Subject Of Life

There are three ways in which we learn anything- With the help of a teacher, through Self-study, and by learning from experience when we do something.

As students, we gain knowledge in academic subjects like Sciences, Mathematics, Languages, History. We have qualified teachers to guide us. We then commit effort, write exams, and get ourselves certified. The marks we secure in the exams establish our so-called proficiency in the subjects.

After graduating from college, academics give way to a subject called Life, which includes many chapters like Career, Relationships, Parenting, Purpose, Values, Life Goals, Physical health, Fulfillment, Happiness, Love, Mindset, Stress, Managing time, Failure, Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion.

Our parents are our teachers for some of the chapters of life, but for most of the critical sections, we really do not have the benefit of any teachers. Some of us are fortunate- We have mentors who are there to guide us on many of the areas. Otherwise, for the most part, we learn our lessons experientially, sometimes by doing the right things and often by doing the wrong things and learning from them.

Unlike the Academic subjects, there is no external examination to define our proficiency in the Subject of Life. How well we score in this Subject is just an internal reference on the dimension of our personal happiness and fulfillment. Ironically, in contrast to the external examiners in the Academic domain, we are pretty ruthless and stingy when it comes to evaluating ourselves on how we are doing. We award ourselves inferior scores(on the happiness and fulfillment scale) even when we may actually be doing pretty well.

The good thing about the Subject of life is that everyone has a chance to earn the maximum score. In the Academic domain, intelligence, hard work, and effort differentiate between those who score well and those who do not. However, when it comes to life, the discipline to develop mastery over our ego, a positive attitude, and a zest to live fully-these are the cornerstones to earning ourselves a top score.

But first, like a good student,commit yourself to the three modes of learning. Seek out mentors who have excelled in Life, Invest in personal development and soak in all the lessons that your experiences are imparting. That is the path to earning a life score that you will be proud of.