Winning and winning

The discord between winning and winning

My dear Little Genius: "I am glad you wrote to me - you say you miss THE GENIUS. Is it because you had wonderful times while you armed yourself for a future that will be yours in just a few more years?

"You displayed qualities that the best of children have in their minds, their heads, and even in their hearts. This means that losing out the proficiency award or The Genius of the Year Award should mean nothing at all if you earned yourself the confidence that you have the tools to conquer the world in your chosen field of activity with your capabilities.

"Awards in any organisation are handed out on the basis of certain criteria - which a person fulfils at times, and at other times, does not manage to meet the demands. So many factors affect the performance of a child in his/her competitions or tests that it is necessary for us to accept the result without losing our respect for the efforts that go into the performance. My advice to you is simply that no award, no competition is more important than your personal happiness. All you need now is a strong dose of confidence.

"If friends (or well-wishers) make you cry when you lose out somewhere, it is because they have not understood the difference. I speak of the difference and the disharmony between winning and winning. You are as much a winner as any other and so just buckle down, face forward, keep the sun ahead, and let the shadow fall behind - and gallop on toward the sunset!

"The best of honours will have to be yours, sooner or later."

This is a message to every student who did not win some coveted award for some reason or the other, not necessarily owing to a fault in the student!