There are times when I sit back and think about the life that I have lived. It was never a perfect story to begin with. Losing my father at a very young age was not easy either. It was years and years of constant struggle and hard work that made me who I am today. There were a lot of negatives that somehow became positives for me in the long run. I can give you a few examples of how big negatives in fact became big positives for me.

As a child I used to always be sick. I went through pain and suffering many times in those years. But, every time my sisters used to take care of me. It is from those days that I learnt to be a caring brother. The illnesses also taught me patience. When you are ill, you can’t just take a magic pill that will make everything disappear. Healing is always a slow process; and this made me patience enough to understand pain and suffering. As time passed, it helped me fully empathise with the suffering of others and encouraged me to keep working for the welfare of the people around me. 

I was in the fourth standard, when I lost my father. He was an engineer who gave away all his land in the Bhoodan Movement. Financially, we struggled a lot after his demise and the lack of good educational facilities was also a big challenge. While growing up, my friends circle wasn’t really the kind my father would’ve ever wanted me to have. Some people in the group eventually became antisocial elements and some continue to be that way even today. While my mother worked hard to provide for us, I too had to give up this friends circle to focus on earning a better living. The absence of my father, had in a way kept me from becoming antisocial and instead guided me to a path of doing good for others through philanthropy. His absence was the sacrifice that helped me rebuild my life.

These days, many people compliment me that i don’t look my age and that I am also quite fit. For that, I have to thank a medical condition I have. It’s called acid reflux. If I eat late at night and sleep, then due to this i don’t get any sleep till maybe 5 in the morning. So, I ensure that I get dinner by at least 7 and go to sleep 2 or 3 hours later. Acid refluxes have helped me create eating and sleeping discipline in my life. By being disciplined about my eating, I have been able to stay away from age-related health concerns. And because I used to be quite ill in my childhood days, I learned to be very conscious about the lifestyle choices I make. 

I hope these examples make you think hard about what you perceive as positive or negative. For me, the things that people generally perceive as negative have actually helped me grow. As a reader you too can think about the things that you have perceived as negative and analyse if in some way it has impacted you positively. I am sure you will discover a whole new thought process of positivity and optimism.