Potential of a person

"The wound of words is worse than wound of swords,” goes a saying. But many of us remain blissfully ignorant of it and fling words at our whims and fancies unmindful of the pain they cause to others. The other day I heard an elderly gentleman say very unkind words about his nephew - calling him a riff-raff, a good for nothing boy - all because apparently, he is not doing great academically. The look on the boy’s mother’s face was pathetic - her heart must have shed tears. Why cannot people be more sensitive to others’ feelings? Why cannot elders like him guide parents to see potential in their children who are labeled as wayward and useless? But surely if their children are really on the wrong path and are becoming uncontrollable, certainly they must be corrected - but not by criticising or castigating.

Johann Goethe said: “If you treat a person as he is, he will stay as he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be, he will become that bigger and better person.” This simple yet potent message must be a guidepost to many parents and peers.

Once a sculptor chipped away at a stone and could do nothing with it - so he tossed it away. Later Michelangelo took it and carved one of the greatest statues of all times, the statue of David. He could do that because he saw the potential in the stone.

In the same way, there is something in everybody that needed to be seen, appreciated and nurtured - that something is called the potential. The satisfaction you can get from seeing a young mind unfold before you is just so satisfying. It should be a chosen responsibility of parents, teachers, peers and leaders to help youngsters find and reach their unique potential. For that the important guidelines are - believing in them, empathising with them, encouraging them, sharing inspiring stories with them and stimulating their interest, influencing them positively and most importantly spending quality time with them.

After all, diamond was just a chunk of coal before it became a diamond and a beautiful butterfly was just a crawly caterpillar. The potential to become something good is there in everybody - as intended by Nature.