Watch Your Words : Blog # 185

Watch Your Words

        I walked in to one of the Toastmasters meetings where my friend Akanksha spoke about her dreams which failed to live through their destiny. During the course of her speech, she said that one unintended passing comment from someone whom she looked up to crushed her dream of becoming a journalist. I could completely relate to what she said and I am sure many of you can too.

There is power in the words. This holds doubly true for people in positions of power or in capacities of influence.  I am sure we all know that adage but thanks to Spiderman’s grandfather; we are reminded of it time and again “With great power, come great responsibility”. One might argue that a person holding a position is also a human being and he/she is bound to make some remarks which are off the mark. Although there is merit to this argument, the problem here is that for a mistake of one’s own, the price is paid by those who listen to him/her too. One can afford to make mistakes if it doesn't have any bearing on other people. But when it does, one has to take that extra ounce of care.

I have heard many great people urging the youngsters to tread the path less traversed. But how many of these people will be comfortable when their own dear and near ones choose those paths? Haven’t you frowned when a well to do relative of yours decided to join politics? Haven’t you gone skeptical when a cousin of yours who has impeccable academic track record decided to venture in to his own start up? Knowingly or unknowingly, I have at times! Chasing one’s dreams in itself is a herculean task. The least we can do is provide some words of encouragement. For all you know, your unintended words might become the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back!

There are enough naysayers in our world. Many a time, people don’t even realize that they are bringing the morale down for someone else. It is good to be a cheerer for a change. I don’t think there are even 1411 left in this endangered community. It is interesting to note that very few people cause damage by being positive to a fellow being. For instance, if you are instilling confidence for a friend’s initiative of any sort, that person has his/her own reasoning to ensure that he doesn't go wrong. But if you were to criticize his/her effort, chances of that person letting go of that effort completely is quite high. So let’s come together to ensure there is enough optimism in this world clogged with cynicism.

Like everything in life, there is a choice for us too, for the listener I mean. We can’t help hearing what people say but we can make a choice as to what needs to be listened to.

                                                                                                            Arun Babu.

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