Page 86 - YOU CAN WIN - SHIV KHERA

RokZRooM Special ! You Can Win by Shiv Khera

Being ignorant is not shameful, but being unwilling to learn is. Role models can teach
through example. Children who are taught the importance of integrity during their
formative years generally don't lose it. It becomes a part of life, which is what we are
looking for in any profession, whether in a contractor, attorney, accountant, politicians
police officer, or judge. Integrity is a lot stronger than honesty. In fact, it is the foundation
of honesty.
Youths are impressionable. When they see their mentors--such as parents, teachers, or
political leaders--cheating with pride or bragging about petty dishonesty such as stealing
a towel in a hotel or cutlery from the restaurants, the following happens:

♦ They are disappointed.
♦ They lose respect for their mentors.
♦ Constant exposure breeds acceptance in them.

POOR ROLE MODELS

A schoolteacher asked a little boy what his father did for a living. The boy replied, "I'm not
sure, but I guess he makes pens, pencils, light bulbs, toilet rolls, etc., because that is
what he brings home every day in his lunch box."

Making Unfair Comparison

Fair comparisons are OK but unfair comparisons make a person feel inferior.
Comparison basically brings out the competitive spirit to outperform the next person.
People with high self-esteem don't compete with others; instead, they improve their own
performance. They compete against themselves. They compare their performance
against their capabilities.

Failure or Success: A Ripple Effect

There is a lot of truth in the statement, "success breeds success and failure breeds
failure." In sports, we often see that whenever the champion's morale is low--and it does
get low at some point--the coach will never put him up against a good fighter because if
he suffers one more defeat, his self-esteem will go even lower. To bring his self-
confidence back, the coach pits him against a weak opponent, and that victory raises his
self-esteem. A slightly stronger opponent is next and that victory brings up the level of
confidence, and on and on until the day comes when the champion is ready to face the
ultimate challenge.
With every success, self-confidence goes up and it is easier to succeed the next time.
For this reason, any good leader, be it a parent, teacher or supervisor, would start a child
off with easy tasks. With every successful completion, the child's level of confidence and
self-esteem go up. Add to that positive strokes of encouragement, and this will start
solidifying positive self-esteem. Our responsibility is to help break the chain of failure and
put ourselves and our children into the chain of success.

Confusing Failing with Failure

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