‘If we judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, we’ll live our whole life believing that it is stupid.’
Every day people try to be perfect, to be the best. Good has now become ordinary; we want to be excellent. There is nothing wrong in desiring to be the best but what is wrong is trying to chase everything that seems bright, in consuming ourselves in trying to be the best at everything. But it’s not our fault, is it? We are raised in a way that if we can’t do everything perfectly, we will be treated as garbage. In order to survive in a high-class society we have to be perfect at everything.
But let’s just keep these society things aside, let’s focus on ourselves. We have got one life, only one body, one soul, one brain and one heart. Why don’t we search for the one thing that we are really best at and why not master that one thing?
There are so many people who think they are good at nothing, but I doubt it. I don’t believe that God created us for nothing. I am sure there is something out there that’s only meant for us, that only we can do and nobody else. Maybe we want everything; we want to be good at studies, good at cooking, good at business, good at speaking, etc etc. But I have this one question: why? Why do we want to be good at everything and not just excellent in one thing? We are created by the most extraordinary force of the universe, so how can we be ordinary? Why are we chasing everything and not the thing that we are meant to? Nobody is perfect, nobody can be perfect; even if people claim to be perfect, they are not.
We all have some hidden treasure inside us that’s locked and the key is only in our mind. Think hard to find that key that makes you realise your true power, not the power of acquiring every skill but the skill that lies only within you. Search for that one thing that you can do, be that one person that only you can be.
Don’t look around; look straight where your destiny lies. If you are good at maths, don’t leave any chance to learn it, but if you think maths is not your thing , then leave it, don’t get stuck at it. If you are good at painting, then fill this world with all the colours that exist. If writing is your thing, then write with all your heart. Nothing is too far to get to. At every moment there is something worth working hard for. Hard work only seems hard when you are letting your inner self die just for the sake of a few more moments of rest. Don’t fear what people will think, because it’s your life, not theirs. They can’t force you to do something that your own will doesn’t allow you to. Nobody is going to do it for you; you have to do it yourself. You don’t have to wait for the right time to come; remember that the best time is the moment you decide you’re going to do it.
It all starts within. Choose what you want, choose who you are.

—The writer is a BA student at Govt Degree College for Women, Kupwara

Shafiya Showkat