The Sunday Mail
Changing Perspectives
Rutendo Gwatidzo
HAVE you ever wondered why people sometimes quarrel and fight?
One day, as I was driving towards Harare’s Central Business District, I was caught up in traffic.
Although the cars were not many, they were simply not moving.
After waiting for about 15 minutes, I decided to use an alternative route, as did other drivers.
I later discovered that we had not been moving because an impatient motorist decided to change lanes without checking and hit another vehicle that was in the opposite lane.
An altercation that degenerated into a fist fight ensued, and other motorists had to intervene to stop the fight while waiting for the police to arrive.
It reminded me of the time I was in high school.
As an athlete, one thing that annoyed me was when someone would cut a corner and stray into my lane.
I remember vividly one of the incidents during a sports day at school, when I competed with a top rival, Ruth, from another school in the 400-metre sprint event.
She led for the greater part of the race, but I overtook her with less than 100 metres to complete the race.
She did not take it well.
She crossed over to my lane, tripped me and we both fell.
Suffice to say we both lost the race.
This, however, ignited a melee between incensed rival teams.
It became one of the saddest days of my life.
Many people got hurt, and, as a result, Ruth was barred from sporting activities for a year.
The same scenario happens in life and business.
Organisational status
Instead of complementing one another, many teams compete against each other.
Competition is not bad, but be mindful of unhealthy competition that will end up affecting productivity.
We have people who compete against others in the same team, yet they should be achieving the same goals.
Others compete against other team members in different departments and you wonder if they also want to be employed in those departments.
Competition is part of life and when done with the right spirit, it can actually push those involved to get out of their comfort zones and grow.
The challenge is that many, instead of just being successful in what they do, want to be winners, and this is why they fail to accept it when they lose first position.
The meaning of success is not necessarily about being the winner.
The focus should be on meeting goals and being successful.
If winning comes along, let it be an extra bonus.
I know of a case where an employee crushed his colleagues’ laptop to slow down his progress on the project he was working on so that he could come first.
Unfortunately, it was discovered and he was fired.
Facts of life
Stay in your lane and continue moving forward.
Looking sideways is what has caused many to lose focus.
It is better to have a support system that will cheer you up whenever you begin to feel tired.
There is no need to get into someone else’s lane.
Many make the mistake that they can do better than those who might be excelling in a particular pursuit.
No wonder others will do unspeakable things to try and bring others down because they would have failed to master the secret to success.
What matters most is to arrive at your destination safe and sound.
Run your own race and stay in your lane.
Rutendo Gwatidzo is a culture and change management strategist. She is as 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
