CONTINUOUS GROWTH IS INTEGRAL TO LIFE | KAIROS GLOBAL | NOVEMBER 2022

Author: Minnie Mathew

Intro: Former Chief Secretary of the state of Andhra Pradesh, Minnie Mathew writes about change, personal growth and unwavering hope in Christ. 

It has been famously said that in any given moment we have two options – either to step forward into growth or step back into safety. By nature I was happy to be in my comfort zone surrounded by familiar people and objects. My inner voice used to tell me that this comfort zone was acting as a deterrent to my personal growth and development. Yet I was disinclined to take the road less travelled and leave what I was comfortable with.

 However all this changed when I joined the Indian Administrative Service at the age of 23. For me it was a bungee jump into the deep unknown and I was totally unprepared for the challenges that were thrown at me. Having cleared a tough all Indian level competitive examination, I had a legitimate expectation that I could put my feet up and relax. I couldn’t have been more naïve. Beginning with the compulsory horse riding classes and controlling unruly horses on the riding ground (horses which had an uncanny way of detecting and teasing nervous riders) to Shramdan (voluntary physical labour) in the early morning rain and mist of Mussoorie, the ‘queen of the hills’ in India, and grappling with law, the constitution, economics, and the new language of the state to which I was allotted, group discussions, village visits, treks – life became one big roller coaster ride. But all of this taught me the important lesson that life is going to be a continuous learning process. And it has been so ever since. 

  To be relevant, we need to keep learning all the time. In the IAS, we are tasked to handle a variety of jobs ranging from agriculture, rural development, education, health, development of women, development of weaker sections, housing, etc. Thus we wear many hats. We are periodically sent for refresher courses, in-service programmes and are encouraged to acquire professional qualifications and specializations. 

But learning does not come from academic courses or books alone. I have learnt on the job and I have also learnt a lot from my seniors, my peers and my subordinates who gave great insights into ‘the nuts and bolts issues’ of administration and ground realities.

  The world keeps evolving at a mind blowing speed. Therefore what worked for me at the start of my career was clearly not enough as the years rolled by. When I entered service more than four decades ago, the pace was more measured and calibrated. As a Sub Collector, I could plan my week and, to a large extent, accomplish what was planned, mainly because there was a certain predictability about everything. To give a small example – unlike the sudden cloudbursts and flash floods which are a regular feature today, there used to be a definite time of the year when we could expect the arrival of cyclones and consequential floods and gear up the entire machinery for evacuation of the vulnerable population and carry out relief operations. 

Further the sphere of work was also fairly limited. As such there was time to grow oneself personally and professionally. But with the advancement of technology, explosion of information on the internet, the plethora of government programmes, and the participatory nature of programme implementation, it was necessary to become more tech savvy and develop skills to strengthen our outreach to the common man who represented the face of the new aspirational India.

In short, we never ‘arrive’. We are always ‘works in progress’ evolving according to the demands of the day. Every situation – good or bad – is a teacher. Very often, bad experiences help to hone our skills better and update our knowledge and ability to deliver, provided we retain the desire to be learning continuously.

PERSONAL GROWTH

On the personal front, growth and improvement takes place at various levels. We cross an important benchmark when we do what is right by moral choice rather than compulsion. In other words, even when nobody is watching or monitoring us we should naturally do the right thing. Sometimes it is much easier to go with the flow rather than face alienation and isolation by taking a principled stand on issues to which you attach importance. My experience has been that we may face temporary setbacks and sometimes become very unpopular. But time will prove us right and we will stand vindicated in the long run.

So, how can we know whether we are growing? When we show courage to be a lone voice in the wilderness, we grow. We grow when we start checking whether others are growing along with us. Interdependence is the leitmotif of our existence. The pandemic has taught us that ‘nobody is safe until everybody is safe.’ So while we grow we need to check if others are also growing with us or whether we are growing at their expense. We grow when we become connectors capable of celebrating differences and highlighting the commonalities that exist. We grow when we make the world a better place, one day at a time. For this we need to pause, introspect and reflect in solitude at the end of the day whether we have been a little bit kinder, a little bit more helpful and empathetic, a little bit gentler than the day before. 

Personal growth and improvement is very important as it acts as force multiplier making spillovers into all other facets of life.

SPIRITUAL GROWTH

We live today in an ethical wasteland. There is a humongous ethical deficit all around us. The goal is important but the means to achieve the goal are unimportant. In our spiritual journey there can be no compromise in this regard. For us the means should be as important as the end. To help us grow spiritually, we need to have a deep and loving relationship with God. We also need to manifest that love through service to our fellow beings.

 There are some important indicators to measure our spiritual growth. We grow spiritually when we can feel the presence of God in every circumstance of life – whether it be good times or hard times. We need to hold on to hope in Christ in unwavering prayer when all the odds are against us. Prayer gives you strength to go forward and open the doors which are seemingly shut. Most importantly we need to hold on to faith and believe that all things are possible as promised in Philippians 4:13 and Luke 1:37.

When I was heading a mining company, there was an incident of a cheque bouncing case going against my company in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh. This would have caused a great financial loss to the company. So I rushed to the Supreme Court and met with the advocate who prepared an appeal to be filed on the next day. Our advocate was particularly busy on that day and was unsure as to whether he would be able to appear on our behalf. If he had failed to appear, the case would have been dismissed by default. As I was sitting in the court hall watching the proceedings of the day, my heart sank because the Bench of Judges was in a very stern mood and had summarily dismissed all the 21 cases which were listed before my case. Our case was about to be called and there was no trace of my advocate. I kept repeating ‘For with God nothing is impossible,’ and just as our case was called our advocate walked in. He put forth his arguments neatly and succinctly and ours was the first case in which a stay of the orders of the High court was granted. Later on, we won the case too. There are innumerable such cases where God has upheld me with his right hand. 

Growth, change and renewal are integral to life. Nature shows us that what is in bloom today ceases to exist tomorrow and that continuous change and renewal constitute one of the most important universal laws. At every stage we have opportunities to grow. As George Eliot puts it ‘It is never too late to be what you might have been.’       

Minnie Mathew is a retired IAS officer who served for 37 years, handling a variety of assignments in diverse sectors. She was the first woman District Collector of Hyderabad, and the second woman to have held the post of Chief Secretary of the composite state of Andhra Pradesh.