“I’ll pick you when I have absolutely no choice left but to scrape the bottom of the barrel.”
My ninjas didn’t get into the school they wanted. After months and months of hard work, sweat and tears. Passed the exams, got invited for interviews but got an “We regret to inform you… ” email instead.
They were gutted. Absolutely, totally gutted.
I told them about the time I applied for one of the Citibank projects when I was doing my MBA.
The words above were callous, thrown and spat out with no regards for how it affected me. The interviewing manager dismissed me with as much care as a used tissue paper.
Not ashamed to say that I shed some tears and had to be comforted by a large tub of ice cream.
Life isn’t fair.
You can work your butt off, get all the gold medals, win all the awards, and yet be passed over for promotion when the time comes.
You can be the nicest guy, polite, honest, kind, caring, and yet not get the girl (or boy) that you fancy.
You can be the most law abiding citizen, never even getting a traffic ticket or fine, only to be back-ended by a no-insurance driver.
Life sucks. There is no fairness, no justice.
But it doesn’t mean that we stop trying to be honest.
To be good.
To be just.
To be kind.
Life is… what you make of it.
People can be mean, they can be unkind.
Perhaps they were born that way.
Perhaps they weren’t loved when they were younger.
Perhaps the system allows and encourages unjust behaviour.
We can still take the high road.
The boys have got over their disappointment. Ninja no. 1 told me that he will not stop working hard for what he wants. That brings a bit of gladness to my heart.
A bit of a painful lesson, but one that I would prefer them to learn at this age, than at 40.
Resilience and grit.
I am hoping that the kids will learn resilience and grit, which I know will carry them through life well.
When you get knocked down, get up and try again.
Life is unfair.
But get up and keep going.
Because Life can be exquisitely beautiful too.
Especially when you choose to make lemonade, and you find that you make such amazing lemonade that you’ve got a queue going round the block.
—
#thubthumping
#grit
#resilience
#lifeisntfairsowhat