My Mother Is My Role Model In Everything, And I’ve Followed Her Footsteps In My Career

Today, I bear a close resemblance to my mother, but it was not so always. I think it is because now I have started acting and reacting just like my mother. I have never thought of her to be my role model because what she did naturally came to me. Every time I was confronted with a situation, I acted exactly how she would have done it.

I followed her footsteps in my career

When asked to choose a medical profession, I naturally chose that of a dentist because my mother was a dental hygienist who was very proud of her profession. Next, when given a chance to work, despite knowing that looking after two children and working would be a major challenge, I accepted it without thinking twice. It is exactly what she did years back when given a golden opportunity to work in a foreign country despite knowing that her 18 month old daughter would have to be sent to a daycare.

For my mother, no hurdle was unconquerable or insignificant. So, she was ready for everything. She knew how to emerge from these obstacles, quite untouched by their magnitude. I think this is what stayed in me when I had to face problems, be it the surgeries I had to undergo or life crises.

Every year she would religiously take a month long vacation just to be with her extended family. She would pamper them with everything that she had bought for them and her usual by-line would be, “How can I forget my blood relations when I am so blessed?”

All this has moulded me into a person who places others’, (especially my family’s) needs above mine. I find it very hard to answer people in the same coin, even when they insult me. I can rarely spontaneously give apt answers to negative statements because I deem it very disrespectful.

She honoured her friendships

Every time she visited her home country she would make it a point to visit all her friends who stood by her during her tough periods of life. She considers them like her family and always says, “If I cannot help a person I will not be sad, but I will never rejoice in insulting or destroying them.” She has helped me to look at people without being judgemental owing to their religion, colour or creed.

Her determination and perseverance has taught me to hold on till the last breath. She would keep trying at something and wouldn’t give up easily. She is outspoken and straightforward, the two characteristics that are my stronghold, now. Both of us could never think of cheating or belittling others. We are at crossroads most of the time because we speak out our hearts to each other which might be conflicting at times because of the perspective difference. But, at the end we let each other be.

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Today, she is in her mid-seventies but prefers to stay in her house managing her life and chores just the way she likes and I mine. We might be of two different eras, she in a more slow-paced, mechanical era in a close-knit community; me in my fast-paced, technology-driven, self-centered city life, but we see the world with the same eyes and thoughts. We couldn’t be any different nor choose to be because we are content the way we are. I think these ideas and qualities are what helps to keep our family together even when facing adversities.

Editor’s Note:  Join us this Mother’s Day by using the hashtag #LegacyOfStrength and sharing your story, of how your mother (or mother in law!) has influenced your career or how you have made an impact as a woman in business, inspired by her strength and resilience. Perhaps your mother started a business inspired by you or vice versa? Whatever your story is, we want to celebrate the powerful bond between mothers and daughters and the legacy of strength that you share.. Let’s inspire and uplift each other as we honour the incredible women who have shaped our lives.

Read all the #LegacyOfStrength stories here.

Photo by ☀️Shine_ Photos on Unsplash

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