Train Your Brain Before You Buy the Audi

I happened to attend a promotional event organised by a private primary school today in my colony. The school invited all the kids from 4 years to 12 years to participate in the event where some games were organized. I also reached the venue with my 6-year-old son. The first game in which children were participating was musical chair. A teacher explained the rules of the game according to which music will be played while all the participants will move around the chairs. The number of chairs will be one less than the number of participants. The music will be stopped suddenly by a teacher who was blind-folded, and all the participants would try to sit in any chair that they could. Thus, every time music stops, one participant would be out of the game. And finally, there will be a winner.

As the game begun I started observing the behavior of the kids that were getting outed after every round of the game. I found them getting disappointed. The disappointment was natural as everyone wants to win. As participants were getting outed of the game, I asked questions to each of them, “Why did you get outed?” “What should have you done to remain in the game.” “Why others are still in the game?”

After the game was over I reached among all the kids present there and probed them on the factors, attributes, and actions that caused the win of the winners and defeat for the not-winners.

After the first game was over, another game was played. This game was almost like the first game except that there were chairs equal to the participants and under every chair there was a paper slip with a name of the cartoon character. Another teacher had a box contained with the paper slips with the names of the cartoon characters that matched with the names written on the paper slips under the chairs of the participants.

This time also music started playing. Participants started moving around the chair. Music stopped, and participants hurried tried to sit in the chair that they could. Since, there were enough chairs for each participant to sit and the teacher also repeatedly announced and guided the participants not to hurry, still all the participants hurried, one broke the rule also. After this the teacher asked a spectator to pick any one paper slip, read the name of the cartoon character, find out the chair under which the paper slip with the same cartoon character is kept and asked the participant sitting in the chair to get out of the game. I was reading the face of every participant that was ousted. I reached to her/him and asked, “What caused your ouster?” “What could have you done to stay in the game?” “What made other participant to win the game?”

I asked a father the reason of her daughter’s defeat in the game when I saw him consoling his daughter. He replied, “She was youngest in the group. Baby, don’t worry. I would buy Audi (toy car) for you.”

You would be surprised and shocked to know the responses of the participants who lost. They said:

1. I didn’t run fast.

2. I was not attentive.

3. I should have changed paper slips.

4. The winner listened to the music well.

5. I don’t do running practice.

I asked the winners of the games as what was the reason of their victory. Some of them started boasting:

1. I had a strategy to cover to chairs.

2. I was very alert to listen to the music.

3. I played this so game many times that I have learned the strategy.

Before the prize distribution, the principal of the school told all the glorious things about the school and the early bird discount.

I requested the principal to let me speak for a few minutes. I was allowed.

“Dear children,

Life is not a game of musical chair where a blind-folded person’s decision of stopping the music will oust you from the game. You lost in the game not because you were any less competent, less physically strong, less attentive, less skilled, or less smart. You lost because the game is a fate-based-game. Never carry this perception in your life. And those who have won, they have not won because they were smart, strategist, or strong. Even if, there is any contribution of other factors than fate in this game that is merely 5%. Rest 95% is purely based on fate.

The second game was 100% fate-based-game. You needed not run, hurry, trouble. You could have made others sit first, make them comfortable and then there was always a chair for you. Life is like that. In the game of god, there is always a chair for us. We may get it at first, at middle, or at last. But we are sure to get it. Never hurry yet never stop walking. Don’t break rules (pointing to the kid that violated the rule of the game), you will win following the rules.

Don’t play such games that are fate-based. And if you must or you want to, then always remember that such games are fate-based. And the win or defeat has got nothing to do with your strategy, skill or strength.

I am sorry for breaking the protocol, but I thought it was very necessary. I had seen the disappointment on the 5-year old-baby girl who was cruelly outed from the game just because the name in the paper slip under her chair got randomly picked up. These kids are future of India. They need to be trained rightly. And the training begins not from the body but from the brain. And Sir, (addressing to the father that consoled the daughter), Train your Brain before you Buy Audi.”

#Patenting, #Mind #Mindset #Children