What do YOU want to do ?

I have been connected , as much & as & when I can , with community bodies & serving on resident associations . Last year I was President of the resident association at apartment complex I stay -- which has more than 800 apartments . As always , in such services , there are some learning , reinforcements of points we learnt earlier , such as :
# Person who opts to be on the association body to serve community is there because of his/her own choice -- there is no reason or scope to complain , either for the load or the abusive ingratitude of others 
# There will always be many armchair consultants who have an opinion on everything ( importantly including of themselves ) but are never available when it comes to work 
# Most think that paying their maintenance dues gets them ownership right on everything, including members of working staff & volunteer members of association committee . There are a few with high negativity , political agenda , who will always be waiting to grind their axe & hurl abuses .
# However for all such negative elements , armchair consultants , there will always be those dedicated ones who will stand up & volunteer to take community work 


However this posting is more to share with you interesting thought exchange which happened to happen in the backdrop of above . Incident below is not uncommon in society working .
Residents association ( despite rules / regulations & bye-laws being in place ) derive their power primarily from resident support , if some choose to misbehave or get into indiscipline , at times there is very little associations can do since they neither have enforcement or judiciary / regulatory powers . Hence there will always be some cases of residents who would continue to flout rules . 
It's not uncommon for some ( irate ) residents to ask us " if so & so does not follow this rule why should I be disciplined , can I also flout it  ? The answer to this tricky question is simple :


" This is what YOU need to decide . You need to decide whether you'd follow rules like majority does , despite some errants or whether you'd follow misbehavour . Finally whether to act as a responsible citizen or not is your decision ---- it depends on your conscience , your values /background , your life priorities & your sense of what is right / wrong 
Secondly we ask him as to why does he / she feel promptrd to follow only ( what he / she knows as ) wrong examplkes , why not be motivated to follow good examples ... examples of those residents to volunteer to work for the association sacrificing their own time ?
Finally , not many people are consciously aware , but is interesting to note ..... why should  ' how you behave ' be decided by some one else ( I do this because so & so did this ) How should you behave should be decided by you , based on your considerations , independent of some one else's context ... why do you let go of your right to think independently "

Personal Coaching , which is what I do professionally , is all about creating such ' AWARENESS '  .
Think about it .... let me know . Have a GREAT week ahead !

Reflections -- Good will happen to you

With my posting 2 days back , I actually wish to start a fortnightly column called -Reflections . These are reflective thoughts , quotes ; some of my own , some gathered along the way , useful nonetheless . 
At every turn I'd consolidate on the thought posted at previous turn & present a new thought .
However the process of reflection can only get enriched with more people reflecting on ... I'd hence invite your comments , thoughts / counter thoughts & to build on the wisdom .
1) You get what you deserve was the first thought I posted . 
To some it may appear as a limiting thought ( ' Why work , when in any case I'd get not more than what I have to get ' ) Quite to the contrary I see it as a liberating thought , one which opens you up to unlimited possibilities , challenges & puts your destiny squarely in your hand .... ' You get what you deserve ' is a key in your hand to open whichever door you wish to .. it says if you want more , get to deserve it first  .... work to raise your level / capacity & hence 'deservability ' ; don't bank on any one to gift you more than what you deserve , you'll have to achieve it yourself .


2) “ Whatever happens is for good . Good will always happen to you “
Gives a positive , optimistic outlook , helps equanimity of mind & prompts focus on end goal -- Helps enhance patience & a good feel 
Like the first thought , to some this too can appear deceptively fatalistic ( Have no ambition , don't feel challenged for more , accept whatever comes your way ) 
In reality it's not . It does not advocate shifting focus from either ambition or efforts ; it prods your mind away from the anxieties of the unknown & controllable ( what will happen to me ? ) which in a way should prompt the mind to be worry free to be fully focused on the task at hand , with a reassurance that -- don't worry , good things will happen -- keep working . It probably connects with What appears in BhagwadGeeta as Krishna's advice to Arjuna --- but more on it , the next fortnight . 

      “ You get what you deserve “

o   It’s a potent statement as : (i) It positively provocative , it means that if you wish to get more ; you need to deserve more . You need to raise your level first , before expecting to get more (ii) It quells unnecessary dissonance in minds of those who believe they’re victims of circumstances . The statement makes you look within for reasons ; if you did not like the result .