
Radar | Mar 16,2019
January 29 , 2022
By Kidist Yidnekachew ( Kidist Yidnekachew has degrees in psychology and journalism and communications. She can be reached at kidyyidnekachew@gmail.com. )
We have all met someone who talks a lot about what they do and what they plan to do. They usually claim to be experts in their field, do not differentiate between personal and business matters, and are very open, pouring their hearts out. Unfortunately, most of the time, they are not even half the things they say they are and whatever they lack in talent, they make up for in inflating their abilities.
Such people even swear by their work and criticise others, only to disappoint later. Modesty is good, but we are not expected to be that way all of the time. Sometimes we have to promote ourselves and the experiences we have gathered. We also need to prize ourselves, but we have to back it up with our work and actions.
Two similar incidents happened to me on two separate occasions. The first one was in a taxi. I was sitting at the back and a guy in front of me was talking nonstop. I do not know if he was trying to impress the girl who was sitting next to him or if he was just full of himself. I could tell that the lady friend was also getting tired of the conversation.
He was talking about how talented he was, what he does and how his clients appreciate his work then he started comparing himself with others in the field. From what I gathered, he makes furniture and other interior designs. It makes me wonder if he was actually any good at his line of work or if he was just exaggerating. I will never find out, but on the second similar incident, I took a mental note that people who praise themselves too much are just talk and probably are not as good as they claim.
The other day I decided to talk to a catering service provider for a friend. I found one so I paid her a visit. She told me how good she was, how she has catered for many customers and how they were satisfied with her work. She also said she does tours as well. I introduced her to my friend, who was impressed and decided to give her the job.
The catering was needed for my friend’s parents anniversary. Her parents have been married for over half a century years. It is a long time to stay in a marriage. Her parents were saying our generation lacks patience. We rush to get married, to start a family and then hurry out when the going gets tougher.
“Your generation thinks it is nice to throw a wedding just for the sake of it. You are all over the place and divided,” my friend’s mother said. “In our days, arranged marriage was a common phenomenon, but we still managed to stay married with respect, understanding more than anything the importance of patience.”
The celebration was thus an intimate and significant event for everybody involved. I had a great time at the event but the catering, let us say, was not up to the standards we had hoped. The food was not up to the quality expected at an event. The decorations paled in comparison to what she had promised. This made me wonder if she was any good as a tour guide. Maybe she is, but there was a wide discrepancy between her performance and the loud advertisement of her business.
I have met many others like her. They talk the talk but do not walk the walk. If we are good at something, we should let our work speak for us instead of trying to convince others with our words.
PUBLISHED ON
Jan 29,2022 [ VOL
22 , NO
1135]
Radar | Mar 16,2019
Commentaries | Nov 09,2019
Life Matters | Aug 14,2021
Photo Gallery | Mar 16,2019
Sunday with Eden | Feb 27,2021
Viewpoints | Oct 02,2021
Radar | Dec 25,2021
Covid-19 | Mar 21,2020
Fortune News | Mar 28,2020
Covid-19 | Mar 23,2020
Photo Gallery | 54292 Views | May 06,2019
Fortune News | 46870 Views | Jul 18,2020
Photo Gallery | 46105 Views | Apr 26,2019
Fortune News | 45859 Views | Sep 01,2021
July 2 , 2022 . By RUTH TAYE
On a rainy afternoon last week, a coffee processing facility in the capital's Akaki-Qality District was abuzz with activ...
November 27 , 2021
Against my will, I have witnessed the most terrible defeat of reason and the most sa...
November 13 , 2021
Plans and reality do not always gel. They rarely do in a fast-moving world. Every act...
October 16 , 2021 . By HAWI DADHI
Residing in a country with no capital market, an organised marketplace for trading se...
August 6 , 2022
Few initiatives by the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) have been pu...
July 30 , 2022
Ethiopia’s banking industry is not merely underdeveloped. It has historically regre...
July 23 , 2022
The flip side of a government spending plan is financing. Behind the campaign promise...
July 17 , 2022
Messrs Ahmed Shide and Eyob Tekalegn (PhD), minister and state minister for Finance,...
August 6 , 2022
Champagne popped and poured; and a cake was cut to celebrate another milestone for Ethio telecom, still the only active operator in the coun...
August 6 , 2022 . By RAHEL BOGALE
The hospitality industry has entered the list of economic sectors that enjoy tax exemptions and incentive...
August 6 , 2022 . By RAHEL BOGALE
Federal authorities are contemplating the reversal of a decade-long ban on maize export. A team of expert...
August 6 , 2022 . By RUTH TAYE
Yodahe Zemichael seems determined to push the national ID project past the pilot stage, onboarding up to...
Put your comments here