Life Is A Gift

Dale Carnegie specialised on writing about self-improvement. In the 20th century, he stapled self-help books in the minds of first Americans and then the world. Decades since Carnegie, self-help books continue to sell in vast numbers and adorn readers’ bookshelves globally. While Carnegie wrote about ways to improve public speaking, eradicate worries and make friends, today, there are even broader ranges of books on self-improvement. As humans, we have this inherent yearning to improve, cultivate and better ourselves which is required to thrive on this highly competitive world. 

In an age of globalisation and urbanisation, job markets have become quite competitive. As inflation hits many parts of the globe, there is a sense of foreboding in people who have to live paycheck to paycheck or even worse, amid unemployment and poverty. In such scenario, people find that concentrating on themselves and their self-growth could be more in their control than external factors like inflation, war, tumbling job market, hiking real estate and even political unrest and instability. Here, self-help books can aid people to refocus on themselves and their zone of control. 

In the West, philosophers have pondered upon self-improvement since the Greek and Roman civilisations. It was Socrates, a Greek philosopher of the 5th century who said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates believed that by questioning our beliefs and actions and examining our lives, it is possible to achieve greater wisdom as well as personal growth which highlights the importance of introspection and self-reflection for a purposeful life.

Nowhere is it more imminent than at the end of a year when people tend to look back in hindsight. As a year comes to an end and another one begins, people throughout the world reflect on the past year and create resolutions for the next one. Among such resolutions are diverse goals ranging from health and wellbeing to better relationships, excellence at academics and work and even charity.  

However, despite the best of intentions, not everything in life turns out as planned or as per one’s resolutions. During such hard times of setbacks and adversity, it can help to think of oneself as a work in progress. We are all in this world for a limited time which is why it is necessary to live our lives to the fullest. It is only possible through self-growth and improvement. Like Socrates said, we could take time to examine our lives so as to better ourselves. But it has to be a year-round endeavour not just for the first few months of the year when we are quite hyped-up with our resolutions.  

Paradoxically, just as it is human nature to better oneself, so is it to procrastinate. In such cases, we have to keep reminding ourselves of our resolutions, day in and day out. There are several ways to motivate ourselves. We could write down our goals in journals, share them with friends and family and even post them on social media. We could also keep track of our small victories on a daily basis. And we could commiserate with ourselves during difficult times. According to the ancient Hindu scriptures, human life is a rare gift. Let’s resolve to make the best of it. Happy New Year 2025!