“This
is such an insightful statement,” I told Lulu, my parrot. Lulu was already
sitting on my shoulder when I was reading a book.
“What’s
it, man?” Lulu asked. “So much excitement in your voice” he said.
“Yes,
it kind of hit the bull’s eye. I was reflecting on my last sixty-four years of
life when I read it.”
“Oh,
you are reminding me of cricket fans” Lulu said with amused tone, “who show such
extreme excitement when Dhoni scores last ball six.” Analogies are the forte of
parrots; just in case you are unaware. But this one I did not like, wasn’t it
in bad taste? I mean, what does he mean by ‘last-ball’ – what is he alluding
to?
“Are
you referring to my old age when you say ‘last ball six?’ I don’t like that,
but otherwise it is a good analogy. Let me tell you what I read.” In this
country of ‘demographic dividend’ old people are targets of fun; but one must
learn to adapt. It is so difficult to change them.
“Shoot!
I am all ears.”
“Here
it is: ‘A great man is one sentence!’ That’s what Clare Boothe Luce said to President
Kennedy. She added ‘Abraham Lincoln preserved the union and freed the slaves.’
Simple. Entire life is described in one crisp sentence.”
“Wow!
A great man is one sentence. What can be said about you, in one sentence, my
dear friend?”
“Ha
ha! She talked about great men, not ordinary mortals like me.”
“So
you do not wish to be remembered? That’s very easy way out. You are running
away from reflecting on your life.”
“Hmmm…”
“Did
you have purposeful goal? All have goals led by 'money motive', but did you have a goal led by ‘purpose
motive?’”
“Well….
Yes and No! I often set short term goals for myself."
“Did
that qualify as ‘goal led by Purpose motive?’”
“Now,
now…. How do I know that?”
“Did
that create excitement over a long period? Was it something that
touched your heart and soul? Was it something that you always wanted to do but
could not do?”
“Hmmm… It would take a long day to think about it.”
“You
had short goals which are like scooters – good enough for a ride in the
vicinity. Purpose motives lead to long term goals, they are like Jets – they take
you to a longer distance with clear direction.”
“Got
it.”
“So
what is your sentence?”
“Oh…. “
“Think
about it. Time is still not lost, although it is always good to think of your
stage of life as the ‘slog overs’ of the one day cricket game.”
“Ok,
ok. I am putting on my helmet, I mean thinking cap.”
“And
there is another problem.”
“Oh
no! Wasn’t that enough food for thought?”
“Take
this. You must always reflect at the end of the day ‘Was I better today than
yesterday?’”
“That
brings clear focus to the activities.”
“Right,
you got it.”
“And
clear goals.”
“You
must have…”
“…
reflection every day?” I completed the sentence.
“You
are intelligent, man! Reflection provides feedback to us. So it must be daily.”
“Daily reflecting on our actions?
Are you serious?”
“Do
you think Sachin Tendulkar reflected on his play once in six months or at the
end of the IPL season?”
“Never
really thought that way earlier. But that’s tough.”
“When
was life easy my friend?” Lulu hopped and stepped in front of me. He looked in
to my eyes. A sure stance for delivering the deadly ‘left jab’, more
destructive than Muhammad Ali’s. “Look, there are always two choices, two paths
to take. One is easy. Its only reward is
that it is easy!”
Vivek S Patwardhan
"What
you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven
into the lives of others."
[Based
on some messages in 'Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us' by Daniel Pink. The last
sentence is a quote found on Internet]