Have you ever realised that life is a virtual laboratory where you learn through your experiences and mistakes? In this classroom, you are taught the important lessons of life, sometimes consciously and sometimes by pure chance.

An incident during my schooldays made me realise how this great game of life should be played. As usual, we were playing soccer at lunch time. Everyone was keyed up for the game but one girl looked very unhappy with the way we were playing. She went to one of our teachers and complained that we were not passing the ball to her. The teacher heard her out carefully.

The next day, the same teacher came out to observe our soccer match at lunch time. To our surprise, the girl who had complained the day before got a nice scolding from the teacher. Turned out, she always stood in the same place and never ran after the ball but instead expected her team-mates to pass the ball to her! Though not a big incident, this game was an eye-opener for me.

The soccer match symbolises life, and the ball an opportunity. Everyone is running after the same ball for which you too are vying. If you expect to stand in a place and make others do the hard work, that is never going to happen.

In the long run, you are bound to lose out to those who are ready to do the running. There are no free lunches in this world. The secret to getting out on top is to never give up, not even when you fall down. At the end of the day, your umpteen excuses will hurt no one but you.

Give everything you do your best. In any match, the one who plays his/her natural game even under severe pressure emerges as the eventual winner. If you really want to do something, you should not be deterred that it might be hard. All you can (and should) do is do your best and hope for the best.

When are all your talents going to come handy, anyway? Use your resources well and more importantly, realise your mistakes. Keep your eye on the ball and go for it. In a short while, the ball will definitely be under your feet, waiting to be kicked in whichever direction you choose. Yes, you are the decider. And you should never have to rely on anyone else to do the job for you.