Take little steps to create a big change

By Shruvi Karande

Think about the last time you put in a little more effort for your mathematics exam. Or for that matter, any subject you are weak in. Think back to the times when you missed your after-dinner routine of lounging on the couch, half-heartedly watching TV while scrolling through your phone.

Remember when you set five alarms the other day because you knew your incoherent morning self would dismiss at least three of them, and you wished for  “just a little more.” While solving a question last minute in your test, didn’t you smile and thank your past self for working on it? How happy were you when you scored 100% in a test. All this sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Let us take some trivial examples, the time you executed the perfect bottle flip three times in a row or when you dressed up and felt confident. You felt complimented that day! These are the happy memories.

But what about the bad ones? The time you were overconfident and skipped the French revision. When a question in the exam shook you! The time you kept procrastinating to work on a presentation until last week approached. And lo! Group projects take more time than individual ones. Maybe you should have put in a little more effort.

We often see these things coming but choose to ignore them. One day, things seem fine, but the next day we seem to be in a crisis situation. These are the little things. Those that can have a huge impact on us and change the situation around us.

We watch the news about climate change, and say no to plastic at school. But do we not use polythene at home? Well it’s important to note that if little things can make us happy then they can create a global impact too. Case in point, Greta Thunberg!

I feel that we must contribute to our society in some manner or the other. It’s like exercise. When you put in that effort to run 5 kilometres every day, you eventually see a difference. And then it’s also necessary to be consistent and do it all over again. In that process, you do not wish to indulge with junk food.

The world needs to be saved and for the same, we must put in a little effort every day. Or one day, we will panic when the Earth would be reaching its death.

After all, how are we going to smile at our happy memories, if we aren’t even alive?