Impressions!
This might sound as a cliche... But do bear with, one last time. "The first impression in the BEST impression." Not really! It can be a bit deceiving at times!!
Yesterday I happen to speak to a colleague of mine, who spoke about a facilitator of his, whom everyone considers 'shrewd' a.ka. the villain! He told me that the facilitator was open enough to accept that he would be termed the 'Villain' of this story, popularly called 'Learning Interventions' at MindTree. The facilitator was well aware of the fact that people would find it exponentially difficult to understand the intentions behind his way of doing things. The facilitator, on the very first day made it loud and clear that the trainees should adhere to a list of 'rules' to be followed, to ensure discipline and decorum in the classroom. The facilitator didn't give a damn about the minority of so-called 'Boy! I'm not impressed with this facilitator' group. Unlike many of us, the facilitator was ready to stake his image of 'He is a really friendly person to approach' kinda image, that most of crave to build up, when we introduce ourselves to new people! He firmly believed that as long as his intentions were right, and he was successful in achieving the objectives (in his case... it was to ensure that he imparted right concepts to the trainees with full vigour), it was absolutely okies with him, even if everyone considered him 'shrewd' / 'unapproachable'. The facilitator 'promised' to take them all on a 'jolly' ride in 'hell', during the training. That's scaring!
But what he said in justification made absolute sense. He said, "For you to appreciate the comfort of being in heaven, you need to know how difficult it is to be in hell."
That really put me in to some serious thinking. What really bothered me after I ended the conversation with my colleague was, "Is the first impression always the best impression?" "Could it not be the BEST wrong impression you build about a person?" Come to think of it, you would realize that many a times we crib about an acquaintance, at a later point in time, when we realize that the so-called first impression we gathered about him/her was actually a myth! How many of us have the guts to say to this world at times, "Look... this is the way I do things. Take it or leave it. I know that my intentions are right, so I don't give it a damn, if you differ with my ways of doing things!" Trust me, many a time we compromise with end results (which should be the center of focus) by doing things which are influenced by this fear, "Oh my god! What will people think if I carry my self this way? Will I be able to convince everyone around me?"
Why does it happen?
I feel that you should to give any relationship a real good time to settle, even before you think of building up an impression about it. If you fail to do it, I can guarantee you that you are surely gonna crib about that relationship, some time or the other. It is absolutely okies to carry a neutral impression about people when any relationship is in the stages of infancy.
So the next time you pass a judgement about a guy/gal, being 'nice'/'shrewd', please ensure that you know their intentions pretty well. Everyone has a right to do things, the way they like it! If you feel someone is shrewd for all the right reasons in this world, then try to appreciate the good intentions behind it. I'm sure that they too would appreciate, if you could respect the candidness in their approach to life!
Statutory Warning: If you happen to be a first time visitor to my blog, wait for a while (read it as 'walk through my archives') before you build an impression. If you have already built one, don't go by it. Your subsequent impressions may change!
~IT's My Life
Yesterday I happen to speak to a colleague of mine, who spoke about a facilitator of his, whom everyone considers 'shrewd' a.ka. the villain! He told me that the facilitator was open enough to accept that he would be termed the 'Villain' of this story, popularly called 'Learning Interventions' at MindTree. The facilitator was well aware of the fact that people would find it exponentially difficult to understand the intentions behind his way of doing things. The facilitator, on the very first day made it loud and clear that the trainees should adhere to a list of 'rules' to be followed, to ensure discipline and decorum in the classroom. The facilitator didn't give a damn about the minority of so-called 'Boy! I'm not impressed with this facilitator' group. Unlike many of us, the facilitator was ready to stake his image of 'He is a really friendly person to approach' kinda image, that most of crave to build up, when we introduce ourselves to new people! He firmly believed that as long as his intentions were right, and he was successful in achieving the objectives (in his case... it was to ensure that he imparted right concepts to the trainees with full vigour), it was absolutely okies with him, even if everyone considered him 'shrewd' / 'unapproachable'. The facilitator 'promised' to take them all on a 'jolly' ride in 'hell', during the training. That's scaring!
But what he said in justification made absolute sense. He said, "For you to appreciate the comfort of being in heaven, you need to know how difficult it is to be in hell."
That really put me in to some serious thinking. What really bothered me after I ended the conversation with my colleague was, "Is the first impression always the best impression?" "Could it not be the BEST wrong impression you build about a person?" Come to think of it, you would realize that many a times we crib about an acquaintance, at a later point in time, when we realize that the so-called first impression we gathered about him/her was actually a myth! How many of us have the guts to say to this world at times, "Look... this is the way I do things. Take it or leave it. I know that my intentions are right, so I don't give it a damn, if you differ with my ways of doing things!" Trust me, many a time we compromise with end results (which should be the center of focus) by doing things which are influenced by this fear, "Oh my god! What will people think if I carry my self this way? Will I be able to convince everyone around me?"
Why does it happen?
I feel that you should to give any relationship a real good time to settle, even before you think of building up an impression about it. If you fail to do it, I can guarantee you that you are surely gonna crib about that relationship, some time or the other. It is absolutely okies to carry a neutral impression about people when any relationship is in the stages of infancy.
So the next time you pass a judgement about a guy/gal, being 'nice'/'shrewd', please ensure that you know their intentions pretty well. Everyone has a right to do things, the way they like it! If you feel someone is shrewd for all the right reasons in this world, then try to appreciate the good intentions behind it. I'm sure that they too would appreciate, if you could respect the candidness in their approach to life!
Statutory Warning: If you happen to be a first time visitor to my blog, wait for a while (read it as 'walk through my archives') before you build an impression. If you have already built one, don't go by it. Your subsequent impressions may change!
~IT's My Life
2 comments:
It is absolutely wrong to judge a person before you actually know them... they might turn out to be something totally different.
I agree a hundred percent with what you're trying to communicate here.
@ Nivedita,
I would consider myself fortunate if I am able to figure out such people before I draw any conclusions. Trust me you tend to misundertsand them on more occasions rather than understand the good intentions behind such a behaviour.
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