“A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." – Herm Albright. I believe that something good can come from anything. I just have to know where to look. It’s the idea of the”silver lining” or the virtue of perseverance. This philosophy I carry throughout my life. It is not to be said that things will fall into place. Work will need to be done to make things happen the way I want but they will happen as long as I do not give up. Whether I can achieve my goal or not is irrelevant to my attitude towards it as long as I believe it was “worth the effort”. I will accept the consequences of what I have done or failed to do and find the opportunities in those consequences. Ups and Downs are part and parcel of life. In fact, if these did not exist, life would have been boring and meaningless. All these experiences enrich us in some way or the other and help us to become determined individuals. In fact, all the hardships and difficulties we face in life have the effect of making us richer in experience and enlighten us about tackling adverse situations. Therefore, it can be aptly said that 'Every Cloud has a Silver Lining'.
To explain the above, let us examine the difficulties of my
friend Rajiv. He was an average person, coming from a middle-class family. His
parents, who were well educated themselves, wanted him to have the best
education and so he was admitted to the best school in the city. As a student,
he excelled neither in academics nor in sports and was always placed in the
middle of his class in both. Even in extra co-curricular activities Rajiv did
not leave behind any distinctive mark. Being an obedient child, he was always
guided by parental advice, which prevented the development of his personality
and as a result, he lacked self-confidence.
However, Rajiv's life went topsy-turvy with the sudden demise
of his father in an accident. The family was staring at imminent poverty
because his father was the sole bread-winner and the pension that they were to
get was not enough to fund the education of both Rajiv and his younger sister.
All of a sudden the entire burden of the family descended on Rajiv's young
shoulders, but that was a blessing in disguise because the misfortune made him
resolute. He developed into a very strong-willed individual who was ready to
take on the world legitimately. Rajiv took stock of the situation and started
providing private tuitions to supplement the family income. In doing so, he
realised that his actual calling in life was to be an academician. Gradually,
he cleared all the examinations with flying colors and at a very young age
joined an elite institution as a teacher. There has been no looking back since
then. Had the mishap never occurred, then Rajiv might have followed and done
what his parents deemed fit for him instead of realising his own potential and
calling in life and society would have been deprived of a very good teacher.
Like Rajiv, there are millions
of such individuals who suffer major setbacks in their lives but still manage
to bounce back. So, one should never feel despondent because of problems, as no
individual in this world leads a trouble-free existence. Whenever clouds of
difficulties appear, they always carry an indication of something better that
might happen.