Infusing interest in something important on time
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We are very selective in all our actions. There was no interest in learning more languages; I remain confined to three languages by now, although five were easy to learn. I recall that many things that are still recessive in my personality are simply the consequences of my not paying attention to those specific things when I got the opportunity to do them. No interest in outdoor games placed me behind, despite the fact that many of my classmates in school were very inclined toward outdoor games.
Lack of interest is a common symptom in the majority of us for our lagging behind in even highly significant areas, though time, energy, motivation, and resources are available in abundance.
It is true that anyone can master only two or three actions, and it seems difficult to be a musician, composer, singer, speaker, or leader at the same time for a single person.
Then where to strike? Whatever our engagements are, we have to distinguish between what is essential for a reasonable living (what we must acquire) and what can be set aside for the future or the dustbin.
I have enlisted many persisting deficiencies that were definitely possible to transform into strengths, provided I had identified them as "important" in my life at the right time.
Adolescence and youth can take note of the above points.
When I noticed how feeding habits are created in six-month-olds and toddlers, I inferred that the formula may be applied to acquiring what is important in all phases of our lives.
Let us discuss what can be done to inculcate important things like a balanced diet, reading habits, using time effectively, keeping things in order, avoiding bad company, home-work balance, an open-minded approach, living with responsibility, growth orientation, ascending awareness, tolerance, perseverance, forgiveness, hygiene, and many other virtues.
1. Read and listen to good stories. To listen, we have to go and sit there, keeping our minds ready to absorb. To read, we have to take a book from the book cabinets. We have to be free for these essential parts of our lives consistently, without a bunch of excuses.
2. Never think of having sufficient knowledge. Realize that we are lacking in many essential skills, virtues, upgrades, and assertiveness.
3. Notice things coming to all of us in our daily affairs. I have traveled 500 km of expressway five times, but I came to know quite different features of that road this week through literature.
4. Opportunities are knocking right now. It is great art to catch them.
5. Take trouble today for smooth sailing in the days to come. Going to the gym may not be a choice, but to be in shape, we cannot deny it altogether.
6. Spare half an hour or more every day to look inward, both for what I did and did not do.
7. Bitter pills are for speedy recovery from sickness. Likewise, some things harsh today are meant to make us strong henceforth.
8. Start small and expand any activity slowly to make it part of our routine. Start reading a page daily, which may lead anyone to read regularly, with more pages per day in a month or quarter.
9. Embrace inconveniences. When we have to catch a train, we move outside, even during heavy rains. Forget that it is too hot or too cold. Focus on the assignments at hand and do not make a list of inconveniences.
10. Resisting change is in human nature. But denying change is sure to dim the chances of prosperity and riding on the vehicle of possibilities.
11. When suffering humiliation, we feel the need to improve ourselves in that area. When somebody questions our pronunciation, we start to learn it. It is welcome because humiliation has worked in our favor.
12. Examine how someone is at the top and the majority of us are in the middle and bottom of the pyramid of human performance, though all are getting equal hours in a day.
13. We must act urgently where fears are pressing us hard. We go to a consultant immediately when something appears to be wrong on the health front. Likewise, we must address the fears that are challenging our balanced lives, month after month.
Recap
Let us vow to lead an examined life in all spheres of our concern at all times. Let us go beyond playing games of likes and dislikes. Face absurdity and find solutions. Continuity in learning is the foundation of all our rising. Mental fitness is not less important than physical fitness; rather, a tilt towards the mental frame pays more.
