Page 13 - HERE AND NOW Dec 2022

more patient and skilled at handling my emotions as well as my responses arising from those emotions. I
am more vocal about telling the other person exactly what I feel in the ‘here and now.’ Earlier, I would
have simply blurted out a response without acknowledging my emotions. More often than not, that used
to lead to arguments and misunderstandings. Nowadays, before responding, I declare how I am feeling.
This helps me design my response in a manner that is neither distanced from nor excessively buried in
emotions. I think this also helps the other person understand where I am coming from and so, they are
generally more receptive to my message. To me, this new approach has worked wonders in striking
meaningful conversations at home as well as at the workplace. Notably, in my experience, this technique
seems to work equally well with elders/seniors and young persons /subordinates.

Another important change I have noticed in myself is my ability to relate to people in authority. I am more
aware and alive to the way a person might be trying to exert his/her authority over me. In the past, I would
surrender to such display of authority. But now, the moment I realise that someone is trying to use his
position or age or experience as a tool to force his/her opinion on me, I try and separate my cognitive
thinking and my feelings of suppression or respectfulness. There is still scope to improve my responses,
these are still a work-in-progress! This is probably the one thing that works best in the reverse order too
i.e., I am attuned to my own feelings and display of authority. As a result, I now use my authority with
care to prevent suppression of new ideas and opinions divergent from my own.

I am aware that this is just the beginning and there is a lot of work I have yet to do. Several blind spots are
yet to be illuminated in order to enhance my awareness. As the world recovers from the scars of the Covid
pandemic, new rules of engagement are still being drafted, new processes of human interaction still being
fine-tuned. The debate between working from home or the office, the great resignation, the quiet
quitting, the moonlighting, etc., are all just symptoms of a new order of the human process. How I
negotiate this maze as I stand on the cusp of a transition from 22 years of a military career to a corporate
career, remains to be seen. But the one thing that I am sure of is that change is here to stay. Most of what
has changed over the last two years is irreversible. At the same time, it has seeded several new ideas to
strike root and flourish, promising more changes in the way we interact on the social, professional and
personal levels. What the future holds for me, I don’t know at this point of time.

Hopefully, exciting times ahead!

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