Stop waiting for culture

For anyone who has worked or works in a 9 to 5, understands that every workplace operates on a set culture.

It means unspoken norms, spoken norms, and most importantly: how you feel when you work there.

This one’s really important, because a lot of people believe they are a by-product of the culture they live in, and not vice versa.

Here’s a question for you to consider:

What’s the point of allowing others to be Influencers to you offline, and longing for yourself to be an Influencer online?

Why can’t you be both?

What we are and what we do is influenced by the people around us.

Nothing new.

What people often forget is that the person in the mirror is equally responsible for creating that “influence.”

Could you imagine the level of entitlement, the pedestal, the crowns we give to people, and then unknowingly expect them to meet upto those expectations?

It seems so understandable right now, while reading this article.

Yet when people are in the middle of people and colleagues who don’t understand them, the first thing that is pointed towards is: “them”.

People tend to believe the culture of their workplace is not right that allows them to express their creativity, be authentic and also to feel a sense of belonging to the place they work in.

While that might be true, why not try a different approach today, especially if it’s helping you out?

Here’s what I mean:

If the culture of the place where you work is built by a lot of elements (aka people) that are not alignment with you, you have the power to change that.

Here’s how:

1. Stop educating them: Everyone knows the answers. Yes, they really do. Everyone who behaves ruthlessly or ruins a culture also knows that they are not right in the first place.

“Then why do they do it?”

If that’s your question, here’s why they do it: because pain loves company of more pain.

Those who ruin the culture don’t do it because they love to.

They do it because there is so much pain of not fulfilling their dreams, not daring greatly, not performing in the arena, that anyone who does that, challenges their status quo.

And that, my friend, is a heartbreaking sight for them to witness: because your excellence shows them the mirror.

What to do then?

When you have people around you who bring you down, stop educating them and start blessing them.

People travel miles to seek blessings from right people. If you are right and you could see someone else needs to change, start blessing them right now.

Charity begins at home, educating doesn’t.

2. Stop picking trash: Yes, you read that right: trash.

 If your neighbor leaves a bag of trash outside their home each day, will you go and pick it up?

Absolutely no.

Then what’s the point of picking up the vice that someone else is trying hard to leave? Is that a royal way to live?

People don’t behave in a negative manner because they’d love to. It’s because they don’t know how to eliminate that negativity in the first place.

What to do then?

Have pity at them instead of resentment, for having that trash, and if you want to help either of you, stop picking up their trash and keep moving.

3. Hence, “not” proved:

Who all used the phrase “hence, proved” at the end of mathematical equations?

Why did you do that?

Because you were asked to prove an equation.

Fast forward to real life: no one wants you to prove yourself.

I was told a beautiful line by a friend recently: "जो सिद्ध करता है, वो ज़िद करता है; और ज़िद करने वाला कभी प्रसिद्ध नहीं हो सकता"

Translated into English, it means:

The one who tries to prove, is arrogant, and the one who is arrogant, can never be well-known.

What to do then? 

Ladies and gentlemen, don’t try to prove yourself no matter how much right you are.

The power of staying calm and letting silence do the talking is too big, yes, even in corporate settings where a lot of people do try to bring you down.

Once you’ve mastered that, no one can create or ruin the “culture” inside your own head. It will belong only to you.

Before we sign off, take this one thing with you: the more you wait for someone else to change in order for you to go and be great, the more you take your remote control and go gift it out to them.

Now they are going to control you.

If you don’t want that, choose yourself to be responsible. Be the CEO / change / culture creator you had been wandering around others with a pedestal for them to be seated.

And for once and for ever,

Sit on that pedestal yourself and “be the Influencer.”

You’ll enjoy it unlike never before.