A Father’s Life Lessons For His Daughter
I was born and brought up in Bihar, India, which has the lowest literacy rate in India. It stands at 70% with a population of 99 million people. And the literacy rate for females is at 50%.
The day I was born, the first remark from my neighbor was — “Don’t worry. Try again and you might be blessed with a boy”. But my parents were adamant and ensured I got all privileges (even though I was a girl child).
From there began a way of upbringing that broke stereotypes and pushed me every day. I have tried to summarise them here.
Completing the last 1% of the task is the most difficult and the most crucial.
Whenever we start something, we have an excitement for the unknown. We push ourselves and learn till we have the confidence and think we can finish the task. Once we feel that we have crossed the biggest mountains in our path and we know the road ahead, the task loses its excitement and we tend to not finish it.
Starting is half the battle won but How you end it is what matters most.
Pushing yourself by 5 mins every day after you are tired.
This is my father’s favourite story. There was a practice match between two football teams — Team A and Team B. Both the teams played well and the game was a tie. Now it was time for the tiebreaker. Being a practice game, they were asked to play a couple of hours more and the team scoring the higher number of goals, won. This was the defining moment of the game. Team A was already tired since they only practiced for the duration of a typical game. But the coach for team B had always pushed them to play 5 more mins thus constantly increasing their stamina, resulting in their win.
This taught me to always push myself in that extra last mile instead of limiting myself the moment I felt tired.
A skill is mastered by practicing the mundane part hundreds of times.
I have always been taught the importance of being consistent especially after the thrill and excitement of a new adventure begins to fade away. For to truly master a skill, you need to be able to perform the skill even in your sleep. And that only comes with repeatedly practicing your basics.
Having a good mix of hobbies.
As a kid, I was sent to dance classes, made to learn music, crafts, made to participate in every event that happened at school, and scolded when I didn't perform well. As a kid, I would look at others playing and feel jealous. Now that I look back, it was those habits that help me meet new people and get some break from my work.
Being financially Independent
My parents instilled in me the importance to be financially indepedant. It was always accompanied by the idea that marriage is not a milestone and it goes on parallel to life. Financial importance became the topmost priority to break from the shackles of marriage for me.
