Discovering the Hidden Stories Behind People's Actions: Why First Impressions Can Be Misleading

A 24-year-old boy, seeing out from the train's window, shouted: "Dad, look, the trees are going behind!" Dad smiled, and a young couple sitting nearby looked at the 24-year-old's childish behavior with pity. Suddenly, he again exclaimed: "Dad, look, the clouds are running with us!" The couple couldn't resist and said to the old man: "Why don't you take your son to a good doctor?" The old man smiled and said: "I did, and we are just coming from the hospital; my son was blind from birth, he just got his eyes today."

Every single person on the planet has a story. Don't judge people before you truly know them. The truth might surprise you!

I am reminded of one incident that happened while I was working in a bank. One Monday, a colleague of mine by the name of Mr. Acharya had come earlier and was working at his desk. On that day, he was clean-shaven. A lady staff member came and saw Mr. Acharya working at a desk next to hers. She noticed that his head was shaved and, in a jocular way, she shouted at him, "Hi, Acharya, hi, hi, your head is shaven. Have you been to Tirupathi?" Acharya did not expect this, but in his characteristic style, he coolly said, "No, Madam, my father expired on Saturday night. That's the reason why I am like this." The lady never expected this response but immediately approached him and said, "Sorry, Sorry," many times, very apologetically.

From that day, I also learned a lesson that we should be careful in our communication and should not judge people by mere appearance.

Regards,
M.J. Subramanyam, Bangalore

Dear Jai, your story took me back 18 years when I doubted my younger brother, who was then 15 years old, obedient, and silent in his behavior, for taking a Rs 500 note which I could not find in my wallet. My brother's extra expenditure on buying small things he liked, along with some other false circumstantial evidence, and his utter silence made not only my mind but also other family members become judgmental that he had misappropriated the money. I reprimanded him verbally, but he did not speak a single word in his favor. Later on, when everything was calm and cool, I found the Rs. 500 note somewhere in my suitcase, which I had kept and forgotten. One can only imagine my condition at that time. My brother never lost his respect for me, but this incident taught me a lesson for the whole of my life - I am no one to judge. We learn from our mistakes and proceed ahead. I respect the reminder from Shri Subramanayam that we must be careful in our communication. A word spoken cannot be taken back.

Thank you for your post for revitalizing the values of life.

Regards, Sanjeev Bakshi, Hyderabad

A Story for Every HR Professional

This is a story every HR professional should remember: there is always another side to all stories. Do not make a decision without hearing the other side.

AVS

Thanks.

One should not comment on anyone unless they know the person. Even otherwise, no one has any right to pass remarks on an unknown person. It reminds me of a journey where a father and son were talking as if they were unknown to each other. A co-passenger intervened in the talks where the father and son disclosed their identity and said, "We were just talking to pass the time."