To read the part 1, please click
here.
1.
Children tend to hold resentment against their parents – for alleged wrongdoing. Indeed they have the right to hold a grudge when the events are viewed from a child’s perspective! But as we grow up and reexamine the source of our resentment from a newfound maturity, then we may realise what we thought were unjust – were actually justifiable! And then bitterness and grudge vaporise leaving everyone feeling lighter and happier; the relationship too, improves dramatically.
Bottom line: Let me paraphrase William James, and sat that the greatest discovery is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude
2.
No one is perfect - neither our parents nor us. Being human we are prone to making an error of judgment. We should be as patient with the fault of our parents as we are with our own fault!
3.
Parents should accept the new ethical and moral standard of living. They should realise that in today’s time it is fine for children to get into relationships even if it does not culminate into marriage.
4.
Parents encourage children to pursue their passion but only as a hobby; but prevail upon them – to opt for safe professions – engineering, medicine, CA that provides a safe career. They do not realise that times have changed and there is money to be made in every profession – even those which parents’ perceive to be unsafe or could be!
5.
Do things in moderation. Let me get Aristotle to convince you. He said that moral behaviour is the mean between two extreme – at one end is excess and at the other end deficiency. Find moderation between the two extremes and you will be acting morally.
6.
Interacting with a psychiatrist is not a sign of madness. The world best athletic – including Roger Federer have a psychologist as an integral part of his entourage to help them become ‘mentally’ stronger.
7.
Only a handful of people will be there when you need them most – and they can be counted on the fingers of one hand – yes the number is unlikely to exceed 5! Remember most of our Facebook friends will restrict their involvement to using their fingers for clicking on the appropriate emoji to express them solidarity towards us!
8.
Yes, it is fine to love others and be compassionate towards them; but it is equally important to love yourself and be compassionate towards yourself. As Dalai Lama said, ‘If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love others. If you have no compassion for yourself then you are not capable of developing compassion for others.’
Bottom-line: If you want others to be happy practice compassion. If you want to be happy practice compassion.
9. To be happy always look at people below you. To be unhappy look at people above you.
10.
Maintain a gratitude journal. Before going to bed write down at least 5 things that happened during the day for which you are grateful! The entries should be brief, preferably not more than a sentence. The entries can range from mundane to sublime! It will help you value the good things that happen everyday and this is likely to put you in a good mood. As a wise man said, ‘Two men looked out through the same bar – one saw the mud the other saw the stars!’. By becoming conscious of the good things happening everyday in your life you will learn to see the stars!
11.
Do not be scared to cry. It will make you feel better. Why? Because tears release endorphins, our body’s natural painkillers thus making us feel better. Guys remember it’s ok to cry; it is not a sign of weakness and neither will it dent your manliness.
Let me know if this instalment resonates with you.
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About the Author:
In this series, Rajesh Srivastava, Business Strategist and Visiting Faculty at IIM Indore gives you a regular dose of strategy case studies to help you think and keep you one step ahead as a professional as compared to your peers. Rajesh is an alumnus of IIM Bangalore and IIT Kanpur and has over 2 decades of experience in the FMCG industry. All previous
Strategy with RS posts can be found here.
