I came back from a week long trip to Bangalore for Foss.In last Sunday. My sister and her daughter, Ayushi, are at our place these days. I like to spend time with my little niece and talk to other family members when I get back home from office.
But since there was a lot of piled up work, I could not do that for a few days. Even before I went, I was working days and nights over Glancer and did not spend enough time with the family.
Then on Wednesday, I reached home at around 10.30. Everybody was asleep. I just checked if Niyati (my sister) was awake. She was. So I sat down and asked her how her day was. Told her I had a busy day full of meetings and running after projects. And then she told me it was a bad day for her. She was stressed because they were facing delays in moving to India due to some rules at my brother-in-law’s company and that Ayushi (my niece) keeps her running all the day!
Now Ayushi, true to the meaning of her name, is full of life! She is very playful and can not sit down. At 14 months of age, she can keep everybody at home on their toes! And we love her for that! But for a mother, it can get taxing at times!
What I realized though, was that Niyati (my sister) felt very light after talking to me. We actually joked about the whole thing.
And this was because we communicated.
Most of the times in life we do not communicate our feelings / thoughts / feedback. Things keep on piling inside and you get more and more stress or dissatisfaction. And when you communicate, most of it just vaporizes. After communication, you are left with only the core issue – which actually could be minor.
Communication done badly can be harmful. But my experience is that any communication moves the situation forward. It’s better to move than to stand still. I have experienced this at work and in personal life.
Don’t hold it within you! Go communicate!