A discussion revolving not restricted to women’s empowerment if you look closely at it – more of breaking biases, finding a path of your possible struggles, and finding a way in so ordinary lives of individuals.
Both of these powerful women; are powerful by all means but powerful with their mindsets – from their vision, to hard work, to determination to breaking biases: paving their paths.
If you look at the observation angle, you’ll see – they never knew how their present life would turn out 20/25 years back from now or the time when they were beginning their journey: life/careers/choices to live. It was one step at a time, moving towards their career and a life they wanted to live and build for themselves. Being a woman had its challenges which are quite evident even today let alone back to those years but if I put those specific challenges aside for a minute (not to mention how excellently they have become who they are amidst those challenges, which we all know isn’t easy) but if I put it aside for a minute – we’ll be able to see their choices, their determination, their beliefs on their life choices. From the moment you’ll see one of them mentioning her experience of getting into Yale and eventually landing it and the other set of challenges when she reached there & had to live a life that was absolutely different to what she had lived before and then to becoming to where she is today – speaks a lot of her mindset as an individual and not only from a women perspective. From the references of what the other mentioned about being not entitled to her Indian Bollywood success towards her international journey and being okay to start afresh and being comfortable to introduce herself whenever needed.
We can take back a lot from it where it talks about their perceptions, beliefs, how strong they believed in themselves and even with everything not being easy, making and creating a space for themselves in their way, where they are at peace.
It definitely works as an inspiration and learning for our respective lives and our respective challenges which we endure in our own space that aren’t evident to anyone & where we don’t want to see ourselves.
So in a world like the one we live in today; conversations like these help us determine our course of life and the choices we make today and sometimes the motivation/push we need to keep going on our path while facing those challenges and looking at the bigger picture of the future that could lie ahead.
Writing this article came as an instinct to me while watching this amazing conversation. Irrespective of how much I try, cannot put it in a box!
Grateful to this beautiful panel orchestrated by the Forbes Women’s Summit and huge thanks to Indra Nooyi & Priyanka Chopra for bringing their truest versions with the right things & sharing their personal experiences.
Hope it benefits each who reads in any manner possible. All thoughts shared are personal opinions & takebacks and nothing personal to any reference mentioned. Have utmost respect for each one of them and the learnings we take away from it. An astounding informative conversation where have always admired one of the women on the panel and am now influenced by the other too.
People have a tendency, a tendency of being great. Being great, right, intelligent, smart, perfect which is fine, which is actually great.
What they also feel is entitlement – the entitlement of having something to them, for them, absolutely for them. That too is fine.
But what’s not fine is them faking being grounded.
What is being Grounded? It’s the art of being oneself, attached to the roots, where your successes, and achievements don’t blind you and are in a position to welcome, live, and enjoy life with others with their beliefs, and choices, respect & welcome them.
One aspect of groundedness is that a person is really genuinely helpful and grateful without thinking of return / not being shallow or what the universe will pay them in return for being kind, grounded or good towards people. They don’t care about “what should be the ideal way of being someone!” or in simpler language – an ideal way of following how “should” be kind towards people for how it “should” be!
These people are the most hypocritical people of all – they try being supportive/kind/helpful / listening to others but unintentionally that becomes subject to their convenience. They live under the superficial idea of being grounded.
As long as you are being whoever you are under their era of limelight – they’ll be fine – they’ll be there for you – they’ll try to push sky to earth to help you out. But – not because of what their personality is – but because – this gives them a sense of entitlement & power. Entitlement and power to have someone under them, under the need of being helpful! They get to be the person of being the bigger person in the picture.
Of course, being such a person is not wrong – absolutely it’s better than being too mean and insensitive towards others in all situations. But what’s wrong here is the idea of them thinking that their personality is kind, calm, and helpful. No dear person, it’s not! Your personality isn’t at all kind, helpful, or poised – you are a delusional person living under your bubble of being kind but in fact, you are a person you act to be kind/helpful/poised for your own convenience and success! Because for a fact you know that being such a person – life gives you back, life respects you. But darling, life does become kind to you, life does give you benefits & opportunities for being one but not to those who are living under the idea of “being kind” but it gives to those who are kind, genuine, helpful by their personality, their charm, their aura – who doesn’t have any benefit of interest out of anyone or think to get one. Life becomes kind to them.
The fake groundedness only will limit you from looking at the world with your limited experience to what you have gone through – your experience could be vast in your eyes but eventually, it’s not even a % as compared to the universe and the kind of experiences each individual could have because of their multiple reasons; life, growth, aspirations, opportunities, decisions, exposure, mindset, etc. It can’t be similar for all – No one size fits all. And comparing with your own set beliefs & limits is just being unfair towards others not you being right.
Looking / Weighing people from their own perspectives and being open to hearing them out, seeing their choices and being open to listening to them without having a set belief/expectation is a sense of groundedness I believe. The outcome could be anything but analysing and judging a person from your eyes / based on your set beliefs is a classic sign of “Fake Groundedness.”
Hope you’ve faced this already to learn and realise.
Ps. Everything written or expressed isn’t directed to anyone or targeted and is just a thought of expressions – subject to each & everyone’s understanding of the context and content.
This is a pandemic, a catastrophe killing mass around the sphere. The so called dominant countries forsaking the environment in the name of progress and security are now stranded! Not criticizing their endeavors or mocking the state of affairs rather an effort to usher the attention apropos the emergency.
All these years procrastinating the environment protection with an excuse of development came to no use. Yes, you were equipped for the possible strikes of the neighboring countries, yes, you were prepared for the terrorist, yes, you had nuclear power! All these are the causes of humans to humans. What about the natural attacks like these?
“Unity” has an infinite meaning, an essential ingredient to decipher all the viable challenges. But it has lost all its meaning and has vanished, resulting in such atrocious, nobble and business mindsets. It cannot be demanded, doesn’t matter how many provisions you make as the “control” is poor. Even amid such instances happening around the globe, if you can’t shift your focus towards the Sustainable Growth, then lord knows may be one day the nature itself has to come at your door and quiver you.
We cannot contradict the certainty that growth isn’t indispensable or development, but we can surely deny the current process of doing so.
“Sustainable development is the pathway to the future we want for all. It offers a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship and strengthen governance.”
In comprehensive words, “Sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Hence, an immortal solution for all.
Then the question arises- “Yes, we know this! But then how will we be a thriving economy leading the world?” This pandemic gave the answer to the entire world at once. Looking at the present crises, it clearly states that your so called “best minded plans” are a failure and hence have to come up with a cumulative divergent approach! Which a matter of fact, many social activists and individuals are alarming persistently.
Even the dominant countries exclaiming in their speeches “undefeated” are the ones defeated the most. At the times of these crises of course we have to be united irrespective of our boundaries, but we yearn this pandemic becomes a lesson to be learnt to replace their “business mindsets with the sustainability” and not just a page in the history.
“At least now shift your focus towards the Sustainable Growth.”
Is Education a checklist? A mere piece of paper you receive as a degree? A degree to dangle on the wall? To receive validation? To fulfil your “wedding proposal requirement?” Or become a millionaire and yet perplexed to your responsibilities as a citizen!
Perceive the stated quote steadily once again. India’s literacy rate is 74.04% which seems superior but actually is poor and let’s reconcile oneself, among them how many are “literally” educated? (which I suppose doesn’t need an instance of) In many families education hardly is a matter to attain a degree, so that their children are vindicated qualified. Motive: clear out your college, get a job and start bringing in the money! Sounds good? After all, what the other motive of education is! And for girls, it’s more horrifying! For them education has a discrete meaning: get a degree to be eligible for the “highest bid” translated: so “in-laws can buy you.” Many have claimed to be well – educated and are thrilled to present the degree as evidence. But can they be called literate? Watching their beliefs, living pattern, I’ll tag them “degree educated.”
Education isn’t limited to writing big captions or witness an argument with the family over privacy or to act decently over dinner or mock waiter/someone for not knowing English.
I have seen people claiming themselves educated on one hand and being completely self-seeking on the other. By said self-seeking I am not agitated to looking out for ourselves. Do that, that’s your choice to live your life. Here, I refer to a person who does not avow his responsibility towards the society, towards the environment as a citizen. Let me put under few instances of people bragging about their education and how their lifestyle contradicts that: often I ask them why aren’t you turning off the Air Conditioner while you’re leaving, there reply I get: C’mon! “It’s a 30 minutes bath and I am coming back, hardly matters.” The next one is more fun. While we’re in a cafe I say: Let’s take the leftovers along, we’ll drop it outside to the needy. They’re are like: “what? Samyak speak low! What would the waiter think!” Sharing the left overs with someone (which we’ll eventually dump) who sits hours on pedestrians in a hope “someone might drop a bread” is not vital but what would the waiter think is! With this, a quote by Malcolm Forbes popped in my mind:
“EDUCATION’S PURPOSE IS TO REPLACE AN EMPTY MIND WITH AN OPEN ONE.”
– MALCOLM FORBES
Hypothetically, (though it’s a daily habit) you began earning and are in a pace of settling, got financially stabled but are impudent to others, avoids how your bathroom tap is leaking since months or the lights/Air Conditioners/fans are never turned off even when you’re out. “Why? the bill is cheap” and can be easily afforded! Doesn’t respect your parents, doesn’t give a shit to trees (which no technology can replace F.Y.I) or your vehicle emitting black smoke since months but too bothered to get it to check. And, you’re cool that it won’t matter how continuously you waste your food or decided a business though hundreds of trees need to chop down and you won’t plant them, again why to take the trouble? You’re cool, its the government who’s responsible for the social work which by the way only works to solve their own “party” issues. And then, you’ll call yourself educated and “haha” about it among your friends. Well, this ain’t being educated! And you shouldn’t be calling yourself one.
That’s what “we the youth” call education. One thing which forces me to ramble is how fast we are advancing monetary & technologically but ranks 177th out of 180 nations globally in EPI (Environmental Performance Index) & ranks 116th out of 157 in SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)! I am not suggesting you become an activist or tag yourself a social worker, I am aware how complex we have made our lives, it’s hardly possible for many of us to even spend an entire day stress-free. But if you call yourself educated then act one! While looking out for yourself look a bit for the environment, for the society. We have the ability to do that, we are just so self-indulged that we don’t realize it. Broaden your horizons! With this, another thought came by Robin Cook:
Education is more than a luxury; it is a responsibility that society owes to itself. ~ Robin Cook
What a real education is?
Let me give you a glimpse: Education doesn’t only help us to stand financially. We invest our energy to settle and in the aim to reach high we start compromising with the society & environment. This is the selfishness I am referring to: being too self-involved that you forget your basic responsibilities as an educated individual/citizen.
Education is a privilege, it’s the right of an individual where you get yourself separated from the crowd who couldn’t afford or because of any reason couldn’t have one. The objective of the education shouldn’t be just a degree which you can flaunt & get respect through. This peculiarly applies to those who cram to get passed. Education teaches you numerous things: your rights, values, to create your own view! It helps you to differentiate how things use to work and how to bring a change needed, how to be adaptive. Realize the power of education! You become a whole person. Without it, your existence doesn’t matter. You should be able to step up, speak for wrong, raise your voice, don’t walk in the same crowd, don’t hide behind thinking how would “they” react! Minding your own business is correct and many citizens in our country especially (I should say is a must), are in a much need of it but it won’t take much of you to speak up when needed let it be for a human, an animal, a tree, water, air, etc. We have laws supporting us, be aware of them. “Jago Grahak Jago.” Your parents have fulfilled their duty by providing you with the education, now it’s your turn and way to utilize it. Don’t necessarily follow the same path as your parents have, they might not have that extent of awareness as we have now. Be capable to bring a necessary change by doing your bit, a positive influence. And again, with this a thought came:
When should you call yourself educated?
When you have control over yourself, have patience. Having certain principles is a must so that while you settle for yourself, you surely keep a perspective of how immensely significant your actions are for society. The whole concept of education is to separate you from the others, make you better, competitive, build you to bring a positive impact over the society. You don’t have to follow the lead, if someone is a millionaire and doesn’t has his eye over the environment or the society than he is doing no good, if he ain’t working under the parameters of a better tomorrow, then he is not worth to follow. “Earning money is no hard, earning with leaving a positive impact over the society, is a real game.” We need who can contribute to the GDP and to the better future simultaneously.
Do your business, do your job but as said while looking out for yourself realize your responsibilities toward the society too because you are lucky enough to get the power of education! Help others, give respect, step up!
If our freedom fighters wouldn’t have fought together, then we might still be slaves. Hence, one can’t bring a positive impact, but together we can achieve high. We know that the above paragraphs are true and real but hard to accept, so why shouldn’t we start by letting more audience to know. Share it, like it so that I too can be more confident to write more.
“Books have brought the revolution, books have brought the change. Books have changed the perspective, books have changed the thought process.” In all the above sentences, there is one common thing: “change” and that’s through “writings.”
I am nothing but a body having thoughts on various aspects and have a mouth to present them. But that ain’t enough, if I can and want to present what I believe in, then it shouldn’t be confined to a limit. That’s what made me write.
I believe in identity, a personality of our own as an individual but I am nobody yet. The word “Samyak” is just a name I feel, that people address me with to recognise, to call, to remember.
Why have I decided to start blogs?
Well, I find blogging is limitless. It has no end. To a person who not only reads your blog but to a person who writes it, both the individuals get the benefit out of it. To the person who writes, blogging helps him to create value, create a separate existence of his own which gives great confidence within. While for readers it helps to grab more of a specific field, know more about a single topic as knowledge is infinite and has no end, doesn’t matter how deep your personal knowledge is. A wise person will always have his arms open to know more. To both the ends, blogging helps to create a perspective, helps in bringing a change, helps in so many levels.
I personally have decided to start blogging is because I feel conveying your thoughts your views through writing delivers more impact over people and as I mentioned above in para. 2 – if I can and want to present what I believe in and feel its right for our society, and could create an aura of being responsible among few then it shouldn’t be confined to a limit. Moreover, blogging enables us to reach the billions of people that use the Internet. Hence, gets more audience to know.
Topics which I’ll cover in my blogs won’t be specific. My preference is on “General Awareness” and would write which feels the need to be addressed.
With this I’d like to conclude, I believe me and the readers will be benefited in numerous ways. I wish you read them with the same excitement I write in (which I know is too much to ask :p)
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जानिए मैं यहां क्यों हूं।
“पुस्तकों ने क्रांति ला दी है, पुस्तकों ने परिवर्तन ला दिया है। पुस्तकों ने दृष्टिकोण बदल दिया है, पुस्तकों ने विचार प्रक्रिया को बदल दिया है।” उपरोक्त सभी वाक्यों में, एक सामान्य बात है: “परिवर्तन” और यह “लेखन” के माध्यम से है।
मैं और कुछ नहीं, एक शरीर है जिसके पास विभिन्न पहलुओं पर विचार हैं और उन्हें प्रस्तुत करने के लिए एक मुंह है। लेकिन यह पर्याप्त नहीं है, अगर मैं जो करना चाहता हूं उसे पेश कर सकता हूं और फिर इसे एक सीमा तक सीमित नहीं किया जाना चाहिए। यही मैंने लिखा है।
मैं पहचान के रूप में मानता हूं, एक व्यक्ति के रूप में हमारा खुद का व्यक्तित्व लेकिन मैं अभी तक कोई नहीं हूं। शब्द “सम्यक” सिर्फ एक नाम है जो मुझे लगता है, कि लोग मुझे पहचानने, बुलाने, याद रखने के लिए संबोधित करते हैं।
मैंने ब्लॉग शुरू करने का फैसला क्यों किया है?
खैर, मुझे लगता है कि ब्लॉगिंग असीम है। इसका कोई अंत नहीं है। एक ऐसे व्यक्ति के लिए जो न केवल आपके ब्लॉग को पढ़ता है, बल्कि इसे लिखने वाले व्यक्ति को, दोनों व्यक्तियों को इसका लाभ मिलता है। जो व्यक्ति लिखता है, ब्लॉगिंग से उसे मूल्य बनाने में मदद मिलती है, वह अपना एक अलग अस्तित्व बनाता है जो भीतर बहुत आत्मविश्वास देता है। पाठकों के लिए यह एक विशिष्ट क्षेत्र को अधिक से अधिक हथियाने में मदद करता है, एक विषय के बारे में अधिक जानें क्योंकि ज्ञान अनंत है और इसका कोई अंत नहीं है, इससे कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता कि आपका व्यक्तिगत ज्ञान कितना गहरा है। एक बुद्धिमान व्यक्ति हमेशा अधिक जानने के लिए अपनी बाहें खुली रखेगा। दोनों सिरों पर, ब्लॉगिंग एक परिप्रेक्ष्य बनाने में मदद करता है, एक बदलाव लाने में मदद करता है, इतने स्तरों में मदद करता है।
मैंने व्यक्तिगत रूप से ब्लॉगिंग शुरू करने का फैसला किया है, क्योंकि मुझे लगता है कि लेखन के माध्यम से आपके विचारों को अपने विचारों को लोगों तक पहुंचाने का काम लोगों पर अधिक प्रभाव डालता है और जैसा कि मैंने ऊपर पैरा में बताया है। 2 – यदि मैं अपने समाज के लिए जो मैं मानता हूं और जो उसका अधिकार है, उसे प्रस्तुत करना चाहता हूं और कुछ के बीच जिम्मेदार होने की एक आभा पैदा कर सकता हूं, तो इसे एक सीमा तक सीमित नहीं होना चाहिए। इसके अलावा, ब्लॉगिंग हमें उन अरबों लोगों तक पहुंचने में सक्षम बनाता है जो इंटरनेट का उपयोग करते हैं। इसलिए, अधिक दर्शकों को पता चलता है।
जिन विषयों को मैं अपने ब्लॉग में शामिल करूँगा, वे विशिष्ट नहीं होंगे। मेरी प्राथमिकता “सामान्य जागरूकता” पर है और वह लिखेगा जिसे संबोधित करने की आवश्यकता महसूस होती है।
इसके साथ मैं निष्कर्ष निकालना चाहूंगा, मेरा मानना है कि मुझे और पाठकों को कई तरीकों से लाभान्वित किया जाएगा। मेरी इच्छा है कि आप उन्हें उसी उत्साह के साथ पढ़ें जो मैं लिखता हूं (जो मुझे पता है कि पूछना बहुत ज्यादा है :p)
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