It is said that we can learn something from everyone. Why not 'everything'?

Just if we try to give our mind some space and try to analyze, we might be able to take out the kind of lessons just from the things around us that we might be shocked that it existed all this while but we missed learning so many things we could. Hence, this article is an attempt to share the perspectives and the lessons that we can take out from the things around us and implement them and grow ourselves by enriching our perspectives. The more we do, the more the Growth.

In this article, let’s take an example of a ‘Shoe’. A Shoe - something that forms a part of our daily lives has a lot of lessons to teach us just if we focus on learning from it. Here are a set of lessons that I could pull-out by observing the various functionalities of a Shoe.

1. Takes The Pain But Protects Us:

The biggest quality of a Shoe is that it takes all the pain caused to it by we stepping on to the stones, the friction with the surface of the roads, getting drenched in the rain, the burning in the scorching heat, pressure on it while walking through snow- it takes it all but makes sure that we are protected inside-out.

In the same way, many people in our lives become the shoe and protect us from all the Challenges posed by life, or on the contrary, we might be that person (the shoe) for someone. The people who become the Shoe of our lives could be anyone including Parents, Siblings, Friends, Spouse, or anyone connected to your Life if we have been lucky to have such people around us who protect us, we must appreciate them and express gratitude!

If you are like the shoe in someone's life taking up all the pain so that people could be happier, know that we appreciate your spirit in doing this and being that!



2. A Valuable Part of Life:

This might be contrary to what we might have thought. We might consider the shoe unimportant and leave it outside the house (in general cases) and not carry it inside, but whenever we have to go outside, can we imagine doing so without the pair. A Big NO!! That’s the kind of value the Shoe holds in our lives.

The question we need to ask ourselves is have we become this ‘Valuable’ in someone’s life that they can rely on us and consider us to invaluable part of their lives? That they can’t imagine their lives without you (it is different from being dependent). Don’t impose it; it should be a natural feeling for someone. If there is none, there is a lot of work left to do in our lifetime. It doesn’t come easy but makes Life worthwhile.

3. Makes us Look Cool/More Confident:

I firmly believe that with the right footwear one can rule the world. — Bette Midler

The type of Shoe we wear for various occasions or purposes, knowingly or unknowingly adds to our Confidence. It is no doubt that there are certain types of shoes for various occasions that make us look cool; while some are meant to make us look Confident in the interviews. Also, the way we polish our shoes when we go for a job interview, could be a parameter of judging the level of importance we give to our things.

In the same way, a new skill or talent that is developed would not only add into our profiles but also adds to our confidence in presenting ourselves to people.

So which is that new skill you have added to your kitty lately?

4. Being Flexible:

Like mentioned earlier, different type of shoes that suit the occasion at hand, are worn accordingly. Hence, different shoes play different roles in our lives and that variation gives us the choice to choose the shoe we feel suits that given occasion.

In the same way, we have many responsibilities at once and have to play different roles. We might be an Employee/Entrepreneur in our Office; but also are a Father, a Husband, a Son, a Brother, an Uncle or even a Grandfather back home; We might be a Dance Teacher in our Dance Academy; but also a Mother, a Daughter, a Sister, a Wife, a Grandmother or even an Aunt at our homes. We have several roles to play. But are we flexible enough in balancing the roles?

Is our Attitude as an Entrepreneur in our Company (the Decision-maker) being projected as a Husband too? Is our punctuality or the other strict rules that we might have as a Teacher reflecting on how we are mothering our kids? Good attitudes getting reflected in various roles might be still fine, but it is important that we balance ourselves in role-playing.



5. Accommodates the Growth with an increase in size:

“I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes.” – Oprah Winfrey

We all have experienced this - we get a bigger shoe as we age and the size of our feet grows. Hence, the size of the Shoe increases to accommodate the increased size of our feet.

In the same way, are we growing ourselves in the maturity to be able to handle the different responsibilities that are existing or are going to hit as we grow in our lives, but are we prepared?

The way we were in our graduation days might not be applicable when we start working, the lifestyle and maturity to handle the things while being single might be very different from what you need to manage the responsibilities of a married life. The training of the State-level in a Sport might not be sufficient for the National-level. Our caliber and the abilities as an entry-level employee might not be sufficient to become a Manager. A lot changes at every stage of our lives and with that we have an increased number of responsibilities to take care of. Are we growing along with our responsibilities?
If you have any more perspectives to add in terms of the lessons that can be learned from a shoe, you are certainly welcome to add it in the comments below.
Or if you have implemented this level of reflection, with another thing, I would certainly be happy to read your perspectives. I look forward