DATED – 15th January 2017

Though I am not a political buff, I always had a few politicians who I thought would change various things in the cities, states and hence the country. One of them from whom I had huge expectations was – Arvind Kejriwal. The way he stood with Anna Hazare, raised Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and swept the elections, certainly drew my attention. I almost signed up as a volunteer for AAP to help the nation build next generation of politicians.

Today, I feel glad I didn’t take that step. Arvind Kejriwal is no longer a person I look up to. AAP is not a party which I would like to get associated currently with. Nothing turned me off more than the current scenarios. If you look at his tweets, retweets and campaigns, it is only about criticising other politicians, pointing out their scams, and hindering some good growth measures. I would have respected him more if he had focused on his growth agenda and plans for building India.

Are you that kind of person too? Do you keep criticising instead of shifting the focus on your growth, development and peace –

• Do you always manage to find faults with the way your boss runs the business?
• In every book you read, do you always feel that you can do a better job?
• Can you advise any sportsperson on how they can give better output while performing for India?
• Do you get a feeling that you can always manage your home better than your mother-in-law?
• The way people drive on the road is absolutely horrible, isn’t it?
• These police officers just want to take bribes and never fulfill their duties
• If I would have gotten a chance to become the Prime Minister for a day, I would have put everyone else to shame
• All my friends are good for nothing
• The architects and interior designers are just not worth it; they are just too commercial and repetitive
• All the doctors these days work only for money. They just do things for us to spend more

The easiest thing to do in this world is to find faults with anything and everything. If you have a better way of doing things, why don’t you take up a responsibility in that position and get things moving? It is only when you take it up do you realize the challenges of that position, not otherwise. But most people want to just blabber, but do nothing about it. To me that is nothing, but – pure gossip.

Vis-à-vis my life –

Long ago I had read an article which said that before you tell someone to switch off their headlights, have you checked your car headlights? That article has got etched in my mind. Before I point things about someone, I ask myself – is this what I must focus on? Or should I focus on things that need to be improved in me? This attitude had helped me write in bold at the end of every blog – ‘always upgrading…’

When you see ‘The Leaning Tower of Pisa’, do you marvel at how it impossibly stands tall or do you criticize the faulty execution of the monument? I am not saying that you are not perfect and others are. There are certainly some positives you have, but definitely negatives too. No one is full proof. The important consideration here is – where is your focus? Do you want keep pointing negatives/ limitations of others? Or instead, do you have the guts to turn the focus on yourself and improve? Where have you decided to focus in the NEW YEAR 2017? Accordingly your 2017 will be filled with – FAULTS or DEVELOPMENT!