Hail to all chivvying optimists!

Very often we ask ourselves whether our presence amongst the seven billion people inhabiting this blue planet makes a difference or not—an intriguing thought that drives us in a dither.

Nothing is easy as we take birth: from this very moment we become the continuous weaver of the fabric that makes up our lives. Whatever our social status may be and no matter how rich, we still have to struggle at every step of life. If we think about it, we will realise that we are not here without any reason.

We have heard that life is a terrible asset to waste. Yet, we choose to fret over petty frivolities whenever life challenges us. Of course, we are neither perfectionists nor robots. We are in fact gifted robots for we all have the treasured thing that we call the heart.

Our heart should be like a flower.

It should always be in efflorescence despite the lashing rain of yesterday, the unpredictable gust of wind or the ignorant trespasser.

Let us put the question: is there a single person who has never been in pain? Is there a particular individual on earth who has never been criticised?

Admittedly, we are aware of only a small percentage of all the apocryphal stories about us. Even so, we feel so down that we prefer not to move out of our self-made dark chrysalis just to shun criticism. In that case, what would happen if we had the power to read others’ minds? We would likely feel worse on coming to know of all the fake criticisms about us.

A person makes progress by neutralising negative perceptions about himself and not by trying to escape them.

Susceptibilities can be thwarted; it all depends on the extent to which we are willing to climb our ladder—on the way we perceive life. In this context, the great leadership guru, Robin Sharma, shares a bright insight, “You can curse the darkness or you can light a candle and show up as a leader.”

Let us be inspired once and all so that we are able to make the most of our short life. Our world will, as a result, continue to progress with the widespread presence of the imprints left by daring optimists. Our motto should hence be:

“Even if the whole world crumbles down, do not stumble or get jumbled up. Instead be humble and ward off backstabbers while paving the road to success with a broad smile.”

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Apprentice Editor: Dana Gornall/Editor: Rachel Nussbaum

Photo credit: Jon McGovern/Flickr