Am I really good? Have you ever asked this question to yourself? Basically, a good human being is one who wouldn’t harm others and if possible, would go out of the way to help someone.

Is that good enough? Or, does one need to apply more stringent, rigid standards? In a book called “The Difficulty of Being Good” – By Gurcharan Das. He has examined the Mahabharata through an analysis of the one predominant characteristics – good or bad – of each of the epic’s characters. What is heartening is that all good characters in the epic seem confused too, at some point or other.

Yudhishthira is convinced he cannot declare war against his elders and brothers, but still does so; Arjuna is dead against killing his grandfather, his teacher and an unarmed Karna, and yet does it; Bhishma is goodness personified, but he doesn’t try to stop his grandchildren from attempting to disrobe the hapless Draupadi in court. He also leads the armies of one set of grandchildren against another!

Who can deny Lord Krishna’s goodness? and yet, at times we question the advice he gave Arjuna that let to the killing of his grandfather Bhishma, his teacher Drona and his brother Karna! Goodness, it seems, is confusing.

The goody-goody characters on television confound the confusion. They are so good, so pure, so butter wouldn’t melt in their mouth that they are not just unbelievable, but actually irritating! They suffer vicissitudes and insults with never a word against those who persecute them. Their ‘nobility’ makes you squirm in your seat.

Now, why should goodness irritate? But truth is that too big a shot of goodness does arouse discomfort! All of us know at least one friend, aunt, cousin, or even our parent or sibling who irriate with their saccharine goodness or obsession of self-sacrifice! They are so good that they seem Divine! Such people are an anachronism in today’s world! They set such high standards that they make us feel inadequate.

Mahabharata too has its moments of irritating goodness. Yudhisthira is calm and unmoved during the period of exile as Draupadi’s temper blazes. “Why be good?” she asks and “Why doesn’t your anger blaze?” His goodness at that point is irritating to his beloved wife and brothers, as enumerated by Gurcharan Das.

The Mahabharata reminds us once again about the difficulty of being good.

Is it important to have some bit of vice because the bad instinct is inborn, a part of us? And goodness is the struggle against that instinct; we all achieve varying degrees of success and so are good in different ways. That’s human. And so Krishna is good, so are Yudhishthira and Arjuna. Their struggle against evil, their moments of weakness and their repentance make them so.

So then, are we saying that actually, it is the evil within us that makes us good? Just as without darkness, who would appreciate light? How can you be good if you have no shade of bad within you?

When the word ‘creativity’ is used, we generally understand it as the ability to create something physical and unique. Creativity is often taken in the context of art and literature. An artist expresses his creativity through the colors he uses, a writer through words, an architect through his buildings and a musician with his instrument and musical notes. But there is more to creativity than that. It can also mean recreating one’s life.

In any life, the only constant is change. Everyone faces different phases of life. Our ability to deal with those changes dexterously is called creativity. It requires that one be willing to step away from easy answers and quick solutions. It needs one to look beyond the familiar and into uncharted territory. Ultimately, creativity is about risk and courage.

As a toddler; we find life gloriously free from responsibility. As we grow older, social norms require us to adapt our behavior to the external world. Gradually, we get programmed to behave in a certain way.

It is almost a metaphor for life, which forces us to adapt to real time change. For example, life changes once we get married and have children, The carefree life changes into a life of responsibility. It is possible to feel stifled by the link between one’s behavior and the way others fee.

Every aspect of life requires us to be creative. As circumstances change, we should be able to dance in the moment. Many people find themselves unable to accept changed circumstances, making for great frustration. For instance, a strategy shift in an organization inf the form of either a merger or an acquisition will affect many employees. Some get more responsibility and some may lose jobs. Just months ago, recession forced change on reputable organizations, some of which filed for bankruptcy. Many faced management changes, retrenchment and relocation of employees. Many found employees resentful and confused.

These reactions indicate a collective and destructive emotion even though every individual should instead, take ownership of his/her reaction. The downturn was an irreversible process. But how does one handle such a devastating situation? We need to understand that once an event has occurred, it is entirely up to us to choose the way we accept and move forward. When we resist change, we stagnate.

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties. Conditions for creativity are to be puzzled; to concentrate; to accept conflict and tension; to be born everyday; to feel a sense of self.

Creativity in our interaction with people is one of the most crucial skills a human being can have. It is also the one that people focus on least, choosing instead to concentrate on developing our academic skills or general knowledge.

So, what is it that prevents us from accepting change? Our fear of failure because we underestimate our capacity to learn new things. It appears unthinkable because the mind says, “I am best at what I do”. But how will you ever know if you are good or bad at something else unless you try it. There are also the social pressures of being at a particular level in our job and egotistic anger about being passed over, say, for promotion. The right question for those who wait for the perfect job, perfect boss, perfect organization and perfect colleagues, is; “How perfect am I?”

Change by definition is temporary. The pace at which a person accepts the change and moves on truly shows his creativity. Re-creating one’s own life the highest form of creativity because “the future doesn’t just happen, it’s shaped by decisions.”