Room for self-improvement is the largest room in the world

<p>Case scenario</p>, <p>Usman is a rather shy 27-year-old IT geek who works with a telecommunications giant, having graduated with a first class in Computer Science. However, he prefers his own solitary company – working on a system, and struggles to give a presentation or participate in meetings. He is so painfully shy that everyone is aware and some mock him for it. He is also very uncomfortable with it and is often racked by anxiety ahead of the weekly team meetings. If only they will exempt him from the meetings and just allow him to send his report via e-mail. But his boss was not having any of that. “I will have to continue to endure the torture,” he concluded to himself.</p>, <p>Thompson on the other hand, is not as brilliant as Usman, and he always comes to Usman when he has technical difficulties. But he is a cheerful person and an excellent communicator. He skillfully deploys humour and simple but elegant language to explain complex IT concepts that were conceptualised by Usman. Thus, whenever they have a sales pitch to deliver for a potential client, Thompson always made the presentations – even though Usman frequently came up with the concepts and designs. Thompson acknowledges that he has to work harder on his IT skills and is understudying Usman and improving daily.</p>, <p>Commentary</p>, <p>Four characteristics define good mental health, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the very first characteristic is the “ability to fulfil one’s unique potential.” The others are: coping with the normal stress of daily living; working productively; and participating meaningfully in the community.</p>, <p>But how do we fulfill our unique potentials, when we are all different, as is evident from the case of Mr Usman and Mr Thompson above? From the get-go, their potentials (innate strengths) differ, but they all bring something to the table. And they have a smart boss who is deploying them according to their respective strengths for the benefit of the team.</p>, <p>However, the best outcome for