Incredible power of nagging
- Gurvinder Singh
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
At the end of the day, everyone is looking for peace of mind. Children and womenfolk know this all too well and know how to exploit it until you accede to their demands.
This is why a man will promise anything to a woman or a child, just to keep them quiet. Once he makes a promise, he is locked in and deeper in the commitment hole.
This is what men mean when they say 'chewing my brains out'. Nagging almost always produces more promises and finally action and results.
Nagging is not the prerogative of women and children. Men also use it for personal and professional reasons.
Nagging is like having a tiny stone inside our shoe. Every step we take irritates us. That is why nagging, not surprisingly, works, hence so readily adopted by parents, teachers, spouses and bosses.
It is quite likely that you are aware of what I have mentioned until now, but nagging as a powerful tool for obtaining results in professional life is less known and appreciated.
Two of the heroes in my life are my father, Man Singh ji, and my uncle Manohar Singh ji. They began life in a remote village of Myanmar, which was consumed by the huge bloodshed and destruction caused by World War II.
Formal education ended in the 4th grade, and the family had to wander here and there to escape the wrath of both Japanese and Allied combatants. Yet, not only did they survive, they thrived, building great businesses, earning a lot of money and building solid reputations.
They had many virtues, and one of them was persistence. Carried to an extreme, it will be safe to call it nagging.
Our father was a super nagger, and that explains why he and my uncle succeeded so spectacularly. Once father decided on a course of action, he drew everyone existing or potential around him who he felt were necessary to achieve his goal to do his bidding. His humorous and charming manner took the edge off his nagging, making it appear more like a persistent appeal. But we, family members and also the employees, knew it was nagging, and we had no choice but to do his bidding.
A few points to remember before we decide to implement 'Nagging 101'.
Before you resort to nagging to get your way, remember the following points.
Without a clear goal or plan, nagging will be viewed as bullying, tormenting, or venting of frustration, and will almost certainly be counterproductive.
If the target of our nagging is powerful, then nagging has to be almost seductive in nature.
Naggers must possess a thick skin to handle being rebuffed and a lot of persistence to continue.
Fortunately, father was intelligent and hardworking. He formulated his plans after careful study and decided which human resources he could marshal and deploy. Only then would he start nagging his way to success.
On nagging, I learnt another lesson from my clever wife, Mohini. At first, she had to nag me constantly to get me to do anything she wanted. She subsequently changed tack. She elevated me to this position of esteem and adoration, compelling me to willingly and eagerly try to meet her expectations.
Learning from them, I do good planning and execution, reviewing and tweaking implementation regularly with my teams. It is a kind of formal nagging that works.
Wish you happiness and success.
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