ARE YOU CHEATING?

 

“Apologies don’t mean anything if you keep doing what you ‘re sorry for.”

One morning, as I was going to school, I noticed a student, coming to school as a pillion rider with his mother. In a fraction of a second, I noticed that he was sporting a beard. As per the school rules, students should come clean shaven to school. I waited for him to reach school and took him straight to the Principal. He was profusely apologizing and giving excuses. I asked him if he knew that it was not permitted. He agreed. When we commit a mistake knowingly, it amounts to cheating, I told him. Some of them wear a different color socks, thinking that the pant will cover it and the teacher will not notice it. This is how we develop a manipulative mind.

Sometimes we commit mistakes unknowingly. But many a time we do it knowingly. This is not just about children, even adults. When I don’t do what is good for me, then I am cheating myself. When I wrong others, then I am cheating the world. When I do not exercise every day, and prefer to munch on something, or watch TV, or play video games, and I tell the world that I am very busy and I don’t have time to exercise, I am not cheating the world, rather I am cheating myself by not taking care of my body. I will end up with aches and pains and will reach a stage where there will be no remedy. I will have to live with it. I should realize that I am cheating myself when I don’t choose what is good for me. Whether it is eating healthy food or living a disciplined life. If I am willing to go through the discomfort or pain of choosing exercise over other pleasurable activities, I can live a pain free life in future with a healthy body. Start with a fifteen-minute walk every day and progressively increase the time once you become consistent. For anything to become a habit, consistency is the key.

       ” Trust is like an eraser. It gets smaller and smaller after every mistake.”

As a student, when you do not utilize your time every day to do your daily studies, you become tensed, when there is hardly any time to prepare for your exam. Some of you tend to cheat in the exam to secure pass marks, to please your parents, not realizing that you are cheating yourself, as this is not the solution. When you want to hang out with your friends in the mall or go with your friends to a movie, and you know that your parents will not allow you, then you tell them that you are going to your friend’s place for “combined studies.” Your problem is, you are unable to embrace what is right and avoid what is wrong. Your life is driven by instant gratification. The issue is, every time you cheat, your mind becomes manipulative. It starts manipulating all the time and becomes a disease. A diseased mind is dangerous. Moreover, you lose the trust of the world. Eventually you will lose trust in yourself.

Never resort to short cuts to success as it cuts short your success. To embrace what is right, start with delayed gratification, one at a time. Prepare a daily study schedule. How much ever tempting it might be, to indulge in pleasurable activities, stick to your study schedule. When you start seeing the results in terms of good marks, in the next test or exam, you will feel proud of yourself.  Slowly you will give up the idea of cheating yourself. The mind will start thinking straight. This way, you will be bailing out yourself from developing a manipulative mind, which will ruin you in the long run. Integrity alone will give you happiness in life. You need courage to be honest. Always live to look up to yourself.

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting