THE treading on my left front tire looked worn, “Let’s do a realignment!” I told my tire. “No!” shouted my front left tire, “I like being how I am!” “But you’re destroying yourself, and my car!” I said, “Soon you’ll be in shreds!” “That’s okay, I’m happy as I am,” said the front left tire.
By his mid-thirties, Winston Churchill was by far the most successful politician of his age in Britain. His career was like a brilliant meteor blazing across the sky. The son of a notorious politician he had achieved fame as a reporter and author, whose chief subject was his own military adventures.
Elected to the cabinet at thirty-one, and at the outbreak of World War I, was Lord of the Admiralty and part of the War Cabinet. Intelligent, hardworking, eloquent, single minded and ambitious, the world lay at his feet. But Churchill’s world revolved around himself! He was more interested in himself and his own ideas than in anything else and his peers did not like him for this.
Then in 1915, his world collapsed. A military expedition at Gallipoli for which he was held responsible turned into a bloody debacle. He was forced to resign from the Cabinet and his long years in political wilderness began. One biography on him gave this period of his life a fascinating title, “The Rise to Failure!”
Inside the cistern of failure, Churchill looked keenly at himself and forged some new qualities, which became instrumental in his success as the great Allied leader during World War IIBut, until he refocused his life, he was a brilliant failure! He realized that achievement by itself can never be the mark of excellence or greatness! He realized he had to realign, refocus and reform!
Isn’t this lockdown period an excellent time to look closely at yourself? The world is giving you a thousand ways to spend the next few weeks or months, but wouldn’t it be prudent to spend quality hours having a deep look at your past? Look at your treads? Is it showing you are not aligned to the people around you? That like Churchill you are thinking only of yourself?
Is it time to refocus? Start looking at changing your priorities? Maybe even stare death in the face, because at this very moment death stares back! It’s only a sneeze or touch that keeps you away from the ventilator and the grave! So, what will you be remembered for? Your greed, your temper, your ambition?
Reform! The old word was Repent! There’s no time like now. It’s as if the whole world has been given time off to introspect. So instead of Netflix, a novel, or even my book DARE, look deep into yourself, and what better time to change, correct yourself! Today, refocus, realign, reform..!
