Maintaining Optimism in Adversity - Press Release issued by Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Lahore -- June 18, 2020 (PPI-OT)

Following is the text of press release issued by Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)

Quote

"Pakistan is desperately short of managers, people who manage other people and get work donea[euro]A|.In the past decades there has been little or no effort in increasing management education," wrote Syed Babar Ali, Founding Pro Chancellor, LUMS in a letter dated April 6, 1983, to a group of businessmen. With hope and determination, he set out to establish what was to become one of the greatest universities in South Asia. He wanted a business school to be set up modelled "somewhat on the lines of Harvard Business School, tailor-made to the needs of Pakistan."

To live a fulfilling life, each of us needs hope. In the current background of COVID-19, many of us are becoming pessimists. Our workplaces have changed, the economy is struggling and so are several families. People have lost their jobs and students cannot go to their respective educational institutions. All said and done, we must keep hoping; hoping for better days to come - days when we can freely walk out of our homes without fear. As employees, we need to stay motivated. As students, we need to believe that we will go back to school and meet our friends and teachers in person instead of through computer screens.

Hope demands that we be responsible to turn our thoughts towards a more positive mind-set. We must believe in ourselves and the power to change things around us. Human nature is such that it can turn around things if it wants to. So, if you are a feeling a bit down, first of all, sit back, relax, and thank God for your blessings. Now see what you can do to be more constructive while at home. What about picking up a hobby that you had wanted to take up but never had time for? What about spending time with your family in a manner that they benefit? Think about the numerous things that you can do that seemed impossible due to a shortage of time.

Meanwhile, history records that the former President of the USA, Barack Obama's election campaign convinced people that the only way they could survive, renew and reinvent the economy was that they needed to believe in themselves and each other - and they must do it together. He put forward a vibrant energy of endless possibilities throughout America that made people believe that their lives would change in a positive direction. He sold hope to the American people and won. Lesson learnt: When you feel...