Prompt Response

While browsing through the online news, I bumped into this article published in Huffington Post.

Seven-year-old Dexter is a ways off from astronaut age, but his adorable letter to NASA (see below) is already hurtling through cyberspace at viral speed.

Dexter told the agency he's ready to fly to Mars. "But I'm 7, so I can't," he wrote. Just to make sure he isn't left behind, he reminded NASA that he'll be available in the future.

NASA responded in a letter (see below as well) encouraging the schoolboy to explore space camp, get good grades and continue "reaching for the stars."

Dexter's mother, Katrina Anderson, who posted the correspondence on imgur, told The Huffington Post via email that her son is over the moon that NASA wrote him back and included photos and stickers in its response.

It feels incredible to get response from someone, when we least expect it, doesn’t it? Imagine the positive impact NASA was able to create on this little boy, by the reply and associated gesture. This kinda encouragement induces a high degree of motivation, which is often a separating factor in between people. Now consider the scenario of people not responding to inquiry when needed? To me, it is simply a bad practice. Especially in India, certain people in certain positions, citing the reason of their tight schedule, seldom reply. This is not just discouraging, but also sets a bad precedence, not just at personal or professional level, but also in the society overall. From past several years, I have set a personal goal, to respond to each and every mail, I receive. Trust me; it’s not as daunting a task as people make it out be. If you can maintain enough discipline, getting your work done does not interfere with the habit of prompt replying. Somewhere, behind such practices, the culture plays an important role, I think!