Our unconscious is smart!

Musings 1 Minute

I was waiting to catch the flight back to Mumbai. An elderly lady dressed in a simple cotton sari was brought in a wheel chair. She sat next to me.

In a couple of minutes, she frantically started looking for something in her bag. I asked, “Aapko kuch chahiye? Mein madad karoo?”. (Are you looking for something, can I help you?)

She looked up and responded in crisp English, “No thanks, I am good. I was looking for my reading glasses, found them”.

I wondered – why did I speak to her in Hindi? Of course, Hindi is our national language, but my default is English, specially with strangers.

So, what made me switch to Hindi?

Clearly, it was my unconscious belief that the lady wouldn’t know English, judging based on her age and appearance.

Our unconscious is omnipresent and truly powerful…

Do you experience the unconscious in unguarded moments? How has it impacted your interactions with others?

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Published by Padma Rajeswari

At the outset, I would like to thank you for stopping by my Blog. I believe that there is nothing right or wrong in this world. What’s right in this moment and context may be wrong in another moment and context. This belief has inspired me to name my blog ‘Perspectives’. Perspectives is a platform for me to share my experiences, thoughts and perspectives on various subjects. You may have a different point of view. I look forward to hearing them, these are the triggers for rich and deep conversations. On personal front, I live in Mumbai, India. I love to read; Somerset Maugham and Nevil Shute are my favorite authors. My favorite books are The Razor’s Edge, Mrs. Craddock, Chequer Board and Gone with the Wind. I am thankful to my father who inculcated the habit of reading in me early on. I am also passionate about traveling, I have been to most parts of India and to several countries across the globe. On professional front, I work in Human Resources function. Over two and half decades, I have worked across multiple industries and cultures. I focus on Leadership Development, Talent Management, Visioning and Culture, Large-scale change, Employee Listening & Engagement, Employee Well-being, Inclusive work culture, HR effectiveness, Behavior and Mind-set shifts through sustained interventions I currently lead Organization Effectiveness Function for Aditya Birla Group, a $44.3 billion conglomerate with 120000 employees across 35 countries. I sincerely hope that you will enjoy reading my blog. I look forward to your thoughts and suggestions. Thank you!

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