clarity of perception...

आयत्यां गुणदोषज्ञः तदात्वे क्षिप्रनिश्चयः।

अतीते कार्यशेषज्ञः शत्रुभिर्नाभिभूयते॥

मनुस्मृत्यां ७-१७९

āyatyāṁ guṇadoṣajñaḥ tadātve kṣipraniścayaḥ|

atīte kāryaśeṣajñaḥ śatrubhirnābhibhūyate||

manusmṛtyāṁ 7-179

A great quote from Manusmriti

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A ruler who

is fully aware of the results of good and bad deeds of the past and is prepared to act accordingly

is ever prepared to take very quick decisions on the issues facing him in the present

and

is fully conscious of the duties to be performed and targets to be achieved in future

can never be attacked or defeated by enemies..

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Though the quote comes as advice to those engaged in statecraft, the idea would apply on all fours to every situation in life..

We should be aware of what is past and be prepared to learn our lessons.. This does not mean either basking on old glory or wailing over what is lost.. It is only a preventive measure.. if we go by the precedents, we might not commit the same errors again .. That is all

Quick and alert decision making is what is required for the present.. But this does not mean a decision should be taken with inadequate inputs . Speed and efficiency should go hand in hand.

And we should ever have our vision for the future.. But that does not mean we should build castles in the air or that we should have nightmares about what would happen later in the day, month or year.. We should nurture realistic targets and ensure that we work for such targets with concerted efforts..

The ideas are great.. We can try to adopt at least a little of them in our lives..