Walk the talk…

“I must do something” always solves more problems than “Something must be done.” Author Unknown

How often do we find ourselves wringing our hands in frustration and loudly proclaiming that something must be done. It could be some trivial issue at work or home or it could be something that evokes nationalistic pride but far too often we end up wistfully thinking that if someone else did something the problem could be solved and we would all live happily ever after. Invariably we make the painfully realization that almost everyone seems to be thinking on the same lines and as a result nothing gets done except maybe for the reality that we get more and more frustrated. The irony of the whole situation is that each one of us has noble intent, a fair degree of ability to tackle the problem and a whole range of fanciful ideas on how to tackle the issue on hand, yet we are overwhelmed by inertia, skepticism and a lackadaisical attitude.

Here are three essentials to ensure we Walk the Talk.

A sense of ownership is essential if we as individuals are ever intending to tackle issues and solve a problem. Most times while we are keen to benefit from the solution of a problem, we pretend that the problem does not impact us majority and so someone else has to bell the cat. Social problems invariably remain a matter of concern for a long time because all the concerned people are side stepping the issue and hoping that in time a good Samaritan would do the needful. The squalor and garbage around our colonies for example are regular topics for running down the administration but do we as responsible citizens make a concrete effort to take some proactive steps. It could be simple things like writing to the newspapers, sharing the telephone numbers of the concerned departments with neighboring society members and requesting them to call up and put pressure or perhaps visiting the concerned officials and lodging a complaint. All these are possible provided we believe that the matter on hand is MY problem too.

Self belief that every individual including ME can make a difference. The most frivolous argument given for inaction is that ‘poor me is an insignificant person’ and so my role is very limited in influencing matters. Assume for a moment that the power supply to your house has failed and worse still all the neighbors seem to have regular power. Would you sit back and hope the power comes back on its own or would you take some proactive steps? Now assume that the power in your locality keeps going of intermittently and the entire neighborhood is inconvenienced. Would you take some initiative to find out the problem and initiate some corrective action? In the latter case a distancing of a sense of ownership steers you to believe that you cannot do much and that there are others who are better equipped to tackle the situation.

Achievement orientation is one of the earliest drivers of human progress. Irrespective of how good or bad a student you were, there was a sense of achievement in scoring more than your expectations, even more joy in scoring more than a close competitor and maximum joy if miraculously you passed despite your wayward approach to academics or your topped due to your sincere and dedicated efforts. The reality is that a sense of achievement is a great motivator. If we can orient our thinking into making all challenges and problems faced b y us as an opportunity to achieve success, our mindset to tacking the issues on hand would be very progressive and result oriented. When we can visualize ourselves as orchestrating change, achieving our goals and making a big positive difference around us we would be taking on the responsibility of Walking the Talk.

Remember: Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility. ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Try this:

Identify a social cause that is close to your heart. Now work out an action plan to be involved in it and spending at least 2 hours a week on it on the field ( that is actively being engaged in it)
As a responsible citizen how will you proactively get involved in the following situations?

A cat is trapped in the 10^th floor of an apartment sill and is mewing piteously for help
The street lights have not been switched off even at 8 am in the morning when it is bright and sunny
An acquaintance calls you up to help him/ her urgently source blood for an operation. The bigger problem is that fresh blood is needed and the blood group type is rather rare.
You notice that the lift in your apartment block has been making some rather odd and unusual noise when it is in motion. You have already complained to the society office but no concrete action seems to have been taken because the noise continues. The second time you complaint you are treated with indifference and told that you are making a mountain of a mole hill. What will you do next?

This post is courtesy www.actspot.com