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By:

Asha Tripathi

14 April 2025 at 1:35:28 pm

Stop Comparing, Start Growing

Success does not grow in comparison; it grows in focus. Over the years, women have made significant strides in every sphere of life. From managing homes to leading organisations, from nurturing families to building successful careers, women have proved that strength and resilience are deeply rooted in their nature. Financial independence has become a significant milestone for many women today, bringing with it confidence, dignity, and the freedom to shape one’s own destiny. However, along...

Stop Comparing, Start Growing

Success does not grow in comparison; it grows in focus. Over the years, women have made significant strides in every sphere of life. From managing homes to leading organisations, from nurturing families to building successful careers, women have proved that strength and resilience are deeply rooted in their nature. Financial independence has become a significant milestone for many women today, bringing with it confidence, dignity, and the freedom to shape one’s own destiny. However, along with growth has come another silent challenge — the tendency to constantly observe, compare, and sometimes even compete with the journeys of others. But a crucial question arises: Is it necessary to track the growth of others in order to grow ourselves? From my personal experience of more than two decades as an entrepreneur, I have realised something very powerful — true growth begins the moment we stop looking sideways and start looking within. A Small Beginning I had a flourishing career of teaching abroad, but when I restarted my career after moving back to India, my beginning was extremely small. My very first assignment was a simple home tuition for a single student, and the amount I earned was meagre. There was nothing glamorous about it. No recognition, no large batches, no big earnings. Just one student and one opportunity. But instead of worrying about how others were doing, how many students they had, or how much they were earning, I made a conscious decision—my only focus would be on improving myself. I focused on teaching better, preparing better, and becoming more disciplined and consistent. And slowly, without even realising it, things began to grow. One student became two, two became a small group, and gradually, over the years, the work expanded beyond what I had initially imagined. Looking back today, I can confidently say that the growth did not happen because I competed with others. It happened because I competed with myself yesterday. Comparison Creates Noise When we keep watching others' journeys too closely, we unknowingly divert our own energy. Comparison creates unnecessary noise in our minds. It brings doubts, insecurities, and sometimes even negativity. Instead of walking our own path with clarity, we start questioning our speed, our direction, and our worth. True success grows through focus, not comparison. Every woman has her own story, her own pace, and her own struggles that others may never see. The path of one person can never be identical to another's. So comparing journeys is like comparing two different rivers flowing towards the same ocean — each with its own route, its own curves, and its own rhythm. As women, we already carry many responsibilities. We balance emotions, relationships, work, and society's expectations. In such a life, the last thing we need is the burden of comparison with one another. Instead, what we truly need is support for each other. When women encourage women, something extraordinary happens. Confidence grows. Opportunities multiply. Strength becomes collective rather than individual. There is enough space in the world for every woman to create her own identity. Each of us can build our own niche without stepping on someone else's path. Choose Encouragement Envy weakens us, but encouragement empowers us. Rather than questioning how someone else is progressing, we can ask a more meaningful question: "How can I grow a little better than I was yesterday?" Lift As You Rise Today, after twenty years of experience, the most valuable lesson I have learned is simple yet profound — focus on your own work with honesty and dedication, and success will quietly follow you. We, women, are capable, resilient, and creative. We do not need to pull each other down or compete in unhealthy ways. Instead, we can lift each other up while building our own dreams. Because when one woman rises, she does not rise alone. She inspires many others to believe that they can rise, too. And perhaps that is the most beautiful form of success. (The writer is a tutor based in Thane. Views personal.)

China–Pakistan–Kyrgyzstan Triangle Signals New Asian Alignment

The partnership is driven by China’s economic and strategic dominance, while for Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan, it offers a pathway to growth and connectivity.

Xi Jinping Shehbaz Sharif Sadyr Japarov
Xi Jinping Shehbaz Sharif Sadyr Japarov

A new triangular partnership is emerging in Asia, linking China, Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan. The collaboration signals a push to deepen economic, security and infrastructure ties across Central and South Asia. Driven by shared strategic interests, the three are exploring cooperation through the Belt and Road Initiative, cross-border trade corridors and counterterrorism coordination.


For China, the partnership strengthens its influence in Central Asia and helps secure its western borders; for Pakistan, it broadens regional connectivity beyond the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor; and for Kyrgyzstan, it brings fresh economic prospects and added political leverage in a changing Asian order. Together, the alignment points to a gradual move towards more integrated regional dynamics shaped by overlapping ambitions.


An Unequal Partnership

The so-called “all-weather friendship” between China and Pakistan is well known. Yet while Pakistan may present it as an equal partnership, it more closely resembles a subordinate relationship—a pattern seen in most close alignments with China. Even so, Chinese investment in Pakistan is substantial. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a 15-year, $62-billion project and the flagship of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, has anchored ties since 2015, with Gwadar Port long promoted as its “crown jewel”.


However, it has increasingly come to resemble a “white elephant”. Years after its construction, business at the port remains limited—mirroring outcomes seen at projects such as Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port and Nepal’s Pokhara Airport, now under investigation for corruption. Attacks by Baloch insurgents on Chinese projects and personnel in Pakistan are also recurring, yet Beijing appears largely undeterred by these challenges.


Beyond Gwadar Port, China has invested for years in Pakistan’s power and transport infrastructure, while Chinese firms are now eyeing major stakes in renewable energy and advanced technology. Whether these investments—often backed by high-interest loans—are sustainable for Pakistan remains uncertain. The U.S. State Department has recently criticised what it calls China’s predatory lending, arguing that such projects largely benefit Chinese firms and workers while adding to Pakistan’s debt burden, a pattern also seen in countries such as the Maldives and Sri Lanka.


China’s Expanding Footprint

While Pakistan is among the most prominent examples of China’s deep economic footprint under the Belt and Road Initiative, it is not the only one. Linking China to Europe through road and rail corridors is central to BRI, with Central Asian states playing a critical role—among them, Kyrgyzstan.


Since 2018, China has emerged as Kyrgyzstan’s leading economic and investment partner, involved in several key transport and infrastructure projects under the BRI. Strengthening connectivity with China through roads, railways, border crossings and logistics hubs also features prominently in Kyrgyzstan’s National Development Programme to 2030.


By the end of 2024, China had invested $286.5 million in Kyrgyzstan. According to the National Statistical Committee, 931 Chinese enterprises were operating in the country, 706 of them primarily backed by Chinese capital. Investments are concentrated in infrastructure—railways, energy and logistics—along with mining and manufacturing. The scale of Chinese presence varies by region, with near-monopoly positions in areas such as Batken. Kyrgyzstan now depends on China for nearly a third of its external debt, raising concerns over financial dependence and potential debt traps.


Kyrgyz-Pakistan Connection

Central Asian states such as Kyrgyzstan are strengthening ties with Pakistan to expand trade and bolster regional security. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov visited Islamabad this month—the first such visit in over two decades—resulting in agreements across trade, education, tourism, energy and agriculture.


Efficient land and rail links are crucial to boosting commerce between Central Asia and Pakistan. For landlocked Central Asian states, access to Pakistani seaports is a key priority, with the potential to significantly expand their global trade.


Notably, the Taliban has emerged as a shared concern. For decades, Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian states stood on the opposite side of Pakistan, which had fostered the Taliban’s rise and supported its takeover of much of Afghanistan in the late 1990s. At the time, Central Asian states strongly backed militias in northern Afghanistan that opposed the Taliban.


After the Taliban was ousted following 9/11, Pakistan went on to provide key support to the insurgency that ultimately overthrew the US-backed Afghan government in 2021. Now, as Pakistan–Taliban relations rapidly deteriorate, Central Asian states are increasingly finding common cause with Islamabad.


The emerging China–Pakistan–Kyrgyzstan triangle reflects a new regional alignment reshaping Asia’s geopolitics. Driven by China’s economic and strategic dominance, Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan see the partnership as a pathway to growth and connectivity. Yet power asymmetries and debt risks raise concerns over sovereignty and long-term stability. Whether this grouping enables genuine regional integration or mainly extends Beijing’s influence will shape the future balance of power in Central and South Asia.


(The writer is a foreign affairs expert. Views personal.)

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