By Jigna Tanna
Contributory Author for Spark Igniting Minds
“The fear of being different,
Prevents most people
From seeking new ways
To solve problems”.
CORRUPTION! A devilish word in itself!
The general meaning of the word corruption in people’s minds is ‘the use of unethical ways to gain an advantage for one’s own self. But are we even aware that as individuals we begin our life journey with corruption itself?
We ourselves start corruption from the root level and slowly but gradually it branches out into a huge tree and starts spreading out in all areas of our life like a pest encroaching our house.
Corruption has made its existence present since the birth of mankind. More corruption exists in the ‘ACT’ itself, it first exists in our human minds. We start getting corrupt and in turn also unknowingly or knowingly corrupt our next generation from the start of our lives and their lives. Either we are bribed or maybe innocently we tried to bribe our next generation with the trivial things in our daily lives even if there are no pressing needs to do so. Say for example if a small child is reluctant to do his/her homework, we try to bribe the child with small gifts or incentives with the intent that he/she will do the homework so that they are not on our backs or bother us further. We sometimes bribe our staff to do particular odd jobs by either paying them extra or giving them a day off.
Have we even wondered how effortlessly and regularly at salons, gas stations, hotels, restaurants, and innumerable other places we have done such things to get better services and privileges? We even go to the extent of tipping government officials in government offices ranging from the lowest rung to the highest rung without the slightest hesitation to get our official work done quickly and effortlessly. We don’t stop here also. We go ahead and indirectly bribe even an auto or a cab driver by sometimes offering them double the amount above the normal fare and we shamelessly jump the auto or the cab queue just to buy ourselves a minuscule physical or emotional comfort. Believe me, the list is ENDLESS. So are the above things mentioned a form of corruption or a simple way of life according ‘TO US’ and ‘FOR US’ so that we can enjoy the realms of a comfortable life? Do we think we are entitled to our own selves in our own minds?
We as common people generally blame and label politicians, corporates, film stars, sports personalities, high profile individuals as CORRUPT. We think that they perform all kinds of nefarious activities in the bid to be rich and famous. But don’t we do the same, maybe we beat it at our own levels and within our own capacities.
Does corruption only mean bribery, debauchery, nepotism, unfairness, illicitness, wrongdoing only at the higher level of the human hierarchy, not at the lower levels?
Have we ever bothered to question ourselves that are we even honest and authentic in our own words and actions or do we normally tend to put the blame game on the highest levels of hierarchy?
Do we even think once before shouting the word CORRUPTION when smaller elements of this taboo word are creeping and crawling in our mindset?
Have we ever thought why should we bribe the small child to do his/her homework?
Are we really bribing the child to do the work or are we bribing to shun our own responsibilities as we soak in our comfort bubble?
Are we not the ones who are molding and corrupting the young one’s mind. Are we not the ones who are pushing and imprinting them with the thought process to practice dishonesty and unfairness in the future?
Minuscule to think, but aren’t we the ones driving the nation towards corruption and bribery by committing those little innocent treacheries?
Where do we gauge ourselves in comparison to the corrupt politicians, sports personalities, film stars, high profile individuals? AS SAINTS? What an irony! According to me, instead of being moral guardians, we should ‘TRY PRACTICING’ the word honesty and authenticity in our lives and gradually make it a way of our lives. ‘Blame game’ is not the solution but ‘self-tame game’ is worth the shot!
“When plunder becomes a way of life for the people in society, over the course of time, they create for themselves
A legal system that authorizes it and
A moral code that glorifies it.”
So are we COMMITTING, to be honest, and authentic to ourselves and towards the society henceforth? Are we in the PLEDGE MODE to eradicate corruption from our minds and actions first and then filtering it out from our society and our nation? Can we even commit to starting the self ‘DE-CORRUPTION MOVEMENT’?
If yes, then we can take the first step towards action by writing down a small ‘DISCOVER YOURSELF’ note below. All we need to do is jot down at least 5 self-honest commitments to de-corrupt our thought process. So what are we waiting for? Let’s just do it!
1. ________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________
About the Author
Jigna Tanna is an author, a performance strategist, and a change catalyst. She is a construction entrepreneur, Tedx Speaker, and one of the most sought after celebrity performance strategists. She is a powerful influencer and her success mantra is: "Life is not about discovering yourself, it is about creating yourself."
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