Book Review

Becoming by Michelle Obama: 10 reasons why it is a must read?

Some books are simply written in a flawless manner that inspires others and simply puts in the seed of "hope". Hope for better future, hope for liberating oneself from the shackles, hope to dare to dream big, hope to lead others. Such is the inspiring story of Michelle Obama. We all see or judge not just America but any developed nation as full of positivity and elevated standard of living, however its not always true. And who would be the best person to describe this situation other than Michelle Obama. She had her own journey of ups and downs, lows and highs, dilemmas which every other working women will once encounter in her life, struggles of an African American even at the highest level of authoritative position in the country. It was too easy for her to be overshadowed by her husband's position but what she chose to be was an overwhelming story of a brave and a determined lady who left her mark in the history of America by her own deeds.

Being the First Lady of the most powerful nation comes with its own privileges, its upto the person how the platform is utilised. Coming from the most humble background and fighting against all the adversaries nothing came on its own and everything was respectfully "EARNED".

While the whole book is amazing and worth reading line by line, some of the key highlights are summarised below.  

1. NEVER DOUBT YOURSELF.

2. DO NOT LOOK FOR JOBS BUT FOR CAREERS.

3. TAKE LIFE EASY. LIFE IS A SEE SAW AND IT WILL PUSH YOU UP AND DOWN.

4. NEVER TYPECAST YOURSELF BY OVERHEARING WHAT OTHERS THINK ABOUT YOU. 

5. KEEP YOUR EXPECTATIONS LOW. LIFE IS NOT A MATHEMATICAL EQUATION X IS NOT ALWAYS EQUAL TO Y.

6. PRIORITISE YOURSELF OCCASIONALLY.

7. TO BRING ABOUT A CHANGE PATIENCE IS THE GREATEST VIRTUE.

8. YOU ARE SPECIAL AND MUST KEEP DOING THE GOOD WORK.

9. ACCEPT THINGS THE WAY THEY ARE BUT PUT IN YOUR EFFORTS TO WORK TOWARDS THE BETTERMENT.

10. POWER WITH HUMILITY IS ADMIRED AND BLESSED BUT WITH ARROGANCE THE VIRTUE IS LOST.

 Each one of the above statements are mentioned in the book in some context. In order to understand little more following paragraphs are adopted from the book. They echo the different stages of life which came across the life of Michelle Obama but they are equivocally applicable to the lives of any person who dreams big, works hard and aspire to do some good work in life. 

1. "All of us have doubters. Some continue to have roaring, stadium sized collections of critics and naysayers who will shout I told you so at every little misstep or mistake. The noise don't go away, but the most successful people I know have figured out how to live with it, to lean on the people who believe in them, and to push onward with their goals".

This is so very true and is relevant for each and every individual during the different time horizons. There is a very thin line where we expand our boundaries and motivates ourselves to again give a start to the journey to achieve our goals.

2. "Finding a career as opposed to a job wouldn't just come from pursuing the contact pages of an alumni directory; it required deeper thought and effort".

Career vs job two very different approach for a person to decide while taking a call for action. The perspective for life differs in both the cases. It needs introspection for life. Not many reaches this state of actualisation!

3. "Most of us lived in the state of constant calibration, tweaking one area of life in hopes of bringing more steadiness to another."

This is what most of the people in simplified terms say work life balance. All strive to reach that state of equilibrium but everyone just dwindles on the see saw of personal and professional life. It is always upto us what we are ready to sacrifice or pay the price in order to achieve what we want in our life.

4. "Its remarkable how a stereotype functions as an actual trap."

There is always a trap in which a person can be under false illusions if not paid enough attention to minute details in our life. Once someone else stereotypes you in some particular fashion and the same thought gets resonated by others around you (may be because of some fickle reason),  you are very likely to fell into this trap of actually behaving like the puppet of others. This happens with people so many times around us. In order to get out of this what is of utmost importance is "PAUSE" and "PONDER". Be careful to watch your actions to send right message at the right time.

5. "You have got to be twice as good to get half as far : an old maxim in the black community."

Each and every society is built upon some hierarchies and some societal orders. No where in this world the society are free from vices be it black vs white, women vs men, rich vs poor and so on. In order to overcome beyond those shackles of stereotypes one needs great efforts to rise and define the new rules. After all not everyone is born with privileges and have their own boundaries to work.

6. "I had learned through my years of trying to find balance in my life that it was okay to flip those priorities and care only for ourselves once in a while."

This is a lesson which very few people dare to think upon. their priorities never grows beyond their circle of life. They wake up, live up and work up for their beloved ones, now a days we can put men too in this club. they don't realise that there is life beyond that too and for once in a while these priorities can take a backseat. Difficult to persuade as people build a cocoon of guilt around them.

7. "Life was teaching me that progress and change happens slowly. Not in two years, four years, or even a lifetime. We were planting seeds of change, the fruit of which we might never see. We had to be patient."

These lines goes well with everyone. People work hard to get desired results. They become desperate to see the effects, sometimes even feel frustrated with their surroundings and gets themselves in the trap of de motivation. However one should realise that attempts are never forgone. it takes time to nurture a sapling. Only time, perseverant efforts and sustainability of the action will bring fruits in the due course of time. 

8. "You Belong, You Matter. I think highly of you." 

This is a self talk which one should indulge in case of doubts. These are the thoughts which can uplift a person even from the toughest of the circumstances. It definitely gives power to sustain whatever negative is happening around. These magical words can inspire a person to go beyond the limits and surprise everyone around.

9. "You may live in the world as it is, but you can still work to create the world as it should be."

Its easy to complain and create a fuss about it rather than accepting the situation as it is and makes your hands dirty 

10. "Dominance, even the threat of it, is a form of dehumanisation. It's the ugliest kind of power." 

Power has its own highs but if that high turns into dominance it is the most toxic instrument in the hands of authoritarians.