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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.)

Remove minister till probe over: Rohit

Says aircraft owners being ‘shielded’

Mumbai: In more no-holds-barred revelations, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar claimed that efforts were on to ‘save’ the VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd company officials after the January 28 Baramati air-crash. He demanded the removal of Minister of Civil Aviation K. Rammohna Naidu till the investigations into the Learjet 45 aircraft are completed.


Making a second presentation in a week, Rohit Pawar brought up issues pertaining to illegal registrations, document tampering, insurance manipulations and video-evidence hinting at a potential deliberate act leading to the air-crash in which Nationalist Congress Party President and Deputy CM Ajit A. Pawar was among the five killed.


“Several leaders of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of Andhra Pradesh and former ministers from Maharashtra attended the wedding of VSRVPL owner V. K. Singh’s son Rohit Singh. The company is still operating flights and top politicians continue to use the Learjet planes. Instead of trolling me, the Bharatiya Janata Party should support my demand for a transparent probe,” Rohit Pawar said sharply.


The NCP (SP) lawmaker alleged that the ill-fated Learjet was illegally registered in India with help of Directorate General of Civil Aviation officials. According to him, the plane was imported from the USA, owned by five others earlier, was worth barely Rs 10-15 cr., but deployed to ferry VIPs here.


US Registration

He referred to the sudden appearance of a US registration No. N80PQ’ on the plane’s wreckage after the crash which was not visible earlier, and contended that the aircraft was re-painted at home instead of authorized facilities which could cost Rs 3-4 cr.


Rohit Pawar questioned the AAIB’s claim that the Black Box was burnt in the crash and quoting experts, emphasized that Digital Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder can withstand temperatures of up to 1,100 C for an hour. He wondered why the recorder was sent to Canada when India has a Rs. 90-cr lab capable of the analysis inaugurated last year.


Building up pressure, Rohit Pawar contended that the crash may not be accidental, but the aircraft tilted before crashing as it may have been carrying extra fuel that made the explosion more severe and deadly for those on board.


“Instead of turning back, the plane hit the ground directly. Why did it not fall on the runway but veered off to the side? The DGCA norms stipulated 5000 m visibility but the conditions at Baramati that day were around 3000 m. In such a situation, the flight should have aborted landing or returned to Mumbai as alternatives like Pune, Solapur or Sindhudurg may be technically unfeasible,” Rohit Pawar argued.


Diving deeper, the Karjat-Jamkhed MLA questioned the insurance value of Rs 55 cr and liability coverage of Rs 210 crore for the aircraft allegedly worth just Rs 10-15 cr. He raised doubts on the pilots’ licensing claiming that the Captain Sumit Kapur and a company official allegedly illegally operated different types of aircraft without proper licenses.


Flight Plan

Alleging flight plan tinkering by a Mumbai-based handler named Gopi, Rohit Pawar demanded valid CCTV footage, emails and time-stamped data instead of just ‘paper added to paper’.


Warning investigating officers against playing with the documents, he said “any discrepancy between official records and the video evidence” in his possession could lead to serious questions and repercussions.


Rohit lauds aunt Sunetra Pawar

Rohit Pawar welcomed the move by NCP leaders including his aunt and Deputy CM Sunetra A. Pawar, her son Parth, Sunil Tatkare, Praful Patel, Hasan Mushrif, seeking a CBI probe into the Baramati crash. He noted that they had included several issues raised by him in the letter to CM Devendra Fadnavis.


On the political angle, he said there could be a couple of possibilities – speculation that the NCP (SP) would merge with the SP and join the NDA at the centre, or the SP and Ajit Pawar would quit the NDA; but certain forces were upset with either scenario unfolding.

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