OUR HOROSCOPE HOURS
Pic.: Ruma Chatterjee
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and
accomplishment.”
Last evening, I was called by a parent of a young-boy to
their house in order to help him decide what he had to choose now: B.Sc - IT or
B.M.S? The boy had passed his twelfth-standard with 58%!
Two years ago, this boy had scored around 80% in SSC. The
parents and the young-man, both, had decided that he should take Science and
aim for Engineering. But, with 80% in SSC, which college would admit him into the
Science stream? The minority quota did
it!
It did not take long for the boy the grasp the reality:
“Dude, it is tough; you need to be damn focused, disciplined and hard-working.”
Our young-man was not ready for it... His parents enrolled him in one of the
top coaching-classes; but, the money and the expectations, both, went down the
drain. The boy, by now, had decided not to pursue Engineering...
That’s okay... In life, one has the right, and the duty, to
re-think about his goals. But, what the young-man needed was the clarity: If
not Engineering, what then?
Yes, as the huge stone fell off his head, the young-man got
relieved... free... and, got carried away by a goal-less mindset... “If you do
not know where you are going, any road will take you there.”... This is an old statement.
The funny part of this statement is: It leaves you guessing -‘There’ means ‘Where’?
Obviously, ‘Nowhere’!
Boy’s uncle was into computer business. So, somewhere
towards the end of twelfth-standard, the boy thought he should get into B.Sc - IT.
“But, I hate programming,” was what he was telling me last night, “I don’t
think I will do it well.”
“So, what you think you will you will do well, beta?” I asked, last night.
“B.M.S.” the boy replied.
“How did you decide on that?” I asked him.
“Many of my friends are doing it,” I was told.
“So, what stops you from joining it?” I probed.
“My percentage.”
This Post is not about what I advised for the young-man:
B.Sc – IT or B.M.S. It is about what I advised, he should do what ever he would
take up in life, including grass-cutting or dish-washing... Yes, I meant it
when I spent an hour with this young-man, last night...
I told the young-man that God has given only 24 hours in a
day to each and every one of us on this planet... The king and the paupers, the
wisest and the dumbest, the richest and the wretched – yes, all have been
blessed with only 24 hours... and, “not a nano-second more” as I love to say
it, often.
I told the young-man, that, out of these 24 hours, we spend
8 hours working and another 8 hours sleeping. What we do with those 8 hours, which
are still left at our disposal, determines the kind of destiny we would carve
for ourselves... I provoked the young-boy to reflect on how he had been using those
8 hours at his disposal...
Did he spend it hanging around with friends with no goals
in life? He did.
Did he spend a large chunk of it on TV, laptop and cell-phone?
He did.
Did he get dragged here and there, throwing his priorities
into the wind, due to peer pressure? Yes, he did.
At night, did he sleep late spending too much time on TV
and computer and spend his day without any agenda? Yes, he did.
Did he read something inspiring everyday? No
Did he have any role-models in life? No.
Did he learn any new skill like photography, dance,
public-speaking, driving, sports whatever to boost his confidence? No.
Did he find out what are the various options available before
him... What are the requirements to reach there etc? No.
Well, last night, essentially, I tried to sensitized the
young-man on the importance of making the most of those 8 hours – which I,
always, call ‘Our Horoscope Hours’ – and trying to help him see as to what
would happen if he continued to squander them... Whether with B.Sc – IT or with
B.M.S...
Yes, I told him, that he needed to mind his company, set
his priorities, enhance his skills, be clear about his goals, feel inspired to
achieve them... And, I told him, that, all this he could do only if he utilized
those god-given 8-hours wisely...
Else, I cautioned him, that the old story would simply
repeat... For, “Wherever you go, you carry yourself.”
Yes, yes, that, too, is an old statement. Isn’t it?
Hope, the young-man understood what I wanted to convey, and
will re-write his horoscope, now!
GERALD D’CUNHA
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Prakash D'Souza
- Geeta R