An engineer's question:"What if I had chosen to do a psychology major?"
He could've been a clinical psychologist.
A DJ's question: "What if I hadn't risked my career and stuck with being a commerce graduate?"
He would've worked in firms for accounting.
A home-maker's question: "What if I had gone ahead with my dream of playing international women's cricket?"
She might have gotten selected in the national squad, who knows, might have won a world cup too.
A convicted criminal's question: "What if I hadn't committed that crime?"
He would have not been facing prison time.
A doctor's question: "What if I hadn't stopped pursuing my research to cure cancer?"
He would have been relentlessly determined in his research and might have found a cure as well.
A politician's question: "What if I hadn't got the votes?"
He might have to wait another term to come in power.
A writer's question: "What if I hadn't got any publisher on board?"
His love to write might have been dead and probably would have become a journalist or a copy editor.
A crying mom's question: "What if I hadn't forced my child to study a lot?"
Her child might not have taken a decision to end its life under such pressure.
A failed investor's question: "What if I had chosed real estate and not stock market?"
Things might have been different, him owning more properties and being filthy rich.
All of us crave for second chances. All of us want to find out *WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF* at crossroads, some other decision was taken.We have that peculiar tendency to imagine the best and the worst parts of other side; compare it to the existing choice made; and finally subsume ourselves into daily routine thinking(either being happy or regretting) about that. During conversations as well, this scenario tops the talk where a friend/colleague/relative advices/suggests/imagines how they did something than otherwise expected.
"If I were in your shoes, I would've done it the better way."
"Why are you ranting about that NOW, you should have thought that before doing xyz"
"Well hello, You ought to make some sense, learn from me."
and stuff.
If the choice was NOT made by you, then probably you feel more addicted to explore that area, trying to solve the jigsaw; how you would have done it differently, how someone better (or you) could have saved the day and so on. The little girls who are kidnapped and later exploited, have a very natural tendency to think in the fashion that what their life would've turned out; if they were not thrown into the flesh trade business; growing up with parents like other lucky girls. They were denied a life they deserved to live, and demand for a justification from the higher power who bestows life and death to all.
People curse decisions that screw up big time. People thank the decisions that are made right. Be it due to circumstances, sheer luck, dedicated efforts, technical brilliance, before-hand analysis, out of the box thinking, or many factors associated to the same.
Sports, one such area where a call made on false understandings or wrong timing can make the whole difference whether the sportsperson ends up on the podium or not.
Stand-up comedy, jokes where no laughs are generated; and the comic has to change the course immediately or feel disheartened at the end on the failure of the act.
We long for happy endings. We aspire to make our decisions right. We are ambitious. We loathe failure or defeat. But one thing we forget amidst the rationalization or replacement of wrongs that happened to us. Unless the scientists make path-breaking discoveries on time-travel, work their brains out on parallel universes and solve the inter-linked bootstrap/predestination paradoxes and stuff; the truth is, there's no second chances. The concept of Second Chances is like The Missing Goat Story.
Here it goes: 2 boys decided to play a prank in their school. They rounded up 3 goats from nearby; labelled them 1, 2 and 4 on sides; and let them loose in the school building. Next morning, authorities smelled goat droppings and realized goats had tresspassed the premises. In the search operation, they found 3 goats labelled 1, 2 and 4. They were now worried. Where was the Goat no. 3? The whole week was spent in finding out the missing goat no. 3 as there was panic and frustration amongst teachers, staff, guards, helpers, etc. The 2 boys watched in joy because the goat no. 3 was never to be found; it never existed.
Similar to the school staff, it is us, who are always trying to find out the unknown problems we might be facing, because we assume that it is bound to happen. We try to find mistakes in our own resolve, look for the elusive goat no. 3 because, sometime or the other, we have been wrong in past; so we assume we will be wrong in the future as well.
Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motors once said, "Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them"
We have got to prove him wrong, if we want to be happy in life.
I am a happy person. I have been happy for quite sometime now and it has nothing to do with my under-flowing bank account or monotonous work schedule. The beautiful atmosphere I breathe these days is the sole reason behind this emotion. No, It’s not the weather – It’s the feeling!
The feeling that even if things go south, there will always be another time. Nope, not a second chance, but a new chance. A renewed energy. And the next time I enter a race, I ought to win it, coz I've learned from my mistakes in the previous ones.
Thomas Alva Edison, the 18th century science genius failed 9,999 times in creating the light bulb. A journalist asked him about this experience and he said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
And that, is the fighting spirit with which I sign off on this topic.
He could've been a clinical psychologist.
A DJ's question: "What if I hadn't risked my career and stuck with being a commerce graduate?"
He would've worked in firms for accounting.
A home-maker's question: "What if I had gone ahead with my dream of playing international women's cricket?"
She might have gotten selected in the national squad, who knows, might have won a world cup too.
A convicted criminal's question: "What if I hadn't committed that crime?"
He would have not been facing prison time.
A doctor's question: "What if I hadn't stopped pursuing my research to cure cancer?"
He would have been relentlessly determined in his research and might have found a cure as well.
A politician's question: "What if I hadn't got the votes?"
He might have to wait another term to come in power.
A writer's question: "What if I hadn't got any publisher on board?"
His love to write might have been dead and probably would have become a journalist or a copy editor.
A crying mom's question: "What if I hadn't forced my child to study a lot?"
Her child might not have taken a decision to end its life under such pressure.
A failed investor's question: "What if I had chosed real estate and not stock market?"
Things might have been different, him owning more properties and being filthy rich.
All of us crave for second chances. All of us want to find out *WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF* at crossroads, some other decision was taken.We have that peculiar tendency to imagine the best and the worst parts of other side; compare it to the existing choice made; and finally subsume ourselves into daily routine thinking(either being happy or regretting) about that. During conversations as well, this scenario tops the talk where a friend/colleague/relative advices/suggests/imagines how they did something than otherwise expected.
"If I were in your shoes, I would've done it the better way."
"Why are you ranting about that NOW, you should have thought that before doing xyz"
"Well hello, You ought to make some sense, learn from me."
and stuff.
If the choice was NOT made by you, then probably you feel more addicted to explore that area, trying to solve the jigsaw; how you would have done it differently, how someone better (or you) could have saved the day and so on. The little girls who are kidnapped and later exploited, have a very natural tendency to think in the fashion that what their life would've turned out; if they were not thrown into the flesh trade business; growing up with parents like other lucky girls. They were denied a life they deserved to live, and demand for a justification from the higher power who bestows life and death to all.
People curse decisions that screw up big time. People thank the decisions that are made right. Be it due to circumstances, sheer luck, dedicated efforts, technical brilliance, before-hand analysis, out of the box thinking, or many factors associated to the same.
Sports, one such area where a call made on false understandings or wrong timing can make the whole difference whether the sportsperson ends up on the podium or not.
Stand-up comedy, jokes where no laughs are generated; and the comic has to change the course immediately or feel disheartened at the end on the failure of the act.
We long for happy endings. We aspire to make our decisions right. We are ambitious. We loathe failure or defeat. But one thing we forget amidst the rationalization or replacement of wrongs that happened to us. Unless the scientists make path-breaking discoveries on time-travel, work their brains out on parallel universes and solve the inter-linked bootstrap/predestination paradoxes and stuff; the truth is, there's no second chances. The concept of Second Chances is like The Missing Goat Story.
Here it goes: 2 boys decided to play a prank in their school. They rounded up 3 goats from nearby; labelled them 1, 2 and 4 on sides; and let them loose in the school building. Next morning, authorities smelled goat droppings and realized goats had tresspassed the premises. In the search operation, they found 3 goats labelled 1, 2 and 4. They were now worried. Where was the Goat no. 3? The whole week was spent in finding out the missing goat no. 3 as there was panic and frustration amongst teachers, staff, guards, helpers, etc. The 2 boys watched in joy because the goat no. 3 was never to be found; it never existed.
Similar to the school staff, it is us, who are always trying to find out the unknown problems we might be facing, because we assume that it is bound to happen. We try to find mistakes in our own resolve, look for the elusive goat no. 3 because, sometime or the other, we have been wrong in past; so we assume we will be wrong in the future as well.
Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motors once said, "Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them"
We have got to prove him wrong, if we want to be happy in life.
I am a happy person. I have been happy for quite sometime now and it has nothing to do with my under-flowing bank account or monotonous work schedule. The beautiful atmosphere I breathe these days is the sole reason behind this emotion. No, It’s not the weather – It’s the feeling!
The feeling that even if things go south, there will always be another time. Nope, not a second chance, but a new chance. A renewed energy. And the next time I enter a race, I ought to win it, coz I've learned from my mistakes in the previous ones.
Thomas Alva Edison, the 18th century science genius failed 9,999 times in creating the light bulb. A journalist asked him about this experience and he said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
And that, is the fighting spirit with which I sign off on this topic.
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