Thursday 21 January 2010

Life lessons my family taught me

1. Chase excellence, success will follow- I was surprised when I heard a similar dialog in the movie 3 idiots, I kept thinking, ' this writers' parents think like mine'.

2. Education is your true wealth-Something that can never be over emphasized.

3. The best revenge for cruelty,-kindness- When I was little, if some kid wouldnt treat me well or hurt me, my parents would not let me get back by treating him the same way, rather I was encouraged to be extra kind to him so he would realize his mistake and become my friend. This is a golden rule for our 'eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth' society. And I have observed that if I refrain from paying someone back in the same coin, more often than not, people come back and apologize for their behavior, even become great friends.

4. You dont have to visit a country to learn about it when you can read about it- I was a very curious kid, used to ask my learned grandfather hundreds of questions, he would almost always point me to a book on that subject. When I bothered my mom too much, she would ask me to go read a book. During long train journeys, whenever my brother and I would have nothing better to do than eat and sleep, my parents would give us a book each and would pit us against each other in a reading competition. Those little reinforcements have made reading not only a rewarding way to get through idle hours, but a passion for me. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this passion has made me what I am today. I cant thank my parents and grandparents enough for it.

5.The tree that bears the most fruit hangs the lowest- Humility is probably the most stressed virtue in my household. There are some pretty well accomplished people in my family but they manage to keep their feet on the ground. This has always helped me put things in perspective whenever I think I have accomplished something big.

6. Things have a way of working out in the end- My dad always says, "You are a good kid, why wouldn't things work out for you?" That always brings a smile to my face, no matter how big the trouble, and even though I am not that good a kid :)

7. Don't fret the small stuff. Think-'Big picture'. All of us have a tendency to over-think little things. My family has taught me to rise above and beyond the petty, and think big. 'Is it really going to matter in the long run?' is an oft repeated question at my place.



1 comment:

Lorena said...

Thank you for coming by my blog!
I stopped by yours and was rewarded with this beautiful post.
If each of us did at least one of the things you mention, we would be better people.
Thank you for sharing these thoughts !
hugs :)