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Reading the morning newspaper daily is an old habit of mine. But today I couldnt read through. The front page was splattered with the headline of a teenager ending her life brutally in a posh Kolkata English medium school. Why? She couldn't take the academic pressure any more. Anxious that she wouldn't qualify in entrance exams, she chose to take a gruesome way out. Slit her wrists and stuffed her own face into a polythene packet. My question is how many more sacrifices will be required at the altar of marks and academic performance? When will parents wake up? And stop pressurizing their wards to attain impossible goals? What happened to good old innocent childhood? Do children have to bear the cross of unrealistic expectations throughout their growing years? Just so that parents and schools can gloat over their achievements? What is success and how do we measure it in such narrow terms? Why don't we teach our children to accept failure, to appear vulnerable?

“Why can’t I speak up when I want to? That woman is always dominating me..she bullies me all the time! I know I am right, then why am I so hesitant to speak?” “Uggh, I messed up once again! Why did I react without thinking? I should have calmed down and reacted!” “I have this great idea to improve work methods. Should I speak up before the boss? Or will people laugh at me?” Can you identify with any of these statements? Is that you reacting? If yes, you need to work on your soft skills. First, let us see what soft skills actually are. In contrast “hard” or technical and job-related core skills, soft skills are the more non-technical, people management and personal leadership skills. What are Soft Skills?      Soft Skills are  behavioral competencies , also known as  Interpersonal Effectiveness , or  people skills. In today’s chaotic world, these skills sometimes matter more than any degree or professional competency.   Soft Skills include the following: ü    Self-Awaren