i found my superpower being proactive focusedby abhiraaj arora to inspire people dont show them your superpowers show them theirs alexander den heijer my travels and experiences have taught me a lot one thing that has really caught my attention is the problem of shrinking green cover from the earths surface i have seen a marked difference in how i feel when i am in nature verses when i am surrounded by concrete last year i returned to hyderabad from germany just before the lockdown all of a sudden i found myself surrounded by tall buildings and very limited access to trees i couldnt go out of my home and it started affecting me mentally i realized i need to do something about it soon i was introduced to the leaderin me programme at school habit 1 of the programme adapted from american educator stephen r coveys book the 7 habits of highly effective people taught me to be proactive and see the alternatives and not the roadblocks it was easy for me to sit and complain but i chose to do otherwise after talking to my parents i decided to grow plants on our balcony i started focusing on habit 2 which says begin with the end in mind i started creating a mental picture as to how i wanted our balcony to look and the plants i wanted to grow we sat down as a family to discuss my mom wanted decorative and flowering plants dad and me wanted to grow vegetables it was difficult here i put to use habit 4 which was to think winwin which helps us to build trust and habit 6 synergize which helps us to look for new and better alternatives we took the third alternative and grew herbs andleafy vegetables first we also started making our own manure using egg shells banana peels and tea leaves now i am trying to follow habit 7 sharpen the saw i have set up daily walking goals i am reading up new content about gardening i am collecting seeds to give to a trust that plants trees and i am happy to have gardening as a new hobby my next aim is to learn how to create a compost pit and once i master the basics i want to spread the awareness about the same in my neighbourhood habit says find your voice and inspire others to find theirs i am trying to inspire others by using my voice being proactive is my superpower whats yours the writer is a class 7 student at glendale academyi learnt to cherish small pleasures of lifeby pranab sahalast year i had just finished my final exams and was waiting to go for outings when the lockdown was announced all my happiness at exams being over disappeared in fact for many days i didnt know what to do with myself then i decided that since there was nothing much to do i might as well work on