Tenacity : A Life-Changing Hunger To Achieve The Impossible

 Tenacity Can Write Your Destiny

Chhutni Mahato, a fighter, an inspiration and a crusader who changed not just her life but of many women in her state, let’s read a story of tenacity; from a victim of witch hunt to Padma Shri Awardee, Chhutni Devi, her life, struggles and her emergence as a fearless, feisty leader against a grisly social evil.

Tenacity Turns a Victim of Witch Hunt to Padma Shri Awardee

A battle against a gruesome social evil that gave birth to a warrior with the name of Chhutni Mahato, who herself was once branded as witch, wasn’t an easy road for a woman of Saraikela, Jharkhand where Witch-Hunt was a common practice to torture women and snatch their property. She was a girl of 13 when she got married in the year 1978, education was a dream for the girls of her time in her village and child marriage was the only way to settle a girl child. An unfortunate day in March 1995 changed her entire life when a little girl in her neighborhood fell sick and she was accused of practicing witchcraft and black magic. Her neighbors attempted a sexual assault on her and forced her to drink urine. She fought to prove her innocence and even tried to seek help of the local police but was demanded Rs.10000, for lodging a case against the perpetrators. After having seized an opportunity, she fled from the village with her four children and was back to her native place but here also the situation was equally beleaguered; witch hunt was prevailing in her native village also. She finally resolved to stand against this odious social evil and became the trailblazer in abolishing Witch-hunt. This practice of cruelty and ostracizing women is rampant in the state. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 575 women were lynched after they had been branded as witches during the years from 2001 to 2019.

Her arduous journey had no end till she met Nidhi Khare who guided her to seek help from an NGO which was fighting against this social evil, witch-hunting in Jharkhand. With the help of Deputy Commissioner, Amit Khare she set up an anti-witch-hunting consultation centre and since then there was no looking back for Chhutni Mahato. She has rescued 125 women in past two decades and relentlessly working for the rights of women in her region. Her tenacity and unflinching trust in her efforts finally paid her and served the society at large.

“As my sufferings mounted, I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation- either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.”

-         Martin Luther King Jr.

These words of Martin Luther explains nicely how one can transform the sufferings and adversities in life by converting them into guiding forces and that is only possible when you cultivate tenacity in your personality. Tenacity is one of the most important human attributes that invigorates your spirit to never give up despite strenuous challenges and hardships. It arouses your hunger to persist and persevere till you achieve the impossible.

Tenacity instills Adaptability

Adaptability is an essential element when you start doing something which is out of your Comfort Zone; one has to weather hundreds of unexpected hurdles to persist on the aspirations. If you can accommodate with the unpredictable, you can cultivate tenacity. One must be adaptable to become more tenacious because you cannot control the circumstances; you can only channelize your strength and efforts to pave your way of success under the undesirable circumstances also. Your adaptability helps you allay your fear and anxiety because you are no more scared of the unfamiliar situations and know how to handle them deftly.

Tenacity Unfolds Your Potential

Tenacity helps you sow Determination and positivity in the soil of your efforts and your dreams; you stay focused, wait patiently for the desired outcome, remain firm on your choices and finally reap a splendid harvest. It makes you believe in your strengths and skills and unleash your potential. In your pursuit of excellence, tenacity makes you resist the temptations and refrain you from being judgmental. It gives you a clear vision of what you aim to and how to prepare yourself for it by breaking all the barriers that hold you back.  

Tenacity: A Byproduct of Self-discipline

Tenacity demands a great amount of self-discipline, if an athlete doesn’t train himself, he can’t expect victory for his performance. If you don’t devote long hours of practice and a patient repetition in your efforts to master a skill, how you will hope to fulfill your dreams. Achievers never wander willy-nilly, but plan and practice with self-discipline which impels them to unearth their hidden talents and enjoy the accomplishments.

 

The secrets of success are ever-elusive, and there is no doubt that success, at both personal and professional levels, is an unrelenting process; one can never say at some or the other point in life that he has attained success. It’s not a matter of talent, skills, creativity or destiny; your success is all about your tenacity and perseverance, it’s the answer of the question that is  frequently asked to you by your SELF- how honestly and strongly you have strived for it? The tenacious people always answer overwhelmingly- I persevered till I achieved it. So catapult your career and personal growth by practicing tenacity and perseverance in your attitude. Next time when you make a foray into a new activity, skill or task, be tenacious, you will certainly come out as a winner. The story of Chhutni Mahato proves that at the core of every great change, there is always a great human and this great human can be any; it can be you, it can be me. If you have ideas, if you have passion for making a difference, if you have tenacity, you can climb any mountain of marvels.