Welcome A New Year of Hope, Aspirations And New Skills

2022: A Year of Hope

The year 2021 has been a year of grief, loss, unpredictability and emotional turmoil, yet I would like to place hope above all the crushing realities of this annus horribilis. Amid the sense of disruption and misery, there’s a joy of triumph also associated with this year. India, when became the biggest vaccine manufacturer in the world and achieved the target of hundred crore vaccination in the year 2021, we knew we could bounce back even after the greatest fall. Our country’s 100 years’ wait for a Gold in Olympics got over when Neeraj Chopra threw his javelin to rewrite the history of Indian sports and to add more glory to our glorious nation. Every Indian felt elated when Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu, a girl of small town with bigger dreams and aspirations, was crowned Miss Universe amidst thundering applause.

The year 2021 witnessed radical changes in many sectors- education, wellness, sustainability, technology, women entrepreneurship, healthcare, sports, and business but the education system embraced the changes and challenges unfolded by the new normal at a greater speed. The entire education fraternity across the world was so agile in adapting the new normal mode of education. Now, everyone knows that without the set of new skills that includes resilience, Grit, Determination, adaptability and self-reliance, none would be able to sustain in this world for a longer term. The disruption caused by the global pandemic would definitely come to a cessation but at what cost we weren’t aware of so we kept moving ahead with learning, unlearning and re-learning. The morale of many professionals has ebbed due to the havoc caused by the pandemic yet the fighting spirit and urge for sustenance introduced a crescendo in many organizations and a paradigm shift in almost all spheres of life.

The Skills that Redefine Your Course of Life

The seclusion and WFH culture over the past two years have accentuated the importance and need of soft skills; now for professionals, it’s not just the degrees or talent that works but many more aspects of personality hold equal value in one’s professional and personal growth. We all have grappled a lot to accommodate ourselves in this new normal life, and we succeeded also but for a smoother ride on our career path and to catapult our growth graph we have yet to master many skills like; leadership, teamwork, collaboration, compassion, coordination, communication, innovation, empathy and the list is endless. Apart from all these there’s one more issue that needs a deeper understanding; having a wider humanistic perspective which teaches us to look at the positive aspects of everyone and to imbibe the virtue of magnanimity, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

 

Empathy and Inclusiveness

In today’s fast-paced society, everyone has become so self-centered that it feels really difficult to empathize with the people around us especially in the backdrop of Covid pandemic. Recently I chanced upon a quote which intrigued me and that goes as, “I am a person through other people. My humanity is tied to yours.” This quote explains the essence of being a human and how empathy and inclusiveness are two important aspects of any individual. We all are one and interconnected and whatever we do, we think, affects the surrounding, as the butterfly effect propounds, ‘one can’t remove a sand particle from its position without changing the other parts of the immeasurable whole’, which is absolutely relevant for the whole of mankind. The feeling of inclusiveness focuses on creating an environment where everyone is important despite their differences, it ensures that people with diversity can walk together, work harmoniously, contribute confidently, yield better results and add value to the system.

 

Interesting Read: How-To-Become-A-Learner

Let Others Feel Special

In this competitive and well connected era, everyone feels ignored, dejected and alone because social media has made people less social. Just think for a moment, do we actually listen to what others are saying? No, we just wait for our turn to speak, to reply because we are just hearing; when someone is talking, we are engaged with our mobile phones, we only keep it aside when we get a chance to speak. How awkward the situation is! A conversation is a two way process and listening is the most ignored aspect of this process. Avoid using mobile phones when you are sitting with people, lend them your ears so that you can reach to their inner self, understand what they are going through and communicate more effectively. Make them feel special that you are always there when they need your support. Make them feel heard because everyone is battling with some or the other issues of their life and the feeling of being ‘unheard’ can be devastating with the mental health of your near and dear ones. Listening to others makes you more empathetic and aware of their problems; and if you are a team leader you must try to bridge the communication gap with your team to make them more efficient, productive and loyal.

Appreciate Others and be Admired

Appreciation works as a booster dose for everyone’s mental and emotional well-being. It’s the best therapy that you can give to anyone at zero cost. Lack of recognition and appreciation hinders productivity and creativity. Learn to appreciate your colleagues, your family members, your friends and your teammates whenever they do something worth mentioning. Never wait for a big moment to clap for your people; it takes just a small moment to make someone valued and to instill more loyalty. Showing appreciation for others brings a sense of fulfillment and admiration to you as well so never be stingy in doing that, appreciate others and be admired.

Cultivate Optimism

Optimism makes you hope for the positive outcomes, it makes you have faith in yourself and your efforts; as quoted by Winston Churchill, “A pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity while an optimist finds an opportunity in every difficulty.” Optimistic people interpret the ordinary events of life in an extraordinary way and that keeps them always happy and cheerful. With this tendency, they become resilient to stress, are better equipped to embrace the unexpected and accomplish whatever they undertake.

Let’s fuel 2022 with hope, aspirations and new skills to chase our dreams, to expand the arena of our existence and be empowered enough to bring a change in our as well as others’ life. Let 2022 be the year when you give wings to your choices and dreams, when you attain all your resolutions and be the best of yourself.

 

This year, take out more time for your SELF, and your loved ones; life is unpredictable, make it a roller coaster ride, have fun in whatever you do, explore and reform your yourself. In the words of Mark Twain, “The two most important days in your life are the days you were born and the day you find out why.”

Would you like to find out in the upcoming year- which is the second most important day of your life!