The poem is all about the significance and importance of looking within and this term ‘within’ fundamentally is about ‘KNOWING YOURSELF more clearly and deeply’.

It is about the proactive attitude with which we make sincere efforts to identify our positive as well as our strong qualities that are breathing within us.

Knowing yourself also the way we recognize some of the ‘weaknesses’ or negative qualities that may affect our future growth and positive evolution.

The poem is more of a message to all of us about finding a few moments to delve deep within and when I say deep within I am mostly referring to the activity of Self-Analysing and acquiring a clearer understanding about ourselves.

This clarity can in fact play a major role in the way we plan and execute our professional as well as our personal journeys of life!

The ‘Corporate Atmosphere’ has over a period of time become not only hectic but extremely stressful and therefore in such circumstances we may not get enough time to spend with our close family members.

In the capacity of being Leadership and Management Trainer I have had the opportunity to meet many people working in different organizations, at different levels across different geographies and to them when I had posed the question “How much time do you spend on ‘looking within’ and understanding your own ‘self’?

The answer almost all the time was “Where is the time to look within with so much pressure of work and whatever remaining time we get we try our best to spend with the family members”.

Despite such responses and answers I still believe that looking within and doing self – analysis is extremely vital for your professional and personal growth!

I wish to, at this point in time, emphatically emphasize that Looking within is mostly about developing a lot of clarity about your Strengths and more importantly your Areas of Improvement ( AOI)’.

Having said this looking within is also about creating a ‘bird’s eye view’ about how our respective lives are moving forward and whether there needs to be any sort of ‘Course Correction’ done by us.

During one of the seminars I was conducting in Zurich, Switzerland on the subject of Managing Self Towards Achieving Self Excellence I was sharing with the participants about the advantages of Self Analysis and Looking within.

Most of the people in that session had one common query or doubt and it was about how we do this process of Looking within.

I am sure that many of you who are reading this column may also have a similar query about how can we actually ‘Look Within’ or how can we execute the activity of Self- analysis?

I wish to answer this probable query or question right here and right now!

Once you are done with reading the column I most sincerely urge and earnestly request you to do the following:

Acquire a writing pad or even a rough writing paper and a writing pen or pencil.

On that piece of paper make three columns and provide each column with the following ‘headings’ respectively.

Heading name for the first column    – MY POSITIVE QUALITIES

Heading name for the second column- MY NEGATIVE QUALITIES

Heading name for the third column – MY GOALS

Start writing beneath the respective columns all that you can analyse about yourself in terms of your Positive, Negative and your Goals.

However try not to do this ‘exercise’ in haste or hurriedness.

Please analyse and ‘think’ as clearly about your positive qualities or strengths and ‘think’ with complete honesty about your Areas of Improvement. Areas of Improvement also means focusing upon your ‘weaknesses’.

It is about spending time to find out what are the ‘Gaps’ that you may have that need to be filled up.

For example while you are analysing you may recognize that you need to improve of your Communication Skills especially when you are participating in group meetings or while making presentations.

It could be about improving upon your Self-Confidence and Assertive Attitude or you may realize that you need to become

PROACTIVE and not lazy.

Similarly, through your analysis you may also realize your strengths related to the positive ways in which you are able to manage your team and the way you are able to deal with ‘crises’ or failure.

What I have stated are only examples.

The third column regarding your Goals is also extremely vital as it will provide you with the ‘Clear DIRECTION’ and thereby enhance your own Self-motivation.

Remember we must that just as you have never seen a game of football being played with any ‘goal-posts’ similarly it is not possible to lead our own professional as well as personal life without ‘Setting our own GOALS.

Once you have written and filled up the three respective columns ensure that at least once in two weeks you will have a re-look at those columns and then begin to re- analyse about how you have been progressing in regards to effectively:

Implementing your Strengths

Improvement upon your Weaknesses or Gaps

Determine whether you are working upon achieving your short-term; medium-term and long-term goals.

I firmly believe that by doing this exercise you will not only acquire ‘CLARITY’ but also develop your own CONVICTION & MOTIVATION to become more successful in life!