Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” What do you want to change in your life that will improve it?
In the 1930s, a mother and her young son walked for many hours in the blazing sun and waited in a long line to “have an audience with Mahatma Gandhi.”
She had tried many times to prevent her son from eating sweets. Nothing she said stopped him from eating the candy. So, she decided to take him to see her hero, Mahatma Gandhi.
When it was their turn to finally speak with Mahatma Gandhi. The mother said: “Mahatma, please tell my son that he must stop eating sweets. It is ruining his health, his teeth and affects his mood every time he eats sweets. There is nothing I can do to prevent him from eating more. and more”. sweet. I’m afraid it will ruin your life. Please, Mahatma, tell him to stop. “
Gandhi listened patiently to the mother looking at the little boy, as she crouched next to his mother. Gandhi said, “Come back with me in two weeks.”
The mother was disappointed and confused that Gandhi had not asked her son to simply “stop eating sweets.” She and her son made the long journey home.
Two weeks later, the mother and young son walked many miles in the hot sun to queue again to wait their turn to speak with Mahatma Gandhi. When it was their turn, the mother said, “We have returned. We came to see you two weeks ago to help my son stop eating sweets, and you asked us to come back after two weeks.”
Gandhi said, “I remember.” Gesturing for the child to come closer. He said, “Come here, kid.”
The boy, urged by his mother, turned away from her and advanced slowly towards Gandhi. Gandhi approached and “put his hands on the boy’s shoulders”, pulling him closer and looking the boy directly in the eye said: “Don’t eat sweets”.
The mother said, “Is that all? Is that all you are going to say? Why didn’t you tell her that two weeks ago?”
Gandhi replied, “Because two weeks ago I was still eating sweets myself. I couldn’t ask her to stop eating sweets while I hadn’t either.”
As a leader, Gandhi had to change his bad habit for a good one in order to lead by example and model the correct behavior for the boy. Gandhi was a man of honor and character.
What can you change in your life that will improve it? As a leader, what can you change and model for your employees that will make a difference in your company?