Life is an unpredictable journey. While most people give up in the face of struggles and trials, a few defy all odds and turn their life’s challenges into opportunities. The life of Manasi Joshi is a heart-warming story worth emulating. She waged an incredible war against her fate to carve out a path that would probably be remembered for generations to come.

Manasi was born on 11 June 1989, in Rajkot, Gujarat, and was raised in Mumbai. Her father, Girishchandra Joshi, was a scientist at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. She was six when she started playing badminton with her father. She was a skilled player and participated in district and inter-school tournaments. After initial schooling, she completed her electronics engineering degree at the K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai. A software engineer by profession, she worked for ATOS India.

In 2011, Manasi’s life changed forever when she met with a road accident on her way home from work. She sustained severe injuries and had six surgeries during the 45 days that she spent in the hospital.

Get the digital edition of the September 2024 issue to read the full article.

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It’s been a hard day of trekking for me in Ephesus, Turkey, but what I’ve learnt I don’t think I could have picked up from any encyclopedia or Google search. Gary Player, for years, was a great competitor in national and international golf tournaments. People constantly said to him, “I’d give anything if I could hit a golf ball like you.”

Upon hearing that comment one day, the player responded impatiently: “No, you wouldn’t. You’d do anything to hit a golf ball like me, if it were easy! Do you know what you have to do to hit a golf ball like me? You’ve got to get up at 5:00 every morning, go out to the golf course, and hit a thousand golf balls! Your hands start bleeding, you walk to the clubhouse, wash the blood off your hands, sign a check to pay off your home loan, slap a bandage on, and go out and hit another thousand golf balls! That is what it takes to hit a golf ball like me!”

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I can understand how overwhelming this feeling must have been. At a given point in life each one of us has at some point felt overwhelmed by the events happening around us, which thus have caused chaos in our life. However, if this continues to persist overtime it is important for us to fix this situation. To be able to fix the situation we first need to accept that there is a situation that needs to be fixed. This can start by you first making a list of all the things that you feel you faulter at. After the list has been made, try and focus on each one of them. For example, if there is a loss of a lot of money as you have mentioned, what do you think is the reason for that. Is it out of being less precautious or overspending? Once you are able to rationalize this it is going to be a lot easier for you to deal with the situation at hand. Not being up to the mark according to your own standards may lead to you having a low self-esteem. Once you are more sorted with your thoughts, I am sure you will feel a lot better and your parents shall see visible results too.

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Ask yourself these four questions and this will tell you how good your circle is.

The gloomy one
Are the people around you talking about miseries or missions?

Leave those who always weep over life situations. Be with the ones who have goals in their life. The ones who always talk about their mission and about how to get there.

The gossip
Are the people around you talking about their ideas or about events and people?

Leave those who always ask you: “Hey, do you know what happened over there? Let me tell you!” Be with the ones who talk about new and inspiring ideas, the ones who talk about opportunities, which will take you towards your goal.

The nostalgic one
Are the people around you talking about the future or the past?

Leave those who always live in nostalgia in their past lives. Be with the ones who enlighten you, who raise your hopes and aspirations, the ones telling you stories about success.

The “excuse me” one
Are the people around you supporting you or making excuses at the time of need?

Leave those who always say “please excuse me, but I can’t help you”. Be with those who support you in any way, be it financially, morally or intellectually, the ones who actually want to see you shine brighter.

The dream in your heart is bigger than the environment in which you find yourself. Sometimes you have to get out of that environment to see that dream fulfilled.

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Nadal’s foot injury caused him chronic pain for years, particularly during those crucial weeks of the tournament. His doctor accompanied him to Paris. Nadal also thought that the Philippe Chartrier Court game might be his last attempt. Yet he took the risk and played. T.S. Eliot wisely said, “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far it is possible to go.” In the world of sports, we encounter people who take extreme risks in life as they attempt feats like downhill skiing, mountaineering, rock climbing, skydiving, etc. It is such risks that take one towards life’s crowning glory.

People often fear risks, but risks are a reality of life from the moment of one’s birth. People are more worried about risks in the future rather than the opportunities in hand. This may be so because, it being difficult for us humans to think in terms of probabilities, we do tend to overestimate the bad things that could happen. However, taking risks can actually be a good thing, provided you do your research diligently and weigh the alternatives carefully.

For many people, taking risks is a rewarding experience. The success story of Jessica Cox, featured in this month’s issue (p 24), stands out as an excellent lesson for all to never say die! Indeed, never seeing herself as a victim of a given condition, she went on to prove all the doubters and naysayers wrong. She bounced back with a renewed burst of energy and enthusiasm every time she failed and encountered difficulties. Today, she exemplifies innumerable reasons why one should never give up in life!

Nikhat Zareen, featured in the cover story of this issue, dared to take up boxing against the popular choices that other girls of her time and age made. The orthodox society around her wasn’t very supportive of her choice, but her father’s unfailing support and encouraging attitude finally saw her achieve final glory. So don’t ever refrain from what your heart is calling you to do, however odd it may appear. Attempt the unknown and reach the moment of your glory!

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“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” — Rumi

We are awash in change — it is everywhere we look. And it is the only constant.

The rate of change we have experienced over the last hundred years is unprecedented. For thousands and thousands of years, humans have moved no faster than a man could walk. Then for thousands more, it was no faster than a horse. Then in a few short decades, we developed trains, cars, planes, and rocket ships. Now, communication occurs at the speed of light.

What is important for us is how fast we adapt to changes. Instead of dreading change, we must try to find comfort in it. This mindset can assuage anguish and help us move forward.

Those who are deeply rooted in traditions are quite likely to be resistant to change. The traditionalists are pessimists about the future and optimists about the past. The temptation to use tradition as a cover for prejudice and conformity, accompanied by a refusal to change or stretch, manifests itself quite stubbornly because it has become our nature.

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We are eagerly waiting for the Covid-19 episode to get over and return to normalcy. Or is this going to be the new normal? Coronavirus, in one way or the other, is entwined with the element of air. Now masked noses are the most common sights covering up some hidden airborne insights.

Be free of prejudices and biases, as the air.

The air does not know what prejudice is. It is least bothered about the size, the shape, the colour of the noses. It respects all varieties of noses. It happily journeys inside every type of nose, male and female alike, belonging to a Hindu, a Muslim, a Sikh, a Tribal or a Christian nose. For the air, a nose is a nose is a nose. And the air it sends to every nose is fresh and pure. It has been like that from the time air was. It behaves like God who too transcends all religions. You shouldn’t be surprised to know that such a freeing and all-embracing attitude will enhance the quality of your immunity to fight viruses.

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It is the same with the people you meet every day, in every phase of life. So what makes one an onion? What makes one an onion is more than the fifty shades of their soul and the layers of masks they wear. You discover a new one every time you try to look into someone a bit more closely.

You find a lot of people having different attitudes towards different people at the same time. A person who you feel is very nice may seem to be a totally different human being after you spend some days with him/her. You may discover that people who are very often smiling and cheerful may be the most heartbroken when you draw closer.

To recognize the true human being, you would slowly have to peel off their polished mask. You will have to do it with a patient heart and a tough mind as peeling an onion always makes you cry! As you reach the innermost layers, you will discover the true self of a person, a soul full of different hues of emotions all painted on a single canvas one above the other, trying to hide the others underneath

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Dear Soniya,

Sounds like you are quite discouraged because of your repeated setbacks and think that luck will never smile at you. Perhaps you also feel envious that your friends seem to easily get what they want.

The biggest obstacle to success is one’s attitude! Successful people are very careful about what they say to themselves. They boost themselves with positive self-talk. They are grateful for what goes well and also for the challenges. So when you keep telling yourself that you have “no luck at all,” it becomes an automatic thought, and becomes true for you, and you defeat yourself!

For success, you need to be very clear about what you really want (instead of wanting something because others are doing it) and what steps you will take to achieve it. When you face obstacles, you have to keep trying. If you don’t succeed, you have to find a new way to get what you want without giving up your values. However, if something is truly not meant for you, then you also need to let go with grace and focus on what is meant for you.

Remember: “What we call luck, is simply pluck… and doing things over and over; courage, will, perseverance and skill are the four leaves of luck’s clover.”

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Dear Sheena,

Sounds like you’re feeling very discouraged that you cannot make friends easily because others see you as proud and short-tempered.

If you find yourself being short-tempered, i.e., getting irritated and angry, easily, reflect on what makes you angry. Work through your anger using calming techniques such as mindfulness, breathing and physical exercise. Use creative expression like art and music to help you to be less irritable.
Proud persons are generally pre-occupied with themselves. They want things their way and believe themselves to be right always; they don’t like to ask for help nor do they accept their mistakes, and do not have respect for others.

It is quite possible that more than being proud, others see you as unapproachable. Perhaps you wait for others to make the first move? So, if you want to be more approachable, smile! When you greet others, smile and make eye contact. Keep your body language relaxed and more open, and be less stiff. Also make sure your body is turned towards them. Take interest in others and in what they say by listening, asking questions and acknowledging them. A great way to open a conversation is to pay someone a genuine compliment. Practise getting the focus off yourself and you will automatically appear more approachable to others!

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