Corruption loses

The movement crystallized by Anna Hazare in India is heartening.  A welcome sight to see so many individuals speaking up against corruption, something our culture has been riddled with for decades.

For all those who are still doubtful about joining and supporting  the movement, here are a few possibilities they might be thinking about:

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“Why should I support it?  I actually stand to lose if everyone becomes honest.”

“It won’t work because the system is widespread, deep rooted, age old.”

“It is futile, too many people are corrupt.  From top to bottom.”

Some misguided, stupid people might even believe “A little corruption is necessary.”

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Well, if the malaise is age old and deep rooted it just means it might take longer than otherwise, and it certainly will take more effort than otherwise because it will be difficult.  But then just because things are difficult is no reason to not work towards them.  We wouldn’t ever get anything we wanted that way.

If we take the corrupt view and what we will lose, we forget to look for what we will gain.  What can truly be depended upon needs to be delivered by a method respected by everyone.  Without this positive regard for the mechanism, it can never lead to delivering more than what it has in the past.  Suspicion, skepticism, cynicism, disbelief – they all lead to an erosion of value, and we can only expect such a system to spiral downwards increasingly rapidly.

The movement across the country has millions now participating, and the numbers are growing.  Have we ever realized that evil seems to be strong and the evil gather unsummoned, almost instinctively.  Why does good believe itself to be weak, or subservient to evil?  Should it not be the other way around?  How can we gather all the good together to fight evil?  It won’t be a short fight, or even one with an end, but at least the right side will win!  Each one of us joining in and raising their voices is causing the change to goodness, and I hope this will teach us to do the same in more areas where the good suffer.

Have you ever thought about the definition of ‘corruption’?  Dictionary.com says it is…

– noun

1. the act of corrupting  or state of being corrupt.

2. moral perversion; depravity.

3. perversion of integrity.

4. corrupt  or dishonest proceedings.

5. bribery.

6. debasement or alteration, as of language or a text.

7. a debased form of a word.

8. putrefactive decay; rottenness.

9. any corrupting  influence or agency.

All of the above apply, but to my mind the simplest understanding of Corruption is to…

“Seek what is not Deserved!”

Whenever we seek what we do not deserve, we are acting in a corrupt manner, demonstrating Corruption.  Of course the key is to know and accept what we deserve.  This requires being aware and honest with ourselves.  And then to have the courage to deal with ourselves as we deserve.

This responsibility we have to ourselves is the key!!  We must know the significance of this responsibility by realizing the effect it has on us.  We must also realize the connected nature of our environment with us, and how important it is to be responsible towards others in our society as well.

A big support to Anna would be what we could bring… the change… as Gandhiji said:

“Be the Change you wish for!”  This is not going to be just a support, but an imperative.

Here’s to moving the nation towards a responsive, responsible people!!

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How Our Choices Realize Abilities

1. SWOT for (Abilities) External Realizable Abilities and Environment

While we know the concept and practice of doing SWOTs for various entities, environments, and systems, we must also realize that the driving force comes from our motives and motivation.  Just as important as the skills and competencies are the feelings that drive us, that give us the motivation.

Our beliefs and attitudes are in fact a more important factor in what we achieve, because they exist even before most of the skills and abilities we acquire and develop through our lives.  As such, our attitudes often define which skills and abilities we will acquire and develop.

Lets spend some time and try to understand and articulate the beliefs, attitudes, motives, and feelings that subconsciously drive us to our goals.

 

2. ESHF for Internal (Motives) Driving Beliefs and Choices of Response

#	Enjoy	#	Suffer
	<what do I Enjoy, and repeatedly do, think about?>		<what do I Suffer, Bear, Tolerate and tend to Avoid, Resist?>
#	Hope	#	Fear
	<what do I Hope for?>		<what do I Fear?>

• What we enjoy, we do more of, becomes the impetus for moving forward.
• What we suffer we try and avoid, holds us back.
• What we hope for provides direction.
• What we fear, we try to circumvent.

Doing an ‘Enjoy-Suffer-Hope-Fear’ (ESHF) will not be as easy as doing a SWOT.  You might find it difficult to identify what you enjoy, suffer, etc., but if you try and think at different levels, you will soon hit the jackpot.

Putting our motives down and in front of ourselves, we gain the power to critically examine them and exercise choices to moderate and modify them, to maximize our prospects of achieving what we truly want.

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Beyond the SWOT – the ESHF Framework

Enjoy, Suffer, Hope, Fear (ESHF)

Human beings are peculiar phenomena.  More than ability and logic, our decisions and actions are defined by our emotions and feelings.  Dan Areily has written about how our irrationality sets us apart.  Jonathan Haidt, and other psychologists preceded Dan in researching how this leads to creativity and to our happiness.

The ESHF Framework can help us become aware of the motivation and velocity we are moving with.  Projecting into the future Horizons (near/far/distant) we can take charge of our journey towards the goals that are important for us.  We always achieve what we want!

ESHF for:  _______________________________________________

E-njoy	Horizon	S-uffer	Horizon
NO S A R NOSAR do I enjoy working towards, thinking about, helping others for>	1/2/3	NO S A R NOSAR do I suffer (tolerate) working towards, thinking about, helping others for>	1/2/3
H-ope	Need	F-ear	Need
NO S A R NOSAR do I hope to have achieved, thought through>		NO S A R NOSAR do I fear will come in my way, or bring me pain>

* N: Needs; O: Objectives; S: Specifications; A: Activities; R: Results (Requirements)

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