Determination is the Foundation of Success

Is Your Child Ready To Face The World?
This book is a great inspiration to the parents as well as their children because in this book, Dr. Anupam Sibal, who is a pediatrician and a father, has sought to instil positive values and good qualities in his son. These are essential for anyone looking to live a valuable and respectful life.

By focusing on a different value in every chapter, he wants to convey to his readers that nurturing values and good attitude is a very difficult task for the parents. As a result, he has tried to share some tricks that he is picked up on his journey to equip his child to face the world.

When I was reading about Determination, I remembered a child (Aditya Roy) who was studying in Class 9. I used to observe him while teaching his class. He was the only one in class who neither interacted with teachers nor with the students. I was curious to find out the reasons for this. So, I called him to the staff room one day during lunch time. While walking to the staff room , I observed that his legs were shivering. It was only then that I found out that the child was disabled. Upon asking him about it, I realised his disability had resulted in his developing an inferiority complex.

I decided to solve this by helping him in his studies. Later that day, I visited his house and discussed the problem with him. I tried to motivate him by telling him stories of great people (like Stephen Hawking, Sudha Chandran, Hellen Keller, etc.), who were disabled too but did not let it get in their path to success. They strengthened their determination and went on to do pathbreaking things.

I regularly motivated him, and praised him for every small achievement. After a couple of days, I noticed a drastic change in his behaviour as well as in his academic performance. Now, he looks more  confident while asking questions to the teachers. He is friendly towards his classmates too.

Recently, he stood 4th in the Board examination in the district. 

Motivating students and making them realise the importance of determination goes a long way in instilling the confidence required to face the world.

~ Kusum Sharma is an Educator at The Fabindia School. Her email address is ksa4fab@gmail.com