Millions of extraordinary people are doing amazing things, quietly putting in hard work to improve lives and make a real difference in our world. And still more impressive is that these heroes are anonymous and humble grassroots warriors. They are driven solely by passion, not by hope or promises of fame or recognition. Their courage and optimism are an inspiration for their generation.

These are the people making progress possible. Their selfless spirit of social service imparts purity to the mission and helps translate development policies into real ground action. They are using their talents to fight poverty, hunger and disease and create opportunities for future generations. The world is a better place because of what they do. What shines through is their resilience, integrity, and depths of their empathy. These tiny revolutions may not command great attention, but in merit, they may equal or exceed the more significant and conspicuous actions of those with more freedom and power. The test is what people do.

Social change flows from individual efforts. Many revolutionary movements have sprung from smaller beginnings. A lot of progress can come from more minor advances. Thousands of lesser improvements that build upon one another can represent an enormous advance for society.

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It is the smart decisions that you make today that can change your life forever. As you begin your holidays you’ve got to have a firm determination to do something different to make it possible. Is there a way to spend your holidays that will make it truly meaningful and memorable? Can you think of doing something creative, something very different that will help boost your self-confidence, improve productivity, develop talents and chalk out the course your life takes? If you do, then you can anticipate with a smile the great benefit you will enjoy in the future. Attempt to do something you always wanted to do — it may be learning a skill, receiving some guidelines, or visiting a person or a new place.

The story is told of a poor man who once visited his friend who had become ‘king’. The king was happy to meet him and gave him a special pen as a gift. The friend was sad at getting such a small and apparently insignificant gift. Nevertheless, he took the pen and used it to write. Several years later, a wise man happened to see the pen and told him of how special that pen itself was: it had in it a map that would lead him to a very big treasure with which he could live the rest of his life like a king.

Could this holiday be the time when you find the key that can unlock some great treasure in your life which you will always be happy about and grateful for? If your decision and determination is like that of Neel Shekatkar’s, then you could rest assured that your holiday will perhaps determine the destiny of your life.
Let the various articles in this issue of The Teenager Today serve to guide you to make the right decisions in terms of time investment. TTT wishes you a holiday that is enjoyably memorable!

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The difference between a popular and successful individual and an unpopular and unsuccessful person is the quality of empathy. Empathy refers to the ability to put yourself in the shoes of the other person. It is a sincere effort to understand exactly how it feels to be in the position of the other. It involves understanding the background, challenges, thoughts and emotions of the other persons to the maximum possible extent and letting them know that you are aware of their point of view. Putting aside one’s own viewpoints and being respectful and caring about the needs and feelings of others is at the very root of empathy.

Empathy is rated as one of the topmost skills essential for personal and professional success. In the place of study or work, empathy enables us to understand and therefore work better with classmates, colleagues or team members, leading to overall satisfaction and progress. It also enables us to become better leaders who can improve the functioning of organisations.

Developing empathy skills

Empathy may be classified into three categories: cognitive (logically comprehending the other’s situations and thoughts), emotional (accurately experiencing the other’s feelings and emotions) or compassionate (taking practical action to better the lot of the other). Compassionate empathy is the highest form of empathy. Here’s an example: Khwaja Moinuddin, Bhagat Reddy and Srinath Reddy, three friends from Hyderabad, quit their lucrative corporate jobs to start Nawab’s Kitchen, where they cook the choicest delicacies and feed over 200 orphans free of cost every day.

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We are at a critical time of human evolution and innovation. The advances that we are making in technology and automation is unparalleled and exciting. However, the manner in which we have gone about it has paid a huge cost to the environment.

The pandemic has forced us to rethink on our lives and on how we have been engaging with the environment. While we were forced to stay indoors, nature began to heal — with less noise pollution, chirping of birds and the air getting cleaner. As we move to the new normal, there is a cry for us to develop the ability to make choices that are sustainable. The pandemic also forced us to learn to deal with uncertainty and volatility. As we enter the New Year, the pandemic has caused us to ensure that we enhance our life skills toolbox. Here are some must-haves for 2022:

Lifelong learning

The pandemic has put us all on a forced learning journey — 80-year-olds who had never used a smartphone learnt to get onto Zoom and WhatsApp and do video calls! People who had not managed a house before were learning to clean and keep a home. Social media was abuzz with many discovering the joys of cooking and experimenting with different recipes!

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