The video content explores the idea that we are all players on a stage, guided by forces larger than ourselves, much like actors guided by directors and producers. This metaphor serves to highlight the interconnectedness of our actions and the influences that shape them, emphasizing the illusion many have about their independence in decision-making. It encourages introspection about how much of our lives are truly self-directed versus externally influenced.

It shares an anecdote about a student in an examination setting, demonstrating the importance of stepping out of one's comfort zone to take on challenges, emphasizing the transformative power of a proactive attitude. The story further evolves by sharing a real-life illustration where a young student faced societal expectations, chose an unconventional path by studying humanities, and eventually found personal success despite initial setbacks in a rigid academic environment. This is underlined with a broader narrative on the meaning of success, dissatisfaction, and societal definitions that often cloud true self-awareness and growth.

Main takeaways from the video:

Please remember to turn on the CC button to view the subtitles.

Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. director [dəˈrɛktər] - (noun) - A person who supervises the actors and other staff in a film, play, or similar production. - Synonyms: (manager, controller, supervisor)

But we are guided by some directors, some producers sitting top of the sky.

2. complacency [kəmˈpleɪsənsi] - (noun) - A feeling of uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements. - Synonyms: (self-satisfaction, smugness, self-approval)

It hardly matters that that person succeeds or not. But the atmosphere changes, the positivity comes inside the examination hall.

3. myth [mɪθ] - (noun) - A widely held but false belief or idea. - Synonyms: (fallacy, misconception, illusion)

And if someone has got this myth that he is doing everything by himself, he's wrong.

4. culprit [ˈkʌlprɪt] - (noun) - A person or thing responsible for a crime or offense. - Synonyms: (offender, perpetrator, wrongdoer)

He scored less marks in science subjects. And science subject was the culprit.

5. ambiguous [æmˈbɪɡjuəs] - (adjective) - Open to more than one interpretation; not having one obvious meaning. - Synonyms: (unclear, vague, equivocal)

Now I will again talk about a very ambiguous, a very misnomer concept of success.

6. misnomer [ˌmɪsˈnoʊmər] - (noun) - A wrong or inaccurate name or designation. - Synonyms: (mislabeling, misnaming, inaccuracy)

Now I will again talk about a very ambiguous, a very misnomer concept of success.

7. articulate [ɑːrˈtɪkjulət] - (adjective) - Having or showing the ability to speak fluently and coherently. - Synonyms: (eloquent, fluent, expressive)

So you say I am fine. Because he expects you say fine.

8. satisfaction [ˌsætɪsˈfækʃən] - (noun) - Fulfillment of one's wishes, expectations, or needs. - Synonyms: (contentment, gratification, pleasure)

I don't think success has something to do with the satisfaction

9. evolving [ɪˈvɒlvɪŋ] - (verb) - Developing gradually, especially from a simple to a more complex form. - Synonyms: (developing, progressing, advancing)

If you are coming from your comfort zone and you are evolving or embracing the things.

10. narrative [ˈnærətɪv] - (noun) - A spoken or written account of connected events; a story. - Synonyms: (storyline, tale, account)

Then the child told him it was a very small city.

ROOTS OF RESILIENCE - Jitendra Srivastava - TEDxYouth@TheModernSchoolBarmer

I am Jitendra Srivastava. I am playing the role of DIG or a cop in my real life. Not in a real life. I am playing the real role. And each one of us are playing the role. Basically we are nothing. But we are guided by some directors, some producers sitting top of the sky. And our cameraman is sitting there. Whole team is sitting there. And we all are playing that role. And if someone has got this myth that he is doing everything by himself, he's wrong. No one is doing anything by himself. There are some forces. Those who are guiding him as a director, as a producer, as a cameraman.

So friends or covid19 hall. There are total 15 students in that hall. And you are waiting for your teacher to come into the class. The teacher comes inside the class. She has got two big, big bundles of question paper and answer paper. As we all know that the bundles are sealed. They are tightly knotted. And she will take time to open the bundle. But she is not able to open the bundle because they are tightly knotted. And there is some issues with the note. So she will call name of the student. Suppose in the front row we have Ajay, Vijay and Rahul. Whatever name you can give. They are sitting in the front row.

The teacher will come inside. She will ask Ajay, can you help me out? Ajay will definitely say, I will try, ma'am. And she gives the bundle to Ajay. Ajay, he is trying to open the knot. But again he fails. So the teacher will call the name of Vijay. Vijay, can you do this? Vijay will definitely say, I will try, ma'am. But so he also fails. So the atmosphere of the classroom is becoming irritating. And the negativity is coming inside the examination hall.

All of a sudden before the teacher calls the third or fourth name there is a student sitting in the top back corner of the class. He stood up by himself and he says, can I try, ma'am? And as soon as he say can I try, ma'am. The whole atmosphere of the classroom changed from negative to positive. Look, the words are same. The meaning is almost the same. I will try and let me try. But there is a huge difference between the two words. When a person is saying I will try.

So there are three things. First, he is playing safe. He is playing safe. He will try. If he succeeds, okay. If he don't, then hardly matters. Then the other approach is I am doing my duty. My teacher has told me I'll try. But delivery is not important for me. But the third person, maybe anyone, maybe that third person, you, me or Anyone who is standing by himself and saying let me try ma'am, he is coming out of his comfort zone and he is taking the problem head on. Taking the problem head on. Taking the challenges head on. This is what we call embracing. Embracing yourself. Coming out of your comfort zone and then evolving.

Look, it hardly matters that that person succeeds or not. But the atmosphere changes, the positivity comes inside the examination hall. So friends, my point is if you are coming from your comfort zone and you are evolving or embracing the things and taking the challenge head on, you are the real successful man in life in future. So this was a very small examination of a classroom.

Now again I'll take you to one examination situation. In the year 1987 there was a 15 year student who was very smart in class. He was very popular amongst the principal, amongst the teachers, among the parents. He was a very popular man everywhere. But when the report when he got the class 10th examination result in newspaper he got second division, second division. That time in 1980s, basically 87 90s there used to be three bigger, bigger grade, first division, second division or distinction. There were no highest percentage like today. 80%, 90%. There were three categories.

So when he scored second division. But everyone in the society, everyone in the college, his parents, his colony, everyone were expecting first division from him. So he was shocked. He was shocked. It looked like he failed. It looked like that he failed in the Gyam nation.

So he decided to run away from his home. And the small child of 15 year deciding running away from his home without any clue, without any idea. He went straight away to the roadway bus stand and he said on the first available bus. That bus was going to Chandigarh. That bus was going to Chandigarh. He sat on the bus with no clue where he is going. The bus conductor was an old seasoned man. He talked to the child and he asked why are you leaving your home? Then the child told him it was a very small city. So everyone knows families and all.

So the conductor helped the child to go back to his home. And the child went to his home with the support of conductor. When he went to his home, everyone was crying. His mother was crying, his father was crying, his sister, brother, everyone was waiting for him and he started crying. So father told me why you are running from home. He told me the child was encouraged by the parents. You did well. You did very well. Whatever you did, you did your best. No problem. There is another chance in life you will get good marks. It in class 12 you will get good marks. So you carry on with the studies.

Friends, the child decided next day when he got the mark seat that he scored less marks in science subjects. And science subject was the culprit. Where he was not able to get first division other subjects he was thoroughly extinct. Distinctions and all he got. So the child immediately decided he will not learn science. He will not take science in class 11th or class 12. So that time and even till today also in our society taking art subject after class 10 is like a crime against society. People feel it's a crime.

And why this student is studying humanities or arts? Because he is not good in studies. But that child took the problem head on. He went to this new school and he studied for two years in humanities in art subject by making his own food. Because he was living in an outhouse type of situation in a hilly station. And he got distinction in Class 12 in Arts. He topped the state. He topped his district. And now I can tell you that child who took the journey of Chandigarh bus.

So friends, now I'll start the serious part of my talks to you. We talk of role models. Everyone talk of role models in the society. Mainly when we are students, classes 10, 11, 12 role models. Whoever we follow, they are the role models. And big, big role models we prefer. But friends, what I feel role models are nearby. They are always with us. They are always with us. Our parents, our mother, our father, our sister, our driver who is driving us, who is protecting us. Our peon. Everyone in the society.

No matter what post he held, no matter what he is doing, he can be a role model. Because what do you need from your role model? You simply need some energy, some virtue, some qualities to be ingrained in you. And to develop and evolve yourself like a good man, good citizen of country. So role models are there. I talk about role model. Now I will again talk about a very ambiguous, a very misnomer concept of success. Success has got different, different meaning from different, different people.

We talk of successful people with all big, big property and Mercedes and BMWs and all the power of the society they are earning. I don't think success has something to do with the satisfaction. There are two different things. Success and satisfaction are entirely different things. It is not sure that whenever you succeed somewhere you are satisfied. Also a satisfied man is different than a successful man. Maybe successful man can also be a satisfied man. I am not negating that. But in both the things you find there is a lot of difference. There is a huge difference.

So friends, when I talk of success I can tell you I was posted in Kota, Rajasthan in 2007 I was posted there and there's a very big, big agitation going on against state. It was Gurjar agitation. The people who are in Rajasthan, they might be knowing it. It was a reservation anti reservation and reservation policies of the government. That there was a agitation going in Kota Rajasthan. Pura Shahar, Pura Pradesh Civil war. I with my 15 24th personnel. We were staying in a small station called Bayana.

Our job was to protect that railway premises, that railway property. And to save the people lives who are staying near the station. Or Hamte or Hamthe or Hamari Mirodme agitations Karnavali, Lokte, Delhi, Hamari, Jamta or Ek. When the Collector house and the SDM house were literally burnt. The SDM house was burnt and people, the agitators were trying to burn the house of the Collector also. So the local sp, the local Thana, the local police whenever we were used to call them they say sir, just a civil war.

You will not believe the treatment which we got from the local ladies. Satisfied man is very very different than a successful man. Maybe you will not talk success stories for that. Because we were not able to open the railway route. We were not succeeded in getting the things under control of the government. It took a lot of time and the people were facing the problem. But we succeeded when we got satisfied. So those satisfaction. That's a very important lesson of life. And that can be for anyone not in my field, any field.

Now friends, I talk very important quality of life which is related to all these. This is sensitivity. But life. You are the master of your own life. You can do a lot of things. Simple example. Suppose a person comes to you and asks how are you? So you say I am fine. Because he expects you say fine. If you will not say you fine and you start narrating your story that I have that problem. I have this problem. He will not ask you again how are you? It is you only who has to face your life struggle and you have to carry on.

So before I conclude. Whenever you feel that you have achieved something. Whenever you feel you have achieved something. Close your eyes. Simply close your eyes. Even when you are not able to achieve something. Close your eyes and remember a famous poet, Robert Frost was an English poet from America. And he wrote very beautiful four lines that the woods are lovely, dark and deep. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have lot of promises to keep. But I have lot of promises to keep. Miles to go before I sleep. Miles to go before I sleep. Thank you.

Philosophy, Motivation, Education, Personal Growth, Role Models, Success, Tedx Talks