Change the World by making your bed

In the recent past, TED talk video by Admiral William H McRaven has been doing rounds in social media generating great deal of interest and gathering rave reviews. It talks about several things, it’s gist being that everyday before leaving the home, we should make our bed so that irrespective whether we have had a good or a bad day, a made up bed at home will be a matter of great solace!

For generations, we have learnt this truth from our elders. I distinctly remember that my grandma, lording over a large brood of about 20 members, insisted that not only bed sheets be properly made after waking up but also be laundered after 2-3 days so that when it came to retiring at night, all family members had not only well made beds, but clean linens as well ! However, she was neither a big time educationist nor a motivational speaker like the TED talk speakers! So, we just took it in our stride as a good habit, without any psychoanalysis! Imagine, she would singlehandedly wash all those bed sheets twice each week by her hands as washing machines became popular much later!

Some of the lessons being preached now as part of Swachch Bharat campaign were taught to us all through our childhood. Spitting was far fetched, even eating innocuous pan was a strict no-no! Although, there were maids at home, some of the cleaning was always done by the ladies of the house! We dare not straightaway try to eat coming from outside, without washing our hands! Clothes had to be changed everyday and washed, starched and ironed to be made ready for next time wear. However, our elders treated all these as part of basic hygiene and there would be no lecturing or limelight hogging for passing on these fundamental tips!

We like to hear it from the mouth of leaders, motivational speakers, Management Gurus, thinkers, celebrities and eagerly share their videos, quotable quotes and books feeling inspired ourselves and trying to spread this inspiration to our friends ! Little we realise that all these small nuggets of wisdom are already ingrained in our consciousness by our elders, who were neither flashy nor proponents of impeccable English but were nonetheless no less effective. It’s being proven again and again that one of the best treatises on Management gyan is our very own Bhagvan Gita that’s been increasingly referred to by Institutions like Harvard! Small life changers have been inherited by us from our family elders and are very much ingrained in us! There’s no harm listening to TED talks or management gurus; but getting mindlessly influenced by them is more of a social media behaviour fad rather than actual fascination with the contents!