Monday, October 26, 2009

WORDS OF INSPIRATION

It is said that success is ninety nine percent perspiration and one percent inspiration. Even that one percent is very important if you wish to touch the heights of perfection, if you want to be a complete man. Inspiration not only helps you to achieve success but also motivates you to put in more efforts in your perspiration or hard work.

In this world of a hectic lifestyles and cut throat competition it is difficult to find a motivator and even if do many a times we fail to recognize their words of encouragement and motivation. But I can never forget a teacher who helped me realize myself and helped me carve a new life for myself.

Till my primary classes I was just an average student, managing a couple of A’s, many B’s and sometimes a C or two in my grade sheets. Mathematics was my weak subject while social studies and English were my favourite ones, where I scored well. Because of the same reason, I felt more inclined to study these subjects and never bothered to work upon my weaknesses so that I could convert them also to strong ones.

It was when I was in Class six that this new teacher came to teach us. He was known for his strictness and in setting really tough papers. He was also good at poking fun at students who couldn’t do well. In the first test paper of that year, I like all other students (except a very few), did despondently. But I was surprised when the teacher picked me up as one of those students who could do better, maybe very well. I was really astounded at these comments but felt good because I felt that if this teacher, who was known for his sadistic remarks, could say that I have some potential in me, he must have seen something in me that I haven’t spotted till now.

I worked a bit harder and in the next test my marks improved. But in my next test, my marks dipped once again and I was once again on square one. This time my teacher’s remark was something like this, ‘I expected more from some students, but if even they perform dismally like this, I don’t know what I’ll do’. I felt that this remark was aimed at me and promised myself that I’ll work hard, try harder till I do well, up to my teacher’s expectations, so that I could see the happiness in his face. I tried but didn’t succeed that year.

It was only in the next year that I could manage an ‘A’ grade in mathematics. I felt really good. The fear that I had of numbers left me completely and I was thankful to my teacher. His remarks may not have made drastic impact on any other student, it may not have been taken as a challenge to do better, it may not have been seen as a teacher’s expectations from a student, it may even have had a discouraging influence on some; but I took it as a source of inspiration, a chance to do better and make his words come true. I took it as teacher’s inner eye seeing the potential in me and asking me to improve on it.

In many cases it is how you see things that matter – The glass may be half full or half empty. If you can spot the silver lining in the dark cloud, then it will help you grow and be a self-made man. But in the end, it is you who will have to spot the rainbow among the clouds and aspire to get to the moon.

1 comment:

  1. It's wasn't the teacher but your conscience (which is not yet ready to take the credit)of the status that now MARIA holds.
    Hope you don't wander searching for an motivator.... rather look into YOURself...

    ReplyDelete