What you do makes a difference & you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make?
In the journey of life we meet so many people. Some we get close to, some remain acquaintances and some are forgotten. Similarly to a few people, our being there is important, to some we are known but not really thought of when in need and to many memories of our meeting soon fade away.
Every incident, good or bad, every experience, every circumstance, and interactions with people play a part in building one’s personality. Similarly, in my life also, my career with Indian Oil Corporation gave me the opportunity to interact with so many varied types of people and contributed in some way to make me the person I am today. My childhood idea that there were specifically good people and bad people slowly changed. My outlook broadened, and I began seeing something not so good in people who many found ideal, and finding some good in apparently bad people and situations. I realized that the world was not black and white but had various shades of colors; it really depended on our way of looking at it.
Any job we do would become mundane if considered just a medium through which we earn a livelihood. Instead, one could search for small ways and means to make it more meaningful. Routine work can change into something one can enjoy and become passionate about when one can see and realize that what we are doing could make a difference in the lives of people around us.
Starting with something as simple as celebrating the birthday of a colleague or playing secret Santa could bring in the fun element in the job and form the bonding. On a very busy day in the office, I once forgot the birthday of a senior staff member in my team. On returning from the office, I remembered and requested a junior colleague to visit his house carrying a small cake and an apology from all of us. The man broke out in tears when he saw someone had traveled all the way from South to North Kolkata to greet him, and this incident he remembers fondly till today, even after retirement, and I never had anything to complain about regarding his loyalty and commitment to the jobs assigned.
A Transformative Story:
When I was posted in the field, there was a petrol pump with very low sales being badly operated by a lady dealer’s son. He avoided giving any details of his mother, the dealer, and only gave excuses that she was unwell. Gathering information from the staff, I traveled for over three hours and finally traced the dingy one-storied house and found my dealer – a frail old lady, lying on the bed, uncared for. Tears flowing, she narrated how her son forged her signature and took over the business and did not even look after her. I could see the hope in her eyes on hearing I was from Indian Oil, and she implored me to help her. On my advice, the dealer shifted from this house to permanently reside in the small sales room of the petrol pump. The outlet was reconstituted with a new partner, and the son removed from the operation. The pump started functioning properly, the infrastructure was developed, and it became the highest selling in that area. This definitely helped me in meeting the targets in my job, but the true satisfaction was the realization that my dealer found a new meaning in her life.
Also Read: ABORTION – the Necessary UNWANTED!
Getting appreciation from others remains a rarely found commodity. Getting timely career advancements depends on multiple factors, but finding pleasure in the small things we do is in one’s own hands.
The fear of traveling in a small open motorboat for more than two hours crossing the Matla river in 24 Parganas South, in an attempt to set up a kerosene dealership, vanished the day I saw the Indian Oil Emblem standing proudly on Gosaba island for the first time and the happy faces on the people there. The fatigue of climbing three flights of stairs in the Calcutta Corporation Office to obtain permission for putting up canopies or shades in some of our city petrol pumps got washed away when, till date, I pass the petrol pumps and feel that in my tenure this shade was put up and the staff and thousands of customers benefitted from it. Being out in the field on a holiday especially in summer and conducting meetings and safety clinics and LPG Panchayats to explain the safe use of LPG is not an easy task but if, by my words, even one life is saved, it’s well worth the effort.
Organizing programs on Women’s day in addition to one’s routine job is difficult but it gives a very good feeling on seeing all employees participating and enjoying. Added to this is the smile on the faces of the children on the street or in shelters when, in a very small way, we use the contributions to make them happy. Life has its ups & downs; we win some we lose some. Sometimes fate can make one face tragic situations, not in one’s power to improve. Then even more so, we realize that small arguments, small disappointments, ego issues are something one can handle and seem really very insignificant in comparison to certain situations when one is helpless. So we should face life as it comes, try to be happy and enjoy what we do and work hard to attain a position where we get an opportunity to reach out to others and to leave our footprints on the Sands of Time.
