Life Lessons From A Short Story - FocusU

Life Lessons From A Short Story

The Habit Of Reading

Having been encouraged to read as much as possible by everyone around me, I have been going through a lot of wonderful stories and it is incredible how much fun reading can be!

Recently, I came across this beautifully insightful short story and felt extremely inclined toward sharing it.

Two Friends And The Desert

It’s a story about two friends walking through the desert. While on their journey, they have an argument about something, harsh words are exchanged, following which one of the two friends slapped the other one. The one who got slapped didn’t say anything but simply wrote the following in the desert sand –
“Today, my best friend slapped me in the face.”

They then continued their journey until they found an oasis. Owing to their tiresome journey, they both decided to take a bath. However, while doing so, the friend who got slapped got stuck in the mire and the other one saved him. The friend again stopped to write the following message – 

“Today, my best friend saved my life.”
However, this time he chose to write on a stone. This prompted the other one to question as to why his friend chose to write this message on a stone, instead of writing it in the sand.
The reply he received blew me away! His friend said to him –

“When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand, where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where wind can ever erase it.”

Drawing Parallels

The powerful impact this short story had on me is truly remarkable. When I sat down to reflect on how this can be related to our everyday workings, the first thing that crossed my mind was the Check-Out procedure we follow, post every single workshop.

The inevitable and unavoidable goof-ups, whether circumstantial or otherwise, that happen during a workshop are thus acknowledged in an effective manner. This also gives us a chance to truly reflect and appreciate the effort of every single team member puts in and brings us closer as a team while making each one of us feel appreciated, individually. Each check-out is a healthy and detailed discussion of all that happened during the workshop, starting right from the pre-packing phase to post-workshop wrap-up. The highlights being the things that went well, things that could have been handled better, and every single person’s role during it all.

What I find most educational is the “Learnings” posted on our in-house chat stations on Basecamp. The key points thus shared can truly help each one improve and give our best to every workshop we are part of! True winners are the people who learn not only from their own mistakes but also are equally aware and observant of the possible mistakes that have been brought to light. 

Furthermore, the WOW stories section of our Basecamp threads is also something I absolutely enjoy! The smallest of things, that people themselves might overlook, are often brought to light. This practice acts as a wonderful reminder of Hygge – the biggest differentiating factor of our organization! The prevalent vibes of gratitude, kindness, and overall positivity is a great booster for overall productivity. I hope we continue doing the same and remain the same, happy, crazy family that we are!

Read Also  Stories of Great Teams: Part 2: “Muckers”

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