The Sunday Mail
Changing Perspectives
Rutendo Gwatidzo
Is letting go better than holding on? I believe life is not easy and was never meant to be easy. In life, what we often get is not necessarily what we deserve, but what we fight for.
Fighting is the bridge that separates success and failure.
However, you need to fight with winning strategies.
Phases of life
Once a child is born, he or she needs to fight to learn to sit, crawl, walk and run.
It is a fight because the processes are not easy and oftentimes involve bruises and tears.
Thereafter, the child will need to fight through primary school to secondary school.
Sometimes the next battle will be aimed at making it to university and subsequently into the corporate world.
The corporate world is often ruthless, as it involves endless struggles for relevance and growth.
In the midst of all this is the fight for healthy relationships.
Relationships are not a stroll in the park.
Ultimately, the child will become a parent and continue to fight for his or her children.
The battles continue until the day we die.
Such is life.
December, which is usually associated with farming, is upon us.
When ploughing, one follows lines till the end of the field and then turns back into the next line until one completes the whole area.
Finishing one line simply means you have to keep doing the same thing until you cover the whole area.
You cannot afford to remove your hands from the plough until the mission is accomplished.
Failure to constantly keep your hands on the plough will probably lead to failure.
The beauty of life, though, is that another rainy season will come and you can then do it right.
What exactly am I saying?
Grade Seven results are out and this is like reaching the end of a line in a field. The learner has to continue the battle as another line, which is Form One, needs to be ploughed next year.
The next stage of life awaits many learners. For those who probably did not do well, you still need to keep your hands on the plough as you replough the same line so that it comes out well.
Organisational status
Many organisations have reached the month where they produce financial statements.
Obviously, there are going to be at least three categories: Those that did well, those that were average and those that did not do well.
To those that did not do well, do not give up, keep your hands on the plough, but you may need to do it differently.
Sometimes you need to change direction if you come across hard or rocky areas.
The challenge in most organisations is that they are full of teams that are quick to give up.
They constantly remove their hands from the plough yet they expect a bumper harvest.
For instance, some in the sales teams spend months without selling anything but still expect to get a commission.
Other companies are like a farmer who goes to the field without a plough or cattle.
So, as we come to the end of the year, there is need to examine what caused our challenges this year to avoid the same next year.
Putting your hands on the plough represents the moment you decided to undertake that business, project, school programme or partnership.
When you started, you strongly believed that it was going to work.
You had probably researched and invested all you had to make it work.
When the going gets tough, get tough and get going, and do not get distracted.
Learn to deal with challenges objectively, without losing focus.
When ploughing, avoid looking sideways or backwards too much.
Inasmuch as looking backwards helps check on progress, the aim is to continue moving forward.
Keep holding the plough
Some simply failed to manage pressure when they saw others eating their harvest and then they ate their seed.
As we are about to start a new season, a new year and probably a new cycle, try your best to keep your hands on the plough, looking forward till your efforts bear fruit.
With determination and focus, you are most likely to reach your full potential.
Be challenged, be encouraged and be inspired to do things differently next year.
Yes you can, and, yes I can.
Rutendo Gwatidzo is a culture and change management strategist. She is an HR consultant, speaker, mentor and author of the books “Born to Fight” and “Breaking the Silence”. Feedback: 0714575805/ [email protected]/ Rutendo Gwatidzo official fb public page.
