A note of caution: This article has nothing to do with personal finance. You may still find it worth a read.
Let me share snippets of a few real life scenarios.
- A few goons were assaulting one of your relatives because of a property dispute. Since the goons were in large numbers, you did not intervene. Your relative lost his limbs during the altercation.
- A person met with an accident on the road. You were crossing by but you did not stop because you were getting late for a meeting. You thought that somebody else would handle it. Others thought the same. The person was left unattended for a while. Later on, you came to know that he succumbed to his injuries because of severe loss of blood.
- You and your best school buddy grew up together. While you were fortunate enough to secure a good career, your friend ended up running a small shop in town. One day he visited your city for his health check-up and was longing to meet you. His call to you was left unanswered because you were worried that your family would be unwelcoming because of ill-matching family status. Your friend went back home without meeting you.
- You are well to do while your brother is not financially well off. He reached out to you for a loan of money to fund his son’s higher education. You were concerned that since it would be a loan to a close family member, it might not be returned. You gave an excuse. Your nephew is struggling today to make his ends meet.
- Your father wanted to visit you and spend time with you, and his grandchildren. You have a small house with one and a half bedrooms, hence you were not forthcoming in inviting him as your family would have to adjust. You kept procrastinating year after year. Last year, your father passed away because of ill health.
These are examples of some real life scenarios where you felt constrained and chose an option that may not have been the call of your conscience. You may not have been wrong in taking the decision you took but the consequences of the event shook you and you carry the guilt that if only you had acted differently, your life would have served a better purpose.
A human being is a wonderful creation of nature with the potential to change society and the world in a way we can hardly imagine. Why limit your contribution to the limited good of self and your family? Go give wings to your potential and inspire others.
My best wishes to you and your family for a New Year when you will make all the difference.
The writer is a SEBI Registered Adviser and Founder of FinMyn (https://finmyn.com). He provides Fee-Only Financial Planning and Investment Advisory services.
He occasionally writes on topics which are not related to personal finance.
To know more about him, click on https://finmyn.com/about/.