What value are you bringing to the table?

Learning and self improvement ought to be a life long journey, from when one is a toddler to when one breathes one's last. It is for this reason that it is often said that people stop growing (intellectually), the moment they stop learning. Thus in order to live a fulfilled life, self improvement should be paramount for any individual.

It is self improvement via unlearning and relearning that confers value on an individual. In some instances it is also responsible for enhancing the value of an individual. This reminds me of a comedy skit I watched recently which featured two popular skit makers , with one of them having a characteristic trademark of expressing his thoughts deliberately with anger laden outbursts.

In the skit he was obviously having a bad day and was viability irritated and boiling hot ready to blow. Unfortunately he still had the task of conducting an interview for a prospective employee, so he had to make his best attempt to keep a lid on his infuriation. In the course of the interview the applicant seemed to deliberately intend to infuriate the interviewer with his response to the questions he was being asked.

Despite losing his cool due to the awkward responses from the applicant, the interviewer still decided to give the applicant a chance to secure the job. The climax of the interview was when the applicant was asked what values he would bring to the company. This infuriated the applicant who tongue lashed the interviewer for wasting his time when he knew all along that the company had no value(s).

The applicant thereafter rudely retrieved his credentials he had submitted on arrival and walked out on the interviewer. The visibly agitated interviewer at this point went bananas and put a call across to the security man at the gate no to allow the applicant out of the premises. You can use your imagination to conclude on what would befall the applicant when the interviewer eventually lays his hands on him.

Sarcasm aside, a clear message is contained therein, no one wants to associate with an individual or place that has no value. No firm or establishment that is goal or result oriented will hire an employee who doesn't add or bring any value to the firm as it will amount to a waste of resources that would be spent on paying the wages of such staff.

Even on occasions where firms hire staff that have no on the job experience, they usually look out for applicants who they feel have the potential to add some value to the firm after haven received some training while on the job.

The same thing applies to human relationships. No one wants to be in a parasitic relationship where one party is constantly giving his all while the other sits back and contributes nothing.

This parasitism is not limited to finances alone , it may also be psychological or emotional. Any relationship where this is present is ultimately bound to hit the rocks as it is only a matter of time before the host gets fed up by the lack of reciprocity.

Therefore as individuals we need to constantly access ourselves in our work places as well as in our relationships to know if we're bringing any value to the table or just being the one who loves to receive only while not giving anything in return. Thus it is paramount to always invest in one self by learning new skills to enhance one's contribution in the workspace and reciprocate whatever we receive in our relations with others.

Even when others hurt us, we shouldn't reciprocate with evil but with good for that is the only value which when brought forth puts one's mind at ease. Indeed it is the secret to living a fulfilled life free of hatred or enmity.