As South Asian Heritage Month came to a close this weekend, Gursharan Kaur, a Senior Manager in the NECS Consultancy team tells us about her experience speaking at a recent South Asian Heritage Month Celebration event and how her faith allows her to be her most authentic self and guides her personally and professionally.
“South Asian Heritage Month is celebrated from 18 July – 17 August and the theme this year was ‘Free to be me’.
“I was invited to speak at a South Asian Heritage Month Celebration event, which was hosted by the Multicultural Network at South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (CSU) to honour the South Asian Heritage Month. I decided to speak about being ‘The Authentic Me’ as for me ‘Free to be me’ means that I can be the most authentic and sovereign version of myself.
“What has helped me to become authentic?
- Understanding and having clarity on my core values
- Developing healthy boundaries
- Taking continuance guidance from my faith- it teaches me to introspect and has taught me that if ‘I can conquer my mind, I can conquer the world’.
“My Sikh faith and brave ancestors have shaped my core values of integrity, honesty and joy and taught me how to self-govern by practising self-awareness and exercising care while governing my responsibilities and boundaries, both in my personal and professional life. Self-awareness teaches me to respect other people for who they are as they are also free to be them. I was attracted to work at NECS, as the organisation’s core values align with and complement my personal values.
“South Asian people have suffered significant intergenerational trauma throughout history and the community at large struggles with implementing boundaries. For this reason, I invited the group to reflect on healthy boundaries and how they can serve us in our personal and professional relationships, which received a great response from the event attendees.
“My South Asian heritage and Sikh faith are an integral part of who I am and my moral compass that drives my personal and professional life. It helps me to be the best and the most authentic version of myself. It continuously guides me to deliver my work to a high professional standard leading to great client satisfaction and feedback.”