“Piyush, I was thinking, this time instead of putting our savings in fixed deposit, why don’t we invest in mutual funds? It will surely be more beneficial.”
Parineeti suggested to her husband while she knotted his tie around his neck. He flicked her nose and chuckled,
“Hmm. That’s a fab idea sweetheart. Let’s do it.”
Two months later, they were at a friend’s party and all the men in the room were discussing finances. Piyush took a lot of pride and announced bashfully.
“I’m glad I listened to my wife and we invested in mutual funds. It’s definitely paying off.”
When he glanced across the room, Parineeti had a deep loving smile tattooed on her face.
What did Piyush do? He gave Parineeti her due credit.
Six months down the line, one evening Piyush came home fuming with anger and in the process flung his tie and coat across the room. Parineeti was quite bewildered and asked him gently. Piyush burst out.
“What does he think of himself? I have slogged day and night behind that project, how dare he put his name on it?”
“Who are you talking about?”
“My boss! That fat lump of corruption! He stands on the dias and gloats.”
Very dramatically Piyush imitated his boss,
“Ladies and gentlemen, I take great pride in telling you that all my sweat has paid off and we have successfully bagged the MYC project.”
Piyush growled and screamed,
“Sweat my foot!”
What did Piyush’s boss do? Stole his limelight.
I think we all know how it feels when we are given our due credit and when we are not. However small or big the task might have been, but if you have contributed to its victory then you do expect to be mentioned in its success story.
Sadly, not everyone understands this aspect. Mainly because it gives immense pleasure to satisfy our ego and boost around, that in the fulfillment of a particular task we were solely responsible and no one else deserves to be applauded for. Which by the way is wrong. Let’s accept it, many things in life cannot be achieved without a lot of hand holding along the way. Even if the contribution is the smallest of its kind, but still, there will be someone who has helped you climb up the ladder and be where you are today.
When a person is not given the acclaim he has earned, at the most he will be upset and angry with you and may not help you in future. But have you thought how damaging it is to your image as an individual?
When you give a person the credit he deserves, you not only praise him, but you are also being just and fair with him. Alongside, you are making way for a stronger relationship. The person will value you and give you the respect you deserve.
Remember on the other side also there is a human being with thoughts and feelings. Moreover, every interaction is an opportunity to exchange ideas. We are not expert at everything. Let’s take my example. A lot of experience, discussions and real life anecdotes have gone in making me the writer that I am. Nonetheless, all my work would have fallen flat if I didn’t have the strong support of you; my readers and my publishing team who work relentlessly day and night, so that our work reaches out to all of you.
As usual, I’m gonna end with a good quote, the Jewish maxim, which says, “He who seeks a name…. loses fame.”
Shamim Merchant
