Roots grow first

Lately, I have been trying to understand what my strengths are as a person. In this generation, self-awareness, especially about one’s strengths and weaknesses, is the biggest asset one can have to excel in the professional world. Every recruiter we go for interviews is trying to answer that question for themselves by what we say, to see if we fit the larger goal the company has.

I can’t say I have a lot of experience giving interviews, but I know one thing, the most important strength that defines us as a person is not our overt skills, but what’s inside, particularly, our values. That’s what people resonate with the most, including companies wanting to hire us.

Our value system grows over time, every interaction we have as we keep growing defines that part of us. We learn how to love and live based on our core values. And that’s what I want to talk about today.

In my undergraduate days, we had a subject called educational psychology. The idea was basically to break down the present education system, understand its behavioural and evolutionary roots and build it back up to better suit the current learning ethos. The idea was to rebuild the entire value system that the present education system has.

We would use a tool called a value tree. Write down things that formed the foundation of the system as the roots and work our way up. It’s in these conversations that I came to realise, to change a system, we need to change the roots. Sever them, alter them, mould them in a different direction, but change them!

But that’s where all the problem begins, roots grow first! If we see the germination process of a seed, we see that even before a planted seed shows the first signs of growth to the outside world, a whole myriad of roots has already grown, backing it up, holding it still to continue its journey of growth.

The roots remain hidden almost forever in the lifetime of a plant, but it is the beginning and the foundation of what lets a plant grow tall and strong. Who we are today has so much more to do with the abstract values dictating our lives than the concrete skills we own.

But what does that mean exactly? It means that even as we are trying to upskill ourselves and become the very best in our respective industries, we need to continue focusing on the value roots that shape that journey for us. Because only if we know where we are coming from, will we know where we are going.

The journey of becoming the very best in what we do can be incredibly tiring. Especially when we see people with half our skill or the same privilege as us, move ahead in life. But that’s where our invisible foundational roots come in handy. If our values are excellence above all else, we would never focus on others, just ourselves. If it is selfless kindness, we would rejoice in whatever achievements people around us make. If it is goal-achievement, that would only be our sole focus.

But an understanding of our core values is extremely important. Self-reflection is key in that journey. I am going to leave a little something here that might help you kickstart this journey of finding the values that root you to the ground and direct your growth. It's called the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths. The survey tool in itself may not predict your core values adequately, but I am sure it will jumpstart your journey of self-reflection.

Happy Exploration!