“Ability is what we are capable of doing, Motivation determines what we do, and Attitude determines how well we do it,” so says Lou Holtz, the witty and inspiring football coach, who has been associated with a number of American Universities’ Teams. We are familiar with the other words like competency, capability, capacity, potential, proficiency, etc, which are frequently used by us as a substitute for the word ‘Ability’.
Ability may be simply defined as a function of Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes, or KSAs, in short, and mathematically expressed as:
Ability = fn (KSAs)
Where, Knowledge is an organized body of facts, principles, procedures, and information acquired over time. It is a prerequisite for learning skills. Skills, on the other hand, are general capacities to perform a set of tasks developed as a result of training and experience. Attitudes are beliefs and opinions that support or inhibit behaviour. We need KSAs inorder to succeed in life; together this triad forms the triangle of success as depicted below:
We can develop Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes, KSAs, through Education and Values, which are of paramount importance in our journey towards the pinnacle of excellence. We can attain our highest potential by continuously developing our abilities. There are no short cuts to development of abilities; it demands concerted discipline and focus. Here, an appropriate example is that of Mr. Satya Nadella, who honed his abilities to such a level that Microsoft Corporation, the world’s largest and most valuable software company best known for its product Microsoft Windows, the operating system used by millions of people across the globe, elevated him to the coveted position of CEO, the Chief Executive Officer. Satya Nadella, born in Hyderabad, India in 1967, is reported to have given this message to the young professionals in an interview to The Times of India (published in New Delhi Edition on p.17 on Monday, March 10, 2014) and I quote,
“Find something that you are truly passionate about, and throw yourself into it fully. Life is too short to just go through the motions on something you are not truly passionate about. Stay curious, never stop learning.” Unquote.
So, develop your abilities… This development demands nothing short of ‘Tapasya‘, a Sanskrit word for personal endeavour of discipline, undertaken to achieve a goal. When you have the abilities, I believe, even Ma Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess of Wealth, runs after you for acceptance. World honours ability…World salutes people with abilities…and bows to them in admiration…and entrusts them with the responsibilities commensurable with their abilities. World does no favour to you…
You have the power within to develop your abilities…