Kata 'reinforcement" sangat sering digunakan di segala bidang. Kata tersebut bisa diartikan sebagai "dorongan". Ketika seseorang butuh untuk melakukan sesuatu yang penting tapi dia tidak mempunyai cukup nyali untuk melakukannya, dia membutuhkan dorongan. Tentunya dorongan itu harus yang positif. Contoh sederhana adalah, "Hayo!! Kamu pasti bisa!!
Saya pernah membaca sebuah cerita sangat pendek yang membuat saya sangat terhenyak. Cerita itu ada hubungannya dengan tema tulisan saya ini. Berikut ini detil ceritanya:
Ada segerombolan katak yang hendak melanjutkan pengembaraannya menuju daerah yang berlimpah makanan. Perjalanan itu begitu melelahkan karena mereka baru saja keluar dari daerah lama mereka yang minus makanan. Tentu saja mereka berangkat tanpa mengisi perut mereka dengan makanan yang cukup. Di tengah-tengah perjalanan, tiba-tiba 2 katak terjatuh ke lubang yang cukup dalam. Kata teman-teman mereka kepada kedua katak itu, "Wah! Sudahlah, kalian menyerah saja. Tidak mungkin kalian bisa naik. Lubang itu terlalu dalam!". Teman-teman mereka terus mengatakan hal itu karena memang mereka yakin dengan keputus asaan bahwa kedua teman mereka itu tidak bisa selamat. Dan memang benar; salah satu katak itu terjatuh dan mati. Tetapi, katak yang satunya lagi terus berusaha naik, hingga akhirnya dia bisa mencapai atas dan selamat. Katak-katak lain bertanya pada katak yang selamat itu,"Kamu kok bisa naik?" Si katak yang selamat itu berkata, "Aku berusaha sekuat tenaga. Terima kasih karena tadi kalian menyemangati aku agar aku bisa naik." Ternyata katak yang selamat itu tuli...
Dari cerita itu, banyak yang saya ambil hikmahnya. Ketika misalnya saya mau melakukan sesuatu yang membutuhkan usaha yang berat, saya butuh dorongan positif. Dorongan itu bisa dari orang lain atau dari saya sendiri. Saya cukup bilang dalam hati atau dengan suara keras dan yakin, "Saya pasti bisa melakukannya!" Jika dalam hati saja terucap, "Kok kayaknya sulit sekali ya? Bisa nggak, ya?", kemungkinan terbesar yang terjadi adalah saya tidak akan berhasil melakukannya.
Jadi, jika kita berpikiran positif, dorongan positif akan muncul secara otomatis. Jangan pernah punya prasangka buruk tentang proses dan hasil akhirnya. Yakinkan pada diri sendiri jika kita mampu. Dan pastinya, lakukan hal itu dengan yakin.
16/06/2012
02/06/2012
No Fake Excuses
There is a tendency for some people to make some excuses when they are absent in doing their duty. For example, a student who must come to class but he does not will find reasonable excuses to convince his teacher. He might say that he is sick, or has a job interview, or his mother is sick and he has to accompany her in the hospital. Or maybe it is just a simple reason that he has a flat tyre. Another example is a female staff in an office. She asks her boss a day or two-leave because she has her menstrual period, or she gets a terrible headache, or her son is so seriously ill that she must take that child to the hospital.
If we happen to experience this case, the most important thing is just to tell the truth, to give true excuses. Let us think for a while about the following illustration:
Mr. x needs to be off from his work because a near relative will hold a big wedding party and he must help that relative. That party will force him to be off from work for at least 5 days. What is he going to say to his boss? Is he going to say that he needs 5 days off for a wedding party (it will sound like 5 days off for having fun)? Of course the boss will not give him permission. He needs to find a perfect excuse. So, he creates an excuse that makes his mother as the subject. He tells his boss that he must take care of his mother because she is hospitalized and that no one else will do that except him. The boss is kind-hearted, so the permission is given. Then there he goes for the wedding party stuff. And his mother is just fine with him in the party.
From the illustration above, we can make a rough conclusion that Mr. x is irresponsible for many things; for his job, for his mother, for his religion (if he has a religion), for his conscience. The most risky one is about his mother's condition. How if she will really get sick finally? If he has a clear conscience, he will really regret that he has made a fake reason to be excused from his work.
Last but not least, I want to give my opinion in this simple writing: Let us just keep telling lies if we are ready to face the punishment from ALLAH for our next life in AKHIRAT. But if we are afraid of His punishment, let us start by being honest and regretting our mistakes.
If we happen to experience this case, the most important thing is just to tell the truth, to give true excuses. Let us think for a while about the following illustration:
Mr. x needs to be off from his work because a near relative will hold a big wedding party and he must help that relative. That party will force him to be off from work for at least 5 days. What is he going to say to his boss? Is he going to say that he needs 5 days off for a wedding party (it will sound like 5 days off for having fun)? Of course the boss will not give him permission. He needs to find a perfect excuse. So, he creates an excuse that makes his mother as the subject. He tells his boss that he must take care of his mother because she is hospitalized and that no one else will do that except him. The boss is kind-hearted, so the permission is given. Then there he goes for the wedding party stuff. And his mother is just fine with him in the party.
From the illustration above, we can make a rough conclusion that Mr. x is irresponsible for many things; for his job, for his mother, for his religion (if he has a religion), for his conscience. The most risky one is about his mother's condition. How if she will really get sick finally? If he has a clear conscience, he will really regret that he has made a fake reason to be excused from his work.
Last but not least, I want to give my opinion in this simple writing: Let us just keep telling lies if we are ready to face the punishment from ALLAH for our next life in AKHIRAT. But if we are afraid of His punishment, let us start by being honest and regretting our mistakes.