S.H.I.T

Simple steps to a life less shitty - Mathura, 27 June 2019

“Alone we can do so little; together we can so much!” - Helen Keller

I always believed that I could do so much… alone!

I never believed in teamwork because of my experience back in university when we had to do ‘group’ assignments but I always end up grouping the shitty work of some of my course mates and perfecting the assignments alone.

My Toastmasters Club intended to celebrate its 15th year anniversary! About 6 weeks before the celebration, a team member asked if I would like to be part of the organising committee. I said ‘YES!’ out of excitement, not knowing what shit I was getting myself into!

However, through the weeks, I discovered that S.H.I.T :

S for Stop!

As my fellow toastmasters were listing out responsibilities; Who needed to get the food ready, the gifts, registration, posters, coordination etc...I was hoping the ground would open up and swallow me whole, along with the chair I was seated on...until Games was mentioned, AA-HAA! Now, that’s something I can do!

I play games all the time (No life reference, you know what I mean). This should be easy peasy! I immediately took up the challenge!

H for HEEELLLPPPPP! I spent 4 weeks in agony… researching and reading on the 101 types of team building games and the instructions on how to play. We had a Whatsapp group chat, whoever was in charge of food and venue, DONE. Whoever was in charge of door gifts, DONE. Whoever was in charge of posters, DONE and whoever was in charge of team building games was NOT DONE.

I had mini heart attacks knowing that everyone else got their shit together, except me! I needed HELP! I muted the chat group and needed to think, QUICK!

I for Inspired I attended the second and final committee meeting. Interestingly, I realised that my team members were voicing out their concerns and helping each other out! That’s how things were getting done one by one!

I realised I just needed to help a poor soul too, so I helped a fellow toastmaster complete a poster he was struggling with, he helped me tighten my game plan.

T for triumph together!

It was amazing to see us all come together on the day of the event. Nobody needed to tell anyone to do anything, everything just flowed. We welcomed guests, we made sure the food was ready, we took pictures and we pulled it off!

I’m a wiser person now. If you feel like you need help, perhaps someone else needs it too. If you feel like you’re doing all of it alone, maybe someone else feels the same too. Imagine us as leaders of the future, coming together to make something great. The next time you feel like shit, know that it brings the meaning of - Stop, Help and Inspire to Triumph together!