Category: Attitude/Discipline

Life

Do we live life to its full ? Most of us are not willing to enjoy the moment. We are not investing in our own happiness. We are spending more time worrying about things beyond our control rather than rejoicing all that God has bestowed us with to enjoy life.

We live life comparing ourselves with others and dying out of jealousy. God has given equal capacity to all of us. Each of us craft our destiny by our own hard work. Why are we worried about others ? It is like a sprinter looking at all his co-participants behind him while running a race. The chances of his failing are higher than his success. The best sprinters in the world trust their capabilities and focus on their efforts. They are always confident of their success as they are determined in the efforts they put in every day. They are confident that the results have to follow their efforts.

Life is a journey. Every day is like the page of a book. We need to read every page of the book and move on to the next page. Most of us tend to turn back and not move forward. While, it may be useful to learn from the mistakes of the past, it is more important to focus on shaping our future. If we keep turning to the back pages, we may never move forward and read the whole book in our lifetime.

Life is full of possibilities. We have to make the best of everything in life. We have to dream big, work hard and aim for the impossible in life. If we put in our best, we can make the impossible, possible. After all, it is mankind who dreamt of walking on the moon and made it possible almost five decades back.

It may be inspirational to look at achievers in life. The successful people in life we are not born with silver spoons. Most of them were born in families with limited resources. But, they had a clear vision of what they want to achieve in life and they worked zealously to achieve it.

I have met people in life who have represented my country in Olympics and could not even afford the sports kit when they started learning their sport. Nothing is impossible for the human mind. It is our own limitations in the mind, which makes the possible look impossible. We draw our own curtains and encircle ourselves with self created limitations.

If we look at life as half full glass rather than half empty, the impossible looks possible to us. It is all about our attitude to life. We have to be clear in our mind. We need to set our goals, work hard and always believe in ourselves and our team. Our family, friends and colleagues will always support us if we believe in them and in ourselves.

We need to make life exciting for us. Imagine taking a train without a destination in mind. While we may travel a distance but may be moving in the wrong direction. So, lets set our vision, work conscientiously towards achieving it by believing in ourselves and all people around us.  Life is colourful (as in the photo above) if we live it that way.

We can make the impossible, possible.

S Ramesh Shankar
November 2016

Knowledge, skill or attitude ?


What is important in life ?  Knowledge, skills or attitude.  This is an ongoing debate for generations.  We assimilate knowledge through our academic system.  We acquire skills by practising what we have learnt.  Our attitude is moulded by our beliefs and values.  What comes first and what is the most important ?  It is almost like the chicken and egg story in life. Did the chicken come first or the egg ?  

Knowledge is an assimilation over centuries.  It is gathered through experiences of people and experiments in life.  This knowledge then is passed on to generations through academic pursuits or through exchange between members in the family and society.  When people apply the knowledge gathered this way, they hone their skills in practise.  However attitude is developed by environment and our own beliefs and values.  What do we believe in and what will we never compromise in life ?

Isn’t it true that if Newton had not sat under the apple tree, the laws of gravity would not have been discovered.  So, it is true that practise leads to theory and theory enables you to practise.  This means there is a good correlation between knowledge and skills like theory and practise.  Attitude is the way we perceive things in life.  this perception is based our own life experiences and what we see in others.  We believe what we see and hence this guides our attitude in life.

Thus, knowledge, skills and attitude are all equally important in life.  It is important to assimilate knowledge, then practise your skills and evolve your attitude.  While knowledge and skills are relatively easy to transfer, it may be difficult to pass on your attitude.  Hence, many organisations assume that one has the knowledge and skills for a job and mostly focus on checking on the attitude of the person.

It is true that our academic systems are more tilted towards knowledge and less towards building skills and moulding attitude.  It is here where we need to look at academic reforms and also appreciate the role of family as an institution in attitude building.  While academic institutions may spread knowledge and organisations may succeed in building skills, it is the family and society, which has to contribute effectively in shaping attitudes in the the future generations.

Knowledge, skills and attitude are like three pillars of a tripod.  While the tripod is considered the most stable of all geometric designs and hence used with cameras, it is also true that if one leg is shaky, the tripod is unstable. Hence, it is critical to give due weightage to knowledge, skills and attitude in life.  A good balance of all the three may help us lead life successfully.

The monastery in the photo above can be a fountain of knowledge but we need to hone our skills and mould our attitude.

What is your take ? 

S Ramesh Shankar
Oct 2016

“Never say die…. Attitude”


I am a born optimist in life. I generally do not give up on anything – in personal or work life. I believe there is always a way forward if we try. I admire people who have a “Never say die.. Attitude “. Their attitude is infectious and efforts admirable.  

Life is full of choices. We can choose to be happy or sad. We can choose to try or to give up. We can choose to live healthy or otherwise. It’s all in our hands. I have met people, who will never give up on anything in life. There are such people in all walks of life.  

The first example comes from the field of sports. We do not see a great sportsperson give up till the last moment of the match. It’s their belief in themselves. Winning is journey for them and not a destination. They never rest after winning a match. They rather start practising for the next. Not to give up ever is infused in their blood and this is what makes them great.

Let me share some examples of people I have met in my life and how they have inspired me to never give up. The first person I met was a batch mate of mine who started his career with me in a public sector undertaking. He had an ambition of joining the civil services and tried three times and could not make it. But never gave up. However, what inspired me was his efforts to go to the USA to work and settle. He applied for a visa at least ten times and was rejected each time for some reason or the other. But he never gave up. He kept on trying and finally has gone and settled down there. Even in the USA, he lost his job after some years due to a recession but did not give up. He studied further by taking a break and again bounced back into a better job.  

Another inspiring story is that of a colleague at work. She worked with me and was posted in a remote location. Her husband had a congenital disease and works in a public sector organisation. She has one child who is studying well. This lady is an epitome of this attitude of “Never say die..”. She has been trying all types of treatment for her hubby and is confident that he will fully recover. She takes care of her daughter like mom and dad together. At work, I am yet to meet anyone in the organisation, who does not praise her for her attitude. Thus both at work and in her personal life, she never gives up.

I salute such people. Their self belief and their tenacity are admirable. All of us can be that way but we tend to give up when things do not go our way. It is at such times, we need to look around and get inspiration of people like these, who are like super humans, who we can be inspired from. It is like in the photo above, these people never give up and even try to keep the sun between their fingers.

Let us never give up. We need to learn from them.

S Ramesh Shankar