Live your life the way you want. But how?

You would have heard about one of Aesop’s fables where a father and a son go to the market with their donkey. In the initial stage, by-passers laughed at them for walking when they have a donkey on which they can sit. So the father asks his son to sit on the donkey while he walks. Sooner, a gang of mischievous boys make fun of the son for letting his father walk. Hence, the son, who was visibly hurt, asks his father to sit on the donkey, while he walks. Very sooner, two elderly women passed by and scoffed at the father for letting the poor boy walk. Hence, both the father and son, after much pondering, sat on the donkey and rode it. In some time, some passerbys jeered at them for letting the donkey tolerate their weight. Finally, the father and son decided to carry the donkey on their shoulders.

As they were walking carrying the donkey, the passerbys couldn’t control their laughter, and they laughed out loud. This laughter visibly frightened the poor creature who set himself free and galloped away.

I always used to think about the profoundness of this story. In our daily lives, whether it is workplace or any relevant place, we try to please everyone. This act of pleasing others is a result of our obsession with perfection. We always want others to accept our behavior and want to feed our ego by affirming ourselves that we are on the right track. But the twist here is whatever you do, there will surely be someone who will have a different idea, which is not what you want to hear. There are always people will pinpoint your mistakes and question your rationale behind everything.

One of the best ways to solve this concern is by understanding what the person tries to tell you. If he/she is really your well-wisher you can make it out sooner. Sometimes a person who has sailed the same boat will provide you with guidance. You can even think from the point of view of the person criticizing you and think over what made them to criticize you.                 

In the fable, the bypassers just expressed unfair words to the father and son. But who is bearing the brunt of it finally? It’s only you, with your sensitive nature. So the key lies in just concentrating on the journey ahead, without being browbeaten by negativity in the middle. Do what you feel is right (you can consult your well-wishers too) and what is apt for the situation.