Hi, I'm Evan Lim! In 2023, I was selected to be a game facilitator, welcoming new students into Manjusri Secondary School in 2024. I was excited! I wanted to we...
Hi, I'm Evan Lim! In 2023, I was selected to be a game facilitator, welcoming new students into Manjusri Secondary School in 2024.
I was excited! I wanted to welcome these soon-to-be Secondary 1 kids with warmth and energy. However, this dream died as I realised that it was impossible with my team. In the end, I delivered what I believe was a mediocre welcome to them, but fortunately, most of the new students adjusted well, so, that is a way I think we (my team) succeeded.
Looking back, I realised that my behaviour was overbearing on my teammates. Simply put, I wanted to take charge and control, so much so that I came off as rude to many of them, though that was not my intention. In my wish to be a memorable facilitator, I crossed social boundaries, snapping my fingers to get people's attention. Because of this, I was not liked among my team.
Now, I long came to the conclusion that to achieve that goal of an impressionable welcome on the new students, taking charge (and by force, especially) is not the best or only way to do it. Sure, we must learn the courage to take the helm sometimes, but in others, it is also necessary to step back and let others shine for the favourable path forward. Lest we put in too much effort and energy and end up making everything worse for everyone.
That is not to say that my effort was totally destructive! I did connect with some new students, made them enjoy their welcome.
In summary, I learnt the value of the law of reversed effort. Putting in too much effort is not helpful to you, or anyone else. In fact, retreating back to let someone else take charge can somehow and sometimes be the best decision in the moment.
