Life is a suspense. It is like a mystery story that unfolds itself in the least expected way. We may be expecting a bad news and it turns out as the best day in our life. On the other hand, when we have worked very hard and expect good results in our examinations, we are disappointed with a poor result.

There are many ways to deal with this suspense in life. While most of us accept it as destiny or fate, some of us find it difficult to deal with the uncertainties of life. Some of us take it in our stride and move on. While others get bogged down and find it difficult to handle.

It may be useful to view life like we see a suspense movie. We are not sure of the next scene and hence we prepare ourselves for whatever may come in the next few hours we are in a cinema. It may be worthwhile to face life in a similar way. We can be sure of the past but not of the future. It may be useful to put in our best efforts and be ready for whatever comes our way.

Some may say it is easier to write about it than to deal with it in reality. Yes, it is true that writing about life is simpler than facing it in reality. However, there could be a way of preparing for the realities of life. In my view, life is full of choices. When something good happens we are happy and spread joy. When something untoward happens we are sad and share our grief with our near and dear.

It is all about our attitude to life. If we believe that life is a mix of the good and the bad, we may be better prepared to deal with it. If we believe that we are the only one to face all crises in life, we may be mistaken. It may be worthwhile to compare ourselves with people who are less privileged than us. Life is similar to all of us. Some have a longer period of joy as compared to others. However, when grief strikes, it also does not seem to end for some in their lives.

Life is a suspense like the difference between someone who is sad and someone else who is depressed. We can easily recognise someone who is sad because they express their grief on their face. On the other hand, a depressed friend may be laughing at the surface and hiding the sadness within herself. Such is life too.

I am a born optimist and hence would like to look at life only as glass half full. I have gone through the good and bad times in my life. The bad times are difficult to deal with and also seem never ending. It is here self belief and patience plays a role. We need to believe that something good is round the corner and it is only a matter of time before we benefit from it.

We sometimes cannot believe what life has in store for us. It unfolds itself in the least expected way. It is also not predictable for many of us. Even the astrologers and fortune tellers can predict the past but struggle in forecasting the future. Hence, I would say the best way to deal with the suspense of life is to treat it like a mystery. Let us be ready to deal with it as it comes and prepare ourselves for the best and the worst.

As in the photo above, Life is a suspense like walking in a green forest.  You do not know which moment you will see a beautiful waterfall and which moment you may be confronted by a wild animal.

Life is a suspense. Let it unfold its own way.

S Ramesh Shankar

29th July 2018

We live in a world where nature has bestowed us with abundance. Why do we live with an attitude of scarcity ? We tend to live life miserly. We want to conserve everything around us. We tend to have a hoarding mentality and never want to let go on anything in life.

I am not sure if this is evolved in the family environment or influenced by the society around us. I am not professing lavishness or waste of anything in life. I do agree that we need to preserve everything in life for our future generations. However, an attitude of miserliness in our thinking could lead to actions which reflect that behaviour in our everyday life.

As parents, we may not allow our children to enjoy some privileges in life because we did not have them when we were kids. Is this fair ? I am not sure. As teachers, we may be reluctant to share all our knowledge with the students because we may believe that they may outsmart us. As managers, we may not be willing to let go of our skills or knowledge because we believe that may degrade our corporate value.

This attitude percolates to every aspect in society as well. Everyone wants to guard their key skills or knowledge with the worry that it will get replicated. Imagine a world of open sharing. Imagine a world of sharing and caring. Imagine a world of spreading knowledge skills and attitude. We need to believe that the more we give to others, the more we learn.

I was lucky to grow up in an open environment. My family members shared everything they could and enabled me to pursue my passion in life. We ( my spouse and me) have also tried our best to create the same environment in our family. Our children ( daughter and son) have pursued their passions in life . We have not imposed our interests on them in any way ( at least consciously).

Similarly, I have been privileged to work with managers and leaders, who have shared everything they could. They have enabled me to succeed and learn from failures in all that I wanted to do. There has never been a deliberate attempt to hoard knowledge or skills. I have been coached to give more than what I have got in my career. I have tried my best to share whatever I can with everyone I can in my life.

I firmly believe that the more you share, the more you learn. I have never declined an invitation to interact with students unless my work prevented me to do so. I have been willing to share my knowledge and skills with everyone in my team and with colleagues in other organisations, whenever I could. I have benefited from cross industry forums, which has given me great opportunities to share and learn.

Nature gives us everything in abundance. It is we, as selfish humans, are not willing to conserve it for our future generations (as in the photo above).

Let us learn to give more than we get. I have realised that the more I am able to give back to society, the more I feel blessed. I am grateful to my family, friends, colleagues and the Almighty to inculcate the mentality of abundance in me.

Let us give back more than we get always.

S Ramesh Shankar

5th August 2018

Everyone has a place in life. Life is a series of possibilities if we are willing to look at it that way. I was in a business school today. There are were almost 500 brilliant young students in the auditorium during a conference. The sparkling eyes of everyone confirmed to me that everyone has a place and there is a place for everything in life.

Let us examine this from a student’s perspective. We may have brilliant students who top the class in academics. We may have scientists whose quest for inquiry is par excellence. We may have sports enthusiasts and we may have debaters, singers and artists in the class. We may have creative and innovative wizards. If we think that all students have to end up in a corporate world, we may be mistaken.

Today I met a young student in the business school I visited. He is working on development of an engine which can work on gas and is 75% more efficient than conventional engines used in automobiles. This student wants to invent this engine and change the world of engines. He does need funding and support but he does not need a job in a corporate.

There are similarly many people I have met in my life who have excelled in various fields. Some have come together and worked on a start up idea. If you are willing to live your passion in real life, then sky is the limit. You can set up your own business. You can join a corporate. You can excel in sports and become a professional. You can excel in culture and arts and make a living out of that.

In the past, many of us believed that getting a job in a corporate was the ultimate measure of success in life. Today it may not be true. Rather I would emphasise that it is not true. Success lies in living your passion in life. We may not have had the guts or the opportunity to live our passion. But today, we have the opportunities to realise our passion in life. Hence, I believe everyone has a place in society.

Another important positive change from the past is that every profession or vocation is viewed with equal respect and that is how it should be. In the past, if you became a professional artist, it may be thought that you took it up because you did not get a job of your choice. Today that’s not true. Everyone is at liberty to choose what she or he wants to pursue. Fortunately parents, teachers and society at large are open to all ideas and are willing to support the youngsters to pursue their dreams.

It is also true that one can live a dream if we are not willing to give up. Some could succeed in their first attempt while others may not. The most successful entrepreneurs in the world will tell us that there is no guaranteed road to success. One has to pursue one’s dreams and work hard to make it a reality. It may be easy for some but difficult for others. One has to learn from the sportspersons the art of never giving up on anything in life.

Just as in the photo above, every doll has a place, so in life each one of us has a place for ourselves.

Let us learn to live our passion.

S Ramesh Shankar

5th August 2018