces their best when this special relationship is forthcoming. This would mean, the natural behavior of both parties cannot be known. Despite the challenges, many individuals still opt or are made to opt for conventional weddings.

So if you are caught in this phase of opting into a conventional wedding, decide whether you are ready for it. If you are then, spend a lot of time talking to your match if that is what he/she also wants. Take it slow to make it right well acknowledging the challenges that come with it. Make the best use of time until your wedding to decide your life. Be open and be bold to take the right decision for your life. This is not going to be easy since a lot of this is going to be driven by,

• what people around you say. Families and friends are all going to say all the nice things only as they do not want to be the ones spoiling the show, even if there is anything negative to share. You need to read the cues keeping your mind open and balanced.

• you may also need to do some sense checks amid the biased behavior listening to your inner feeling.

Then how do you get this right?

The first step to getting it right is to see how he/she behaves with all the people around them and not only you. Do look for opportunities for crisis or tough situations. For example, you went on a drive, and the car broke down. The spontaneous reaction and natural behavior will come out as the first set of responses. These are your chances to assess how he/she reacts to crisis and/or criticism, which tells a lot about the individual. Be conscious to make an honest opinion without getting influenced.

Next, gauge if the thoughts are alike and opinions are relatively similar. Discuss and see how the responses are in terms of respecting your opinion and plans about life. If you have certain expectations about life and you have already made some decisions in your mind in terms of family, kids, financials etc., be honest about it. It is better to get it right than get into something and suffer later. Be aware that suffering impacts the family group and not you alone.

Remember it is a life of partnership and both parties must acknowledge being reasonable in expectations giving room for compromises while accepting certain decisions as part of the give and take in the relationship. See if that mutual understanding is there. Do not be busy building your romantic relationship during this time. Whether the person is the right match for life in terms of understanding is more, and you have all the rest of your life for the romance to build up. Keep in mind, it is not an overnight thing. The natural sense of belonging gets built over time when the other person makes you feel that way.

Now, once you decide to get committed into the relationship, always remember that it is this relationship that is going to come with you until the end of your life. So, make an effort to make it work since others, including your kids will eventually move-on and it is this life partner of yours who is going to be with you through your old age. He/she is going to share your burdens and your joy. 

Once in the relationship, to make this partner your source of joy or stress is up to you. If you will treat him/her to offload your stressful day assuming that the role is meant for that, sorry, you are wrong. All the elements/people that caused your stress are not the ones who are going to travel the long journey of life. It is your life partner who will be doing that provided you make the travel easy. If you will offload your rough day showing anger and frustration at him/her, you will have the reflection of it coming back to you at the same time or the accumulation of it coming back at hitting at you at some time. Agreed, that one can argue home is the only place that he/she can be original and can offload their stress. As a life partner, the expectation is to have an understanding of the same and not become another source of stress. Yes, it is a fair expectation, and you do  have to have your moments of offloading, but, keep in mind that your partner may also be in the same state of mind. The outcome would be, either you made your partner cry, or you both had an exchange of argument. Also, what did you do after your offload moments are over? Here the critical question is, did you hold on to this offload moments for too long or you made an effort to make up for the happenings. Did you also add a touch of romance to make the person feel special. Basically you can say you love your husband/wife so deeply, but what is important is whether your spouse felt loved. Saying or you believing does not mean that your partner is feeling the same about you. Do often ask your partner how to improve the relationship and make a conscious effort. Do not have ego nor any reservations.Try to overcome both and develop understanding and intimacy.

Now how to gauge and nurture valuable relationship?

The mind is the most complex part of we human since it manages our thoughts. Have you ever felt or thought of things that you do not want to say aloud because you feel disturbed/ angered/dumb/ ashamed. Are there thoughts that you even refrain your mind from thinking, simply because it causes so much discomfort. Has it occurred that, when others raise a subject, or something reminds you of it, your emotions flood to you in terms of sadness or anger and frustrates you? Will you be comfortable sharing such an experience of yours without apprehensions to your life partner? Can you open up your heart and pour it out? If your answers are yes, then its a cherished relationship working at its best.

You are blessed to have your mirror image in that other person and never let go of this relationship for your lifetime. Value it and give time and effort to nurture it because you will eventually get old and will have so much more time at your disposal. You need your fully understanding life partner more and more as you reach that zone.

I conclude by saying, conventional weddings can also work, and marriages are made in heaven if you make it paradise. Have a happy life by cherishing your relationship since you live this life once and every past moment is just a memory and it is upto you to make it pleasant for yourself and the ones around you.

Handling Stress - Is it better said than done?

This blog I dedicate to all the stress in this world. I am putting it this way because, it is a stressed world and the magnitude of stress handled is the unsaid performance indicator, both in the corporate world and in day-to-day life and relationships. Think deep and delve into my last sentence again, and this time more consciously. Does it make you realise how true and get a sense of how real it is in your life? If you still didn't get it, let me explain more. In the corporate world, the busier you are, you are considered important and indispensable. I do not want to get into the controversies of resources who fake a busy schedule and do not deliver results. These, I call the 'Blamers'. They look busy, talk a lot in self-defense and are very generous to blame everything other than themselves. Leaving the exceptions out, I do want to include the ones who I call the 'Do-ers', personified as the ones who are so busy delivering work but differ from the ones I would call the 'Go-getters' who are busy and getting it all done. The difference between the two is simply, the Go-getters manage the Do-ers and are most often regarded high-performers. Whether you are a Do-er or a Go-getter, your life is defined by a busy schedule in which your to-do list never comes to an end on the same day. While you are making conversions, there are often times when you are physically present while your mind is tasking the next set of things to be done and is rehearsing the day ahead by every minute and hour. 

The busier you get and the multitude of things you handle coupled with your personal responsibilities and commitments that clash in and out of your schedule causes, 'Stress'. How you are as a person defines how well you have coped with stress."  - This statement is true and you can test it on yourself or by thinking about an individual who best fits the descriptions below:

• you have forgotten to pay your bills on time at least ones during the month.
• you have missed more than one important family event/gathering/commitment during the month.
• your close circle of family or friend often comment that you are never available for them.
• at work in a month, you miss deadlines at least ones or in-order to meet the deadline you have compromised something very important to you. Could be your birthday, anniversary, medical appointment, etc.,
• you lose your temper often and/or show it by irrational behaviors at least ones in a day. Like, shouting unreasonably at someone who works under you; driving fast to catch-up on time; constantly on phone while driving and trying to justify that you are working smart by having wireless/hands-free calls; 
• you start to have health issues, maybe hypertension/insomnia, etc.,
• your sleep and eating pattern is disturbed. You either sleep less or more; your eating pattern is more finger/junk food.
• you addicted to at least one thing, say smoking/coffee/soda.

If you meet all or half the above, you will soon reach a point when you will feel completely burnt out. Mostly, it is at this breach point that you think of change. A change to food or exercise or bigger changes in terms of changing a job or relationship. Then, you again get back in the race of getting stressed until you reach the next breach point. An endless vicious cycle that keeps repeating itself until you retire one day or health forces you to retire. 

But if this the cycle that most human follow and the expectation is set for it be normal to be stressed why do we complain or reach breech points. A routine lifestyle should ideally get us used to it, why do we struggle with it?  Why do we keep hearing, stress management, and how stress has harmful effects on the human body and ways to handle it?.  why do we want to handle stress in a special way?

Most persons fitting the above descriptions were closed to burn out state and I often heard them say, 'to handle stress is better said than done'.

Now comes my view on this. Do not try to handle stress. You will never succeed. What I believe is in embracing it. Change your perception to it. You are not under stress but you are just genuinely busy simply trying to do at least 48-hour work in 8 - 24 hours. The way you set your bar defines your capacity and limitations to being a Do-er/ Go-getter. To cope with your busy schedule you need to have an acutely sharp brain that processes, delegates and carves out the quick ways to achieve your end result in less time. To be able to make more time, amend your lifestyle if needed. What you will not compromise is getting a personal time to yourself. At least an hour in a weekday even if it is short breaks that make up an hour of your awake time and a few hours over weekends. This personal time you use wisely since its the most precious. Do what you like to do in your personal time, being happy gives a sense of self-satisfaction that boosts your energy. But this solves only half the problem. The main problem is on how your mind perceives about what you are doing. If your mind perceives that you are depressed, dis-satisfied, humiliated or simply unhappy, this is the matter of concern to be addressed by you. This thought is what causes stress. Then everything that you do seems/ gets difficult. During such times, be bold enough to accept it and listen to your intuitions tell you as the right thing to do. Be bold enough to do what your mind is telling you as the right thing to do. You may not always get your expected outcomes. But, have you been always right otherwise. Following your voice will build an energy force in you to get better at things. So, make sure to listen to yourself. There is a widely stressed world that gets you busy, directs you to dance to its tunes and the best way to conquer is with your own mind. Listen to yourself.  

Thailand - My Memorable Holiday

In August 2016, I took a small step toward making my wish come true. I went to my first volunteering experience and how it all happened feels like a dream. I just came back from my holiday this year and but this one was the most memorable one, that I wish to recollect and re-live it. I went to 'Chiang Rai', a pleasant city on the northern side of Thailand. Since my daughter wanted to join me in this experience, I decided to make the trip more interesting. I wanted her to realise the value of life and experience the sense of gratitude for this life. I believe, money can give you short-term pleasure and thrill, while an act of service gives you the ultimate sense of satisfaction and achievement. One must do it to experience it. So, I wanted her to experience this so, I told her that, she will live the life of luxury for the first 5 days followed by two weeks of living the most basic life while being able to carry out service for others. She agreed.

We started our trip in a First Class cabin in Boeing 777 aircraft. We had a chef who offered to make what we want to eat. The journey was plush and comfortable, thanks to Etihad Airways for our wonderful flying experience. We enjoyed our stay in Bangkok, the perfect destination which met all needs starting from wonderful places to visit, authentic Thai cuisine and relaxing spas.  We loved our visit to the magnificent Golden Buddha temple, the unique floating market, the historic Golden Triangle and the spectacular Siam Niramat show depicting their culture in a colorful performance.

On day 5 we took our flight to Chaing Rai for our two-week volunteering experience. At the airport, we were received by the representative from, The Mirror Foundation, affiliated to International Volunteering Head Quarters (IVHQ). Our experience started with joining other volunteers arriving from different parts of the world. We buckled up in a tempo traveling through the city and then onto muddy roads that stretch into the outskirts to reach our accommodation.

Honesty Store

The Kitchen

Our Prep Room

Our Accommodation

We were received by nice friendly people who show us through our dormitories, the common dining area, cleaning area, honesty store, followed by instructions on our stay and volunteering. The instructions were fairly simple. We need to keep our place clean, share the responsibility with other volunteers to keep the common area including the toilets clean, clean our dishes and most importantly prepare our daily lessons and teach in schools/college in the neighborhood.
 

Our daily schedule was quite simple. The schools and classes each one were assigned to was put up on a notice board that is updated every week. Once we know our schedule of classes and grades we teach each day, we just log in to the system and check out the syllabus and prepare for classes. Based on the learning outcomes to be achieved we put together the learning materials including, quiz, display board, charts, flashcards as needed. This would include, preparing some learning material if it's not already available. Each day, we take our classes in different schools for different grades as planned. In the evening, the day would finish after updating in the system on how we conducted the class, what materials were used, how the students performed and whether the learning outcomes were met.

The last week of our volunteering was at Phayao College of Agriculture and Technology. We worked alongside the lecturers to deliver an English Speaking Camp for college students. The learning outcome was to help students to communicate in English. The enthusiasm of the students and teachers got us fully involved and made it a grand success. We built scenarios around how easy or difficult negotiations can be in simple interactions like, calling and booking for air tickets/ hotel reservations and making changes to bookings. We also got some role play on job interviews.

My takeaway from this experience was the holistic learning experience the schools and the college offered. Student involved themselves in the day-to-day chores starting from cleaning to cooking. And, we saw that the education system allowed special need children to be part of the mainstream. The country also showed no gender disparity as male, female and transgender were treated equally and studied together helping each other and taking caring of each other. 

It was the most amazing holiday and what made it special was the volunteering experience. To top it all, my daughter who was accepted to be part of our team to conduct the workshop for college students and was honored with a certificate for volunteering. At the age of 14, she received the certificate as 'English Lecturer' and that too, on her birthday, amid over 100 college students participating in the workshop. The best birthday gift that we cherish to date.

It was the most fulfilling holiday experience and look forward to the next opportunity to volunteer. Now, the next time you plan your holiday, do consider adding a service action to it and experience for yourself the sense of fulfillment. I can assure you that, you will call it the most memorable holiday like me.