WHEN WE STOP GROWING IN SOMEONE ELSE'S SHADOW











An articulate lady, who I knew for many years, had come to meet me, yesterday. One of her friends wanted to enroll her 16-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son for our P.D. Course. The friend was a shy person and wanted the articulate lady to do the talking for her. I made the shy woman feel comfortable and spoke to her mostly in Hindi…But, it was not helping. The daughter and son were very fluent in English… Their mother seemed a lot apprehensive and diffident.

“Sir, please talk to her in Hindi,” pleaded the articulate lady whenever she heard me using English, “She feels stressed.”

I comforted the anxious woman by telling my own story… My schooling in the local vernacular-medium school in my village… how I dreaded speaking in English as a teenager and how it added to my inferiority complex… and, importantly, how I overcame my problem, eventually…

I looked at the 16-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son of the worried woman and said, “You both should help your mom… Teach her simple words and sentences in English, a little every day. Over a period of time, she will gain confidence in speaking English… Will you help her?”

“Yes sir,” the young ones promised.

“Can you see, that, despite her lack of confidence in English, your mom has helped you become very  fluent in English? I said, “Look, even today, she has brought you both, here, to join this P.D. course… with the sole desire to make you feel more confident and successful in life. So, spend some time, every day, to empower her… make her feel confident and happy.”

I showed them this video…






I did not have to say more after showing this video!


And, today, I was talking to a friend of mine, who is an advocate. He is very proficient in his field. However, he is too gentle and sincere. His family thinks, that his clients exploit him, take undue advantage of his goodness. Today, my friend was telling me as to how his 20-year-old daughter has, recently, been playing a mentor’s role. “My daughter keeps reminding me, that I should stop growing under someone else’s shadow… She helps me learn new skills and guides me in the areas of my weakness.”


It’s a different kind of school, you see… a different kind of confidence!



GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Jatinder Sondhi

Video: YouTube

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