BAD TIMES ARE THE BEST TIMES TO REINVENT OURSELVES




“When things are bad,

it’s the best time to reinvent yourself.”

George Lopez

 

Recently, when Amitabh Bachchan ended his 17th season of KBC, I went into a reflective mode: “What a man! What a man!”... Yes, I kept saying this to myself.

I had first read a small article about this tall, awkward-looking newcomer in the Hindi filmdom in an unknown magazine in our school library. I must’ve been in my 8th  standard, and Amitabh Bachchan must’ve just completed his first film, ‘Saat Hindustani’...

Yes, Amitabh was just one of the ‘seven’ actors in this K. A. Abbas film. But, somehow, I fell in love with this lanky star and kept following his career path – almost every milestone, every crossroad – his ups, his  downs... his rise and fall, and again his phoenixlike rise...

This, once awkward-looking man, when he concluded his latest KBC season, was an incredible magnet -  yes, even at 83!

Now, why do I remember Amitabh Bachchan in my today’s Post?





An old student of mine – now a very dear friend - always says, that I had inspired her to become a teacher. She started teaching college kids from her home in the Western suburbs. Every year, before she would take up a new commitment – HSC, ISC, CBSE, IG and so on – she would call me and express her anxiety and self-doubt. I have been her sounding board... All that I would do, in this situation, was – share the anxieties and self-doubts which I was facing time and time again through my own career path. And, invariably, she would confess to me,  that my sharing would calm her down and help her get clarity, give her courage to navigate through her self-doubts...

Yesterday, my friend was voicing her anxieties, once again... Evidently, uncertainty was staring at her and she was beset with new self-doubts all over again... She is 45...

Years ago, when my friend started off with one student, she had felt on top of the world. Now, after about two decades, and scores of batches later, many things have fallen in place – a beautiful 4-BHK house in a posh locality, a stable business of her hubby (who has been a die-hard supporter for her throughout) and a well-placed engineer son... “Sir, is it normal to feel anxious and doubtful like this?” she asked me, yesterday.

“Absolutely normal,” I said, “It is the best time to reinvent yourself.”

That’s what Great Amitabh Bachchan had done at different crossroads in his life. And, those crossroads have been some of the worst times in his life... Was he free from anxieties, fear and self-doubts?

Amitabh Bachchan knows, more than any of us here, what reinventing means...

“Doubt kills more dreams than fear ever will,” says Suzy Kassem. And, Sylvia Plath adds, “Worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”

No doubt about that...

But, every time you and I get bogged down by self-doubt, fear and anxiety about our future, let’s remember – that’s the best time to find a new way of doing some of our old stuff – that we keep doing because of our deep insecurities...





Take a plunge, my friend, the net will be provided...

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic’s: 1. www.hindustantimes.com  2. Walt Disney

Video: The X Factor UK


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