The best thing about reading Edward De Bono is that it is unlikely that you will come out unscathed by his writing. See YOUR own behavior and find out what YOU are doing WRONG.

As an adult we do many things, and for certain things we feel ashamed / embarrassed / small when we meet our friends, classmates, cousins, why even siblings and parents. This is largely because of a society driven GOALS statement. Go and review your goal statement. Do you really want to see a beautiful place? Will Coorg or Leh not do? Or is it that you want to be seen in Switzerland so that you can put it on Facebook?

1. We admire boys and girls for giving up their social life for doing hard work for a corporate. They are rewarded with more money and public praise for neglecting their parents, boyfriends (girlfriends), etc. “What a committed girl/boy”. Guilty, I HAVE DONE THAT.

2. We make women feel guilty for not spending enough time with children, but do not talk of the Father’s role. When will we?

3. We forget the story of Krishna and Samba (please Google) – a clear case of poor parenting by Lord Krishna!!

4. We have taught our kids “going to a mall is entertainment”. We would rather be found dead than be found playing frisbee with our kids in the neighboring park which is well maintained by the Municipal Corportation. HEY I live in the 3rd cleanest city in India.

5. We are embarrassed by travelling by public transport when our friends are travelling by SUVs. Remember your friend is ABUSING the environment, YOU are helping damage control.

6. We are embarrassed by the brand of clothes that we wear. Hey that is helping the brand companies. Do an experiment, but 3 branded Tee shirts and 3 unbranded ones. Remove the tags, check after 6 months. In most cases you will NOT know the difference. Remember branding is only a ‘perception’ and an expensive one at that.

7. We will see a doctor for a physical ailment but we will not seek the services of a psychiatrist. Sachin Tendulkar V. Vinod Kambli.

8. We feel ashamed to be seen in a temple with ash on our forehead. We are thrilled to be seen in a big branded pub with a CIGAR.

9. Experiment this: Wear your regular clothes and gate crash into an Elite party with expensive brands and see how inadequate you feel with your ‘favorite’ Indian brands.

10. Check: Are your goals pursuing happiness or pursuing appearances of happiness. “If I use a Cross Gold Pen people will think I am successful”. Is the Cross gold pen giving me pleasure? NO. It is being attached to that symbol of success which is giving me STRESS.

Now change the following:

– start getting embarrassed by the excess of clothing that you carry at home

– by the environment damage your car does to the environment when your driver goes to buy bread in your SUV

– by the health damage that you did to yourself over the drink party where you puked and your wife had to clean up in your friends house.

– by the excess generally and the wasted resources. Sure, you can afford it. The poor environment sadly, cannot.