Life Lessons through the Kintsugi - A Japanese Art form

Sometime back, on our company's facebook page, I had posted a link about Kintsugi.  I believe a few of you were wondering what that was about and how come it was on our page.

Well, here it goes.  

Few months back, I came across a person, coming from a broken family and still wanted to make something through entrepreneurial ventures.  This person came with a lot of baggage was is somehow managing to just survive through corrupted government officials, pandemic crisis, financial breakdown, broken marriage, and raising children as a single parent.

Now how to help someone coming from so much and helping the person to change a set of beliefs, at the same time complementing their courage?

I searched around, and came across this concept of "Kintsugi".  Briefly:

Nevertheless, an amazing concept, now how to apply this in real life?

Lucky for you, I have designed few ways to go about it!  But this article is not about that.  Instead, this article will highlight the life lessons that the Art of Kintsugi can teach us.

Kintsugi as a Metaphor

Life throws a lot at you.  It has a habit of doing that to everyone. By using Kintsugi as a metaphor, you can help you see that the broken, painful, and the most difficult parts of you as a radiating light and golden beauty. 

Not really an Oscar, but nothing short of it either!

"When you think you are broken, you can pick up the pieces, put them back together, and learn to embrace the cracks."  - Candace Kumai

Kintsugi as a Life's Motto

Believe me, I have been there.  Even when there is no visible path nor any surity of the future.  Especially, when you feel that you have been backstabbed by your loved ones or very close friends. 

Believe me, I have been there. 

Having a life's motto can actually help you undergo a few miracles along the way.  It is okay to feel bad, pity or guilt.  Sometimes, we get so stuck with the patterns of beating ourselves up and the blame game, that we loose control of ourselves.  

Kintsugi as a motto really does wonders. Even if you are "not good enough" in others eyes, it is okay to to feel hurt.  Kintsugi teaches us that it is okay to feel hurt, grieve or even cry.  It is okay to take time out for us to come back, open up and become more compassionate selves.

Wish I had known that much earlier!  It would have had saved me a lot of uncomfortable emotions and acceptance would have had been easier.

Anyway, back to the article. 

Emotionally, Kintsugi helps you to become more kind towards yourselves!

It is all about forgiving yourselves.  There is no way that you would have had known or experienced what you did, earlier.  Life is like that.

Everyone makes mistakes.  Even the so called perfectionists.  Trust me, I have those plenty around me to know this.  

Kintsugi taught me to practice self love.  

OK, all selfish people do that anyway.  So does that make you selfish too?

No, it does not.  It helps you to gain wisdom, reflect on your actions / reactions, and helps you to appreciate you as a person.  It always begins with self.

As they say, 

We are all consumed by the replay of our memories actions.  When we trap ourselves in that state, do remember the act of why this must stop.  And letting go is equally important.  Even if you are on the verge of seeking revenge.  Remember, the only one who is left hurting at the end, is YOU.  But this we will cover some other time.  

Kintsugi leads to Progression

We go through so much as people at home, work and social life.  Sometimes, moving on when surrounded by so many conflicts and conflicting emotions seem hard.  But when we start mastering the feelings behind these emotions, eventually we will master self and come back stronger than before!

Trust the process.  Believe in yourself.  I know life is not fair.  But understand, that everything that is happening will make sense one day and when you look back from the future YOU, everything just works out by connecting the dots.

It always will.  Take as much time needed.  This is no race.  There is no hurry.

Kintsugi promotes Learning Mindset

Of the 7 mindsets that help you succeed in life, this is one of the important ones.  Do search this article on "the 7 Mindsets that you need to succeed in life" on our company's facebook page.  A very informative and interesting article this was.

Back to the current article now.

Life is so wonderful and there is just so many things to do, learn and explore that most times, having one lifetime seems really a short period of time!

Did you know, that in this week alone, I have learnt about 3D pens, Zuri resin, and Kintsugi art forms?!  And I still want to learn about how to make videos using Adobe tools and photoshop!  But wait, that is not what is to be covered here.  "Shruti, do focus on the article please!"  

Kintsugi teaches us to be honest in our approach and open towards knowledge.  

Find some time to learn something new everyday.  It just keeps you going forward and cheers you up tremendously!

Kintsugi says "Imperfections are Golden"

So cherish them!

Face Life with full vigor and head on! Like I said, no one is perfect.  In fact perfection exists only in the eyes of the beholder!  The beauty is not in the perfect circle of life, or assignment completion or presentation made.  It lies in the mistakes committed, how you bounced back and improvised a new thing right there, or found another way to tackle that mountain of work!

Even your chores seem less dull around Kintsugi! 

Do remember, that like the roads of the world, the path of life is not straight.  There are many curves, cracks and need for maintenance (You get the idea!) which only you need to overcome.

In fact, (and do reflect), that some of your hardest and trickiest challenges, deepest wounds and greatest fears are actually amongst the most beautiful and admirable aspects of you as a person.

Kintsugi helps you develop Spiritual Awareness

Kintsugi helps you build resilience. 

Kintsugi and Zen philosophy are very similar.  As you learn more about you in this light, you master few skills along the way.  These skills are art of creativity, resilience, patience and humility.  

A constant reminder that we are all very unique in our own way.  Sometimes, it takes a lot to discover something so simple as this.

Eventually, everything just boils down to good old:

• high morals
• respect for self
• respect (and acceptance) of others - the way they are
• value and acceptance of Truth
• good hygiene of life
• eating healthily
• meditation
• courage
• value of work and life
• internal peace
• developing a conscience and awakened mind (spiritually) 
• art of letting go

Thank you for reading this article!

(Phew! Finished finally!)  Do enjoy till we meet again next time folks!

= Article contributed by Coach Shruti Misra Sharma, a Entrepreneurial Leadership Coach, ABNLP certified NLP Trainer and HRD Consultant 

Life Lessons from Pandemic

 I learnt and lived through the pandemic and numerous lock down initiatives by the Canadian government since March 2020.

We are all aware of how the pandemic has affected the world economies and put everything on a standstill.

Having said that and not putting emphasis on how the pandemic has affected us, on the contrary this article is going to be about how it has helped me - Shruti Misra Sharma to attain few realizations and lifestyle changes.

Mental Health  

I have been exposed to few helplines which I helped run during the past year and also co-facilitate webinar series.  Based on my exposure, I came to see that every one of us need a good and healthy exposure of distractions. 
What do I mean by keeping distractions, when the world professionals talk about staying focused?

Now that's a thought worth pondering!

By distractions, I do not mean engage in more talk about issues on hand or by gossiping to no end about the problems that are surfacing due to a global crisis.

I do mean by distractions, that are in form of indulging in serious hobbies or crafts or anything that gets your mind hooked and want to explore more about that new world.  

I got into art.  I learnt that Mandalas are not only common in India but the concept has evolved to many forms globally.  

I learnt about acrylic painting, dot mandalas, met with other artists, explored more forms of dot art, experimented with different mediums like canvasses, wood, canvas panels and stones. I got so hooked and addicted to this new world, that although Covid-19 was a serious affair, I stopped focusing upon it and gave it less importance.  Sure, I took precautions are required, but I created a world that kept me motivated to look forward to exploring life from another angle.

It kept my mental well being in check.  I also explored aromatherapy and essential oils.  The more I got absorbed with this new distraction, the more I learnt about life.

Physical Health

This is an important factor.  As gyms, swimming pools and going outdoors possibilities ceased, how to keep ourselves healthy?

After all, we human beings, are full of energy and need to exercise in order to stay fit if not focused on weight loss!

By doing housework and keeping a routine for regular walks helped me not only stay fit but also the routine bring some sense of normalcy around me.

Every one of us need to have a sense of control.  Every one of us craves for having to get up and look forward to life.  This was how I maintained while listening to my music, pranking my family members, all added up and made my physical labor more interesting.

Psychological / Emotional Health

Not only art, but entertaining healthy thoughts also helped me stay sane and maintain some amount of sanity around.

One can also say that focused meditation or purposeful meditation have helped them to stay reasonable calm and less reactive in the situation.

I realized that if I thought good and constructive thoughts, these helped my body stay healthy and full of positive vibrations.  This helped keep others around me also healthy.  Emotional well being was maintained and needs to be addressed as seriously as mental and physical health.  

Emotions and thoughts trigger biochemical reactions inside the body and it has been proven scientifically about their benefits by scientists across the world.

Having gratitude helped me spread it by making gratitude rocks.  These now painted rocks are now spread across Ontario, Canada to help others.

Change Management

"When the going gets tough, the tough gets going!"

But what happens when you can only maintain your toughness to just one extent?

Pandemic proved to be a real challenge.  

How much capacity does one has to keep their internal reservoirs of hope, faith and balance going strong?

Many people worked many hours. The companies took or still taking full advantage of exploiting labor.  Human and employee rights have been challenged globally.  Many lost their jobs due to companies' greediness at saving (hoarding) money to save their businesses.

So much greed surfaced.  So much hate and frustration.  

My business too suffered.  But sometimes, we need to take a step back and pause.  This was a moment for me to pause and reflect.

Pandemic defined my new boundaries of how much I can take and give to those in need.

It took my business on a virtual setting, not that I am complaining but also helped me manage more "time out" days than was otherwise possible.  It can be overwhelming sometimes, especially when you are directly in line of people training and coaching.  A bond forms and sometimes it crosses and you become a confident rather than a professional working with your clients.

It's only human.  It took me few days to re-charge and come back out fighting stronger than ever against an otherwise overwhelming emotional attacks from all fronts.

I realized that by taking regular "breaks" helped me against work burnouts and maintain a good healthy relationship with those who matter in my life.

Supporting Others in Need

I learnt that although, we all pretended that we do not need any one in life, pandemic proved otherwise and challenged this belief.

Everyone broke down at some point.  Everyone needed a distraction or some assurance that everything is under control.  It didn't come for a long time.  When it did, that lifeline was short lived (I am talking about when Covid-19 vaccines were about to hit the market, we started hearing and seeing how the virus evolved and made new mutations).  

No one is really prepared or can at this time assure that even taking boosters can help mitigate this risk permanently.

But supporting communities, friends, strangers, and extending your hand to help goes a long way to show that although there is hardly any certainty in life, you are willing to go an extra step to establish humanitarian help to others around you.  

The sense of "you are not alone" and the gratitude that came with it, was really overwhelming and humbling.  This is great learning experience.  The joy of giving was once again rekindled.  Cultural boundaries relaxed and it is great to see so many people around us once more!

Relationship Management

Families came close.  With so many things and work and life going on, there was a lot of noise.  This noise interfered with our lives and we do not remember what it was like to spend hours with your family members.  

Relationships based once on trust, companionship, faith, and co-dependence were given a second chance. 

It is important to have your family around, friendships about to help you to keep going and look forward to more things in life.  

Material things lost their value when memories of times spent together came alive.  There is more to working and chasing your dreams in life.  And thank you Pandemic for giving me a second chance to live.

Having a good relationship with self also immerged.  The more time I gave to reflect and improve my knowledge, the more confident and renewed sense of being I am in the process of developing.

Trusting that there is a process for everything, a sense of hope and faith is arising, stronger every day.

I look forward to sharing something new which I learnt with others.  This helps create more topics of discussions with others around me.  This also helps give them a new sense of well being and enlightenment for the day or time spent with you.

Periodical Getaways

Spending time with nature with family provided a much needed recharge.  We started to not only maintain social distancing norms by planning long trips outside the city but also found relief and joy by exploring so many provincial parks around!

I learnt that it is not only economical to plan such short trips over the weekend, but also to find more ways to do something constructive with so much time on hands.

We now look forward for long weekends and just go on a road trip!  It is so much fun! So much refreshing! 

Let's end by reframing the current crisis into a positive thought:  Pandemic is a blessing in disguise.  As the world slows down to match your pace, you skill up to match the world's pace once things reopen!

Till then do enjoy the best in life by dawning your exploration cap!

- Article has been contributed by our Entrenador Shruti Misra, a Neuro-Leadership & Entrepreneur Coach.  She is also a Mind Coach and international NLP trainer. 

Some photos have taken from Google images and some have been added from Shruti's own collection.

Some

Power of "Together"

 The current structures of today's organizations in the world, revolve around this need for acquiring more financial security and making its human resources a slave.  

When the world is affected by pandemic, its strains and post-pandemic diseases, when the world is trying its best to hold on to that one hope of getting things together, when the time is largely ticking by in no one's favor, what is it do you do?  How do you accomplish keeping yourself, your families and your companies afloat? Frankly speaking, there is really no one to blame and searching for that one is fruitless. 

Sad truth is, things happen.  Pandemics happen.  They have been for so long in one form of another.  Result is always the same:  only the fittest survive.

What do we mean when we say "fittest"?  Does it mean having more money?  Does it mean being more financially stable?  Let me remind you, that no matter how much money you may have or connections, people have still lost their lives.  We can only do our best.

So what do we mean by the "fittest"?  If it's not money, medicines, cures, high connections! 

Fittest means that you do not let go of all things that are good in the world.  The reason of staying human, The reason for helping those even when you have just lost someone.  The reason for coming together, being together and treating everyone as equals.  The survival rates of having optimism and faith increases times fold, as the numbers grow.

The lessons that we have learnt or for some, still to learn:

• Do not give into fear
• Have clarity and purpose
• Make and spend time with family with what ever time we have left with them
• Block out messages transmitting negativity
• Block people spreading more negativity and false hopes from your life
• Keep busy,
• Block the external noise.  Seek internal peace and solitude.
• Do things that add more meaning to your life and that of your loved ones.
• Be grateful for life
• Go out and breathe fresh air.  Not the contaminated one in the city.  
• Plan to do more things with family

Raise your vibrations.  I am not saying that you start to chat mantras or get more religious.  Or follow the so called "Gurus" who have suddenly risen from no where.  

But the only thing I have realized during these tough times is the need of having your own support system and being grateful every day to have lived.  

There are so many things that we have taken granted for.  This is the time to take a step back and re-think our strategies.  No job and work in the world is more important than you.  There is nothing in the world that can stop you, if you want to take a pause.  Organizations, employing so many people, will not collapse overnight, if you decide to take a day off tomorrow.

That is not how the world works.  That is not how the organizations work.  And it is not our nature to follow in other people's steps.  Our life is our life.  We make our own decisions and are accountable for our own peace of mind.  

"Time is a cruel thief to rob us of our former selves. We lose as much to life as we do to death." -Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey

We are a human race.  We have survived the test of time for thousands and thousands of years.  We will make it through this together.  

I have held out my hand.   Do you have it in you to hold on to it?

Let's find a way to help ourselves and then uplift others.  Let's un-learn, re-learn and move forward together.  Greed is not the answer.  Humanity is.  Let's start by being kind today.  Let's create the humane ripple effect starting from "me" today.

This article is a special article, written observing the calamity and confusion seen during the Covid - 19 Pandemic.  Article written by Entrenador Shruti Misra Sharma.

Importance of Having a Serious Hobby

Last year has been very tough for the world.  Very tough on the lives of people.  Extremely testing times for all kinds of businesses and technologies.  

But we are not here to dwell on all of that.  

We all need a source of venting our feelings, emotions, and stress out.  We all have been discovering that accumulated negativity is no longer the "escape points" or hot "gossip topics" anymore.  Your once person source to go to for venting has now blocked you or mirroring your frustrations and the world seems to be doomed for the time being. 

Through this blog, I would like to introduce you a concept of how developing a serious hobby can get you through any hardship the world or life throws at you!

Let's hear it from other people!

As per Elliot Hauser, CEO of startup Trinket App, "I've come to believe that finding exactly one serious hobby to pursue mastery in, is a powerful tool for balancing your life and becoming more effective." This is a quote from an article that was published in Medium.

A script from Columbia College Calgary's website:  "Hobbies help us grow as a person.  Having a hobby that we enjoy brings us joy and refreshes us. Hobbies help us to manage our leisure and unplanned time more productively. It also affords you the opportunity to learn new skills in your work."

Hear it from Facebook Co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg!  He says "that having a bobby shows a prospective employer that you have passion and drive".

So what is now really happening?  Why this change on take on having an extracurricular activity while you are working or trying to find a job during these times?

A hobby is a calculated distraction that keeps a person engaged in their every day lives and also socialize with the real world.  

A hobby forces you to step out of your comfort zone and start observing things in another perspective, creating a mind shift.  Doing something that you enjoy, gives you pleasure.  The state of mental well being changes as the feeling of satisfaction, confidence and self-esteem is increased.  This radiates in your personality.  The accomplishment of something which is as silly as painting or photography with the right colors or light effects, is unmatchable.  You go out, you start interacting with nature, people, animals.  You find creativity in everything around you.  Something like magic.  You start finding a path towards exploring further and learning along the way.  

Learning.  Degrees and certificates can get you only as far.  But having the learner's mindset sets you off for life. 

Time Management.  By having a working distraction in form of a hobby, one is able to focus better in other aspects of their lives.  

Anger Management.  The feeling of creating or nurturing something new.  Taking care of something as simple as a bonsai, sets off all the happy hormonal changes in the brain section.  This also helps you become more sensitive and aware about your feelings and others around you.  You become calmer inside.  

Like my mentor, Dr. Bhupendra Palan, always says, "A tense mind cannot exist in a calm body".  

When this sense is achieved, miracles happen around you.  Other people channel your energy back at you.  You become more influential and your thinking habits change.  As you are more exposed to the world, resources and environment, the feeling of connectivity forms.  This amazing feeling, in turn, helps you de-stress and leads towards more peaceful and fulfilled waters.  

You will be surprised as what magic is created by having a simple hobby!

Plus you have fun! There are other benefits of having a hobby.  Do discover and let me know here too!

As for me, I will be painting away more rocks, canvases and anything that I can get my hands on! I re-discovered my love of colors and have decided to explore unexplored waters.  And as I can't draw, I have learnt that it is not a mandate to enjoy my new serious hobby!

Would you like to see some of my work?  Do follow my company's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/entrenadorconsulting for more details!

Latest update to Year 2021:  I now teach children of all ages how to paint Rocks and create animals!

 Ladybug and its Flower Garden

And sometimes, great stories can be told using just stones, color paints and brushes!  Another idea for creating a social impact through a serious hobby!  

Turtles in Coral Reefs

Not bad! Don't you think?

- Article has been contributed by our Entrenador Shruti Misra, a Neuro-Leadership & Entrepreneur Coach.  She is also a Mind Coach and international NLP trainer. 

All photos have been self-designed, conceptualized and painted by Coach Shruti Misra Sharma, a hobbyist in the making!

How to come across as a "Down to earth" person in your personal and professional life?

Quite recently, from one of the social forums, someone asked me this question:

How do you manage/down to earth yourself when you are successful in both a relationship and a business?

Very interesting isn't it?  After answering so many questions from people and helping them escalate their careers, very few times do I feel that any question has triggered for me to write a blog on it.

This is one such query which I would like to share with my readers. 

We all come from all walks of life and have our own agenda.  Keeping that in mind, the following are my 10 commandments which I have understood, realized and followed till date:

1. Be diplomatic and broad minded. Accept things as they are and not form a judgement upon anything too soon.                                                                                                                    
2. Be humble and open to people. Initially, this may feel like a burden but once you develop the art of connectivity, this experience really pays off!                                                                    
3. Never lower your standards for anyone. Life is a long journey. Never compromise on your basic principles.                                                                                                                      
4. Keep experimenting. Explore and develop new flavors / horizons / hobbies / interests / verticals. These will help you keep going in life and also provide you with a direction.                                                    
5. Handle your emotions with care. There are all kinds of people in this world. Learn to master your internal feelings so that your external postures do not give you away too easily. “Being an open book” for select few chosen ones.                                                                                                                              
6. Do not seek to please others but to develop yourself to reach another self set benchmark. It will add the thrill to keep moving forward.                                                                                                                                
7. Learn from your and others mistakes. Observe people and their behavior.                                                                         
8. Keep testing your knowledge, experience and develop a learning frame of mind. It helps with building a charismatic personality. You do not have to know about every single topic on this planet. Allow others to contribute towards your learning and let them speak up often.                                              
9. Find a meaning in life. If you really want to prove things, do it for yourself. Forget others. That is not your concern nor anyone’s business.                                                                                                                   
10. Live the way you want and mind your own business. Do not involve in gossips and negativity. Keep finding things that instill more confidence and positivity in your life.                                                                       

I have personally and professionally tried all of the above and have led my life my way without harboring regrets. Today, I am really satisfied with my life and look forward to enjoy and get the best out of life. I find this way not only very peaceful but also encouraging. It helps me to keep going forward and discard any regrets.

Afterall, life is very short and there are just so many things to do, learn and explore!

On this note, I humbly invite my readers to contribute your thoughts and beliefs that help trigger you to stay grounded in your personal and professional lives.

- Article has been contributed by our Entrenador Shruti Misra, a Neuro-Leadership & Entrepreneur Coach.  She is also a Mind Coach and international NLP trainer.  

All photo credits, used in this blog go to Google open source images.   

The Need to Build Positive Mindset for Your Growth

This is going to be a fairly short article.

Today I am going to share with you few incidences:

When I was in middle school, I used to be a very pessimistic in nature.  Whenever people mentioned something different, I always found faults with their views and opinions.  Lack of exposure, openness and understanding resulted in this kind of mindset.  I was a frog in a well.

Later on and as years passed by, I grew up and saw that all of a sudden people started avoiding me.  They just disappeared and made excuses to be elsewhere.  I was surprised at this but over looked it.  When I reached college, and the same attitude continued and in a different place, I realised it was time for some concrete introspection. 

After many days, I started watching my thinking patterns.  I started to observe people and I realized that over a period of time, and unknowingly, I had started to absorb the negativity around me and that resulted in my personality.

Negativity is very easy to dorn.  It is very addictive too.  Talking to self using negative expressions, finding fault with everyone and attracting kind of company too started hampering my growth.

I decided to change all of that one day.  This was a very tough process.  Shedding was not so easy.  Positivity gave slower results than negative mindset.  

I went to people to give me feedback which can help me improve.  I went to find ways to improve.  Finally a day came when I started to feel the magic of positivity taking over my personality.

Today, I realized that no matter the tough journey I had undertaken to develop an optimistic mindset, the amount of time invested maintaining it is much harder that the first half.

Though in this journey of self discovery, I realized a lot of things:

• Sadly, I saw many people come to realize a little too late about their own limited beliefs.  
• Many people are still trapped in their own mindsets and traditions.  I am not against any tradition and I truly respect all cultures.  Though there are certain man made practices which I do not agree with.  
• When I started to realize my potential, I found a lot of people started having problems.  They created more problems.  Soon it became nothing short of an evergreen field of obstacles course.

When life became an obstacles course and full of challenges, I started getting stronger and faced those challenges head on. Somewhere I started to realize that whenever someone challenged me, it was my positive self talk and optimistic thought process that gave me the will power to face my battles.  Many times, alone.  

And then one day, I realized that the positive mindset had helped me in:

• finding a path for myself
• got me to toughen up
• gave me the willpower to succeed
• get creative with problems
• find a middle path to solutions
• get better control over my emotions
• made me more practical
• gave me strength to either find or create opportunities that will lead me to success one after the other.
• I no longer attracted negative people only.  I was a magnet for positive people as well.  People from all walks of life started interacting with me and seeked out my company wherever I went.  
• I was complimented that I brought smiles on people's faces.
• With so much of positive energies surrounding me, I started attracting lucrative profiles that added weightage to my resume
• My self esteem returned and so did faith in my abilities

Overall, my experience with developing and maintaining a positive outlook on life has not only attracted company of intellectual people but also success at every turn.

I found partnerships that will provide me with more leverage in the industry.  I stumbled upon people who wanted to mentor me.  I found the will to convince my family to accept my current profile of being an entrepreneur.  The optimistic outlook gives me a strength to maintain discipline and keep me self motivated to work harder every day with a renewed sense of energy to conquer another goal.  

Positive mindset really works wonders. Change that, it works like magic.  And the best part is, I am still not had enough of this kind of magic!

Moral:  Positive outlook on things results in Positive outcomes!  Totally worth the efforts and time invested!  Therefore, always harbor and nurture your positive self affirmations.  

Keep going guys! You will discover your own goals in life one day and they will come true!

- Article has been contributed by Entrenador Shruti Misra, an established Neuro-Leadership & Entrepreneur Coach | ABNLP Certified NLP Trainer, first lineage of Dr. John Grinder in Asia.

Sympathy, Empathy And Compassion = Which one is important for Workplace?

In my former days, when I was entering the industry, I was advised by professionals to have sympathetic attitude.

Having sympathy with your employees as a Human Resources professional was the "in" thing.  Every body expected to you answer that one word in order to ensure that you get the job.


Few years into my professional career, I was again advised by my seniors to become empathetic towards employees.

Although, the words are very closely related to one another, quite a number times, I have observed they are the mostly abused words, especially in the corporate world.

I have always found both words - sympathy and empathy to have no use or place in the cut-throat corporate environment.

Here are the reasons why:

• While Sympathy means you can understand and relate with how a person is feeling, Empathy means that you can feel what the other person is feeling.  None of this results in anyone taking any particular action towards getting the feelings sorted or the problem to mitigate.
• While using the word Sympathy may not get you around much, Empathy can attract people with more grief to you like a magnet.  Even if you develop empathy, it does not mean that you would be able to sort other people's problems as effectively.
• While Sympathy can get you to open up about management issues, Empathy will restrict you to function effectively and efficiently.  Something that a Human Resources professional cannot afford.  
• Both Sympathy and Empathy are very strong feelings and tend to generate equally strong emotions.  When these emotions accumulate, they generally tend to release few explosions.

So how can we, as professionals be more effective as human beings?  

How can we add more value to the work place and build a more human friendly culture?  

I have been seeking these answers for quite some time.  And I have come to a conclusion, that instead of have Sympathy and Empathy, we can instead be more Compassionate towards our fellow citizens.

Now let's begin by understanding compassion a little bit.  

Compassion is defined as the willingness to relieve the other person of their suffering. 

Sounds better?  Yes? No?  Well, read on....

Now how does this help you and your organization to succeed?

Well it helps in following ways:

• It helps to review and get rid of age old practices that are causing grief to our employees.
• It helps to relate with one another in more humane terms
• It helps to re-structure our work culture to accommodate diversity
• It encourages people to be more value driven and results driven.  This in turn, helps to mitigate office politics, leading to more productive and positive work culture.
• It provides more hope to your people
• It assists in rewarding people for their hard work
• It nurtures people to seek their skills development and chart their own career path within an organization.

Compassion is a very strong emotion and can drive an organization to success if utilized in the right fashion.  

Today, when the competition is at its peak, jobs at all time low, a drop of compassion in the work culture can make a lot of difference to promote a good work ethics and people to explore their potentials at their ease.

People need more humanity in this world. Forget the rat race.  Instead the concept should be = Run your own Race.  Be a Role Model for others to find and take inspiration from you.  Empower your people by being more Human.

Be Ready to Act in the name of Compassion, if you want to be Employee - Centric!

- Article contributed by Entrenador Shruti Misra, a Neuro-Leadership & Entrepreneur Coach