It’s a century!

This article is my 100^th piece for Reputation Today (RT) magazine.

I still recall the time when my friend Shreya Krishnan mentioned about the upcoming thought from the house of RT – invite the PR & Comms colleagues to write on a regular basis. The idea was to exchange notes and share experiences and learnings.

I was intrigued. I had always known Amith to be experimentative and put up new platforms for the profession. Earmarking a regular column for colleagues and fraternity sounded very exciting and promising to me.

So, I signed on. I was extremely thrilled at being given my own column ‘Comm Sense’ that was to appear once a week. I had always wanted to write. I remember one of my childhood dreams was all about becoming a writer. And I felt it was all coming together, finally.

Of course, the sweetener that was dangled then was a strong lure – waiver of fees for participation in the upcoming PRAXIS (or the newly onboarded SPECTRA) event. However, I realised early on that sweeteners have a limited shelf life; they work only in the beginning. Ultimately, what draws one to work is passion and the alignment of that work with one’s own inner calling. No amount of motivational sweeteners can work if those two are not fulfilled.

Writing every week has, honestly, not been easy. There have been times when I have sat in front of my laptop with my mind blank, struggling for an inspiration. Then there was that one time (before the pandemic happened) when I was out of the country for 15 days and I had to submit all my writings before I left. The desire to fulfill my obligations and stay committed pushed me to new levels of understanding my own self.

Writing on a regular basis has revealed a lot to me.

• Dreams do come true, unexpectedly and in unexpected forms and just when you have forgotten all about it. Never ever give up on them.
• When what you do is aligned with your passion; you will find the time to complete the task no matter how busy you are. This why we finish some tasks quickly and linger over those that are not interesting or not aligned with what we love.
• Every experience is an opportunity to be looked at with a new angle. There is a new story that can be told every single day. Just look around.
• Through writing, it is always good to touch base with fundamentals and reaffirm what works best in our professional career. We all need refresher courses on a regular basis.
• Writing from the heart resonates the best. I must confess in the beginning trying to scan what other authors were writing, which topics were being highlighted…then I stopped. Each one of us is unique and bring with us our own narratives and strengths. That is so unparalleled and can never be compared.
• Writing is like a tree that continues to grow. There can be branches and subbranches to the theme you select to write upon. One can go deep into a particular issue. Or, simply look at taking new ideas from that one root thought and keep expanding.
• Do not worry about who will read what you write. Fretting over who will read and how many will read will take you nowhere. It will only cripple your free flow of thoughts. Your writing will find its own audience and groove.
• One’s writing style evolves with time. Keep experimenting with different styles and you will discover your very own unique way of putting down words.
• What you write is how you think. By writing you become self-aware of your own thought processes. It’s the mirror that mirrors your mind.

Here’s then to you and the writer in you. Pick up that pen. Or open a new document on your laptop and just write what comes to your mind. Believe in yourself and you will find the words flowing.

The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.

Sarita Bahl

Sarita Bahl is an alumnus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences and the Swedish Institute of Management Program. An experienced and versatile leader, she comes with nearly four decades of professional experience. She has over the years successfully overseen the communications and public affairs function and led the corporate social responsibility strategy for Bayer South Asia, Pfizer, and Monsanto, among others. Sarita has held multiple roles across diverse industries, the public sector, trade associations, MNCs, and the not-for-profit sector. Her areas of interest include advocacy, stakeholder engagement, sustainability, and communications.

As an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) from the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and Senior Practitioner (Mentoring) from the European Council of Mentoring and Coaching (EMCC), Sarita specializes in career transition, inner engineering and life issues. Sarita enjoys writing and is passionate about animals, books, and movies.