That's Not the Way

Kishwar, Rahul, Ram, Justin, and Bhavi, the most mischievous gang the school had seen, were in the mood for adventure. One of them suggested exploring the forest. They went off on this adventurous journey; they kept on walking without realizing they were lost. How oblivious could I person be?

“We’re lost!” announced Justin as he realized it.
“No. We’re not lost; we just don’t know where we are,” replied Bhavi.
“That is exactly how I describe lost,” said Justin as he shook his head.
“By golly! He’s right.” agreed Kishwar.
“I know where to go, luckily. Follow me; we’re going left,” said Rahul. “I am sure we shall find something.”
“And how are you so sure?” asked Ram
“My instinct tells me so. Now, are you coming or not?”
“No, I shall go right! I have a strong feeling about this,” said Kishwar as she made her way, leaving Rahul to go left all by himself.
“I think I will return to the path; it is the secure option we have,” said Bhavi leaving Ram and Justin alone.
“Everyone has left. I shall too. I will continue on this path. I shall find a way.” said Ram leaving Justin.

“What do I do?” asked Justin to himself, looking around panicking. On the corner of his eye, he spotted a large tree. “I shall climb this tree and have a good view.” As Justin was climbing the tree, he remembered the story of the boy who spotted heaven from the tree, and he hoped he could too and climbed faster. This was a wrong decision. As he was climbing a thin branch, it broke, leaving Justin hanging.

“Oh my god! Now the only god can help me!” he hung there for a while, reciting the Hanuman Chalisa, which did nothing. He decided to climb further. Fortunately, he reached the top and spotted the shortest way to a village. “Hah! I was right. A pack of wild animals would eat the others by now.” he thought as he made his way to the village. How wrong he was about the others.

Each person thought their way and thus gained a different experience. Rahul walked for two whole days but reached a highly developed city. Kishwar had to fight a pack of wolves, which you might think was unfortunate (believe me, it was), but she learned how to survive in the forest. Bhavi met another group of hikers and made new friends who helped her out. Ram found a family living on a farm, and they hosted him for a few days before leaving for a village. Everyone was enriched in their unique way by the journey.

The number one life skill to be a better human is “No one is wrong.” Once we embrace this life skill, we will learn that everyone views the world with different spectacles. Is the glass half-full or half-empty? Viewing the world from a different perspective is one of the essential life skills we should learn during our lifetime.

One more Leadership Skill we learn from this beautiful story is to take action. Sitting on the couch watching TV and wondering won’t help! Let me ask you, what does ACT mean?

A = Action
C = Changes
T = Things

People who take action change things. Sitting and cursing the law is no use. Get out there and change it! There have been many examples throughout history who took action and changed things.

Rosa Parks: She fought for color discrimination and changed the rules. A simple NO began it for her. Many people would be afraid to do it, but you cannot swim for new horizons until you dare to lose sight of the shore.

Mahatma Gandhi- Did he hate the Britishers? Yes, he did. Did he sit and crib about it? No. He got up and changed the world. He walked to Dandi, as known as the salt march. Was he sure it was going to work? Nope. But did he do it? Absolutely.

LIFE SKILL No. 1 - Take action. Then why don’t we do it? The answer is straightforward; we are afraid to fail. Afraid of rejection.

Remember - “There are no failures. Only feedback.” Thomas Edison. As a matter of fact, he also failed 9999 times. “I learned 9999 how a bulb would not work”, He used to say. You either earn or learn.

LIFE SKILL No. 2 – What does FAIL actually implies is First Attempt In Learning. “Failure is not the opposite of success; It’s part of success.”

Note to parents (by Dr. Sachin) – It is essential that parents must imbibe personality development in childhood in their kids; this important life and leadership skills will ensure your child is happy and prosperous.