We all have probably grown up listening to our parents and elders advising us to be the "all-rounder". We started listening to this word from an age when we did not even understand what it meant to be an "all-rounder". Well, being an all-rounder means having various skills and talents within yourself. All-rounder means being versatile encompassing all aspects of excellence. While being in school, the achievement you garner get you credit and helps you in your higher studies or career options. If you're someone who has an amazing record of achievements in any kind of sports, then probably it would become easier for you to get into the college or university you have always wanted to get in after school through the sports quota that looks into the excellence of a student in sports.

Everything you learn through involvement in these co-curricular and extra-curricular activities leads you to use these skills somewhere important in your life. However, focusing only on the co-curricular and extra-curricular aspects won't take you to places, if you don't work hard on your studies as well. Even though co-curricular activities are very important in a student's life, academic aspects still top the list. If you are not studying well, your extra skills would mean extremely little.

It is often seen nowadays that parents and students end up paying more attention to either studies or other extra-curricular activities in school. What it does to the student is that he/she only excels in one aspect of life which stay behind in the other. Schooling is the initial phase of formal education and development in a person. During this period, a student hardly understands which skills might prove to be useful for them in the long run. Even though parents make the decisions for their ward, most of the time it's up to the child if he or she wants to continue with that chosen path. In this competitive world where every other day, demands are growing, more and more talents are being discovered and there has been a rapid technological growth around us, one cannot make an idea about the limit of knowledge. Every year, we have been seeing that the cut-off marks for admission into the best schools and colleges are continuously increasing. Apart from this, there isn't anything else in the world that would make you wiser other than the books. So, as a student, you need to understand that having an interest in one particular skill won't take us closer to our ambitions in life. Smart students always manage their time, energy and efforts very cleverly. They not only get noticed by everyone for their talent in different activities but also score good marks in school.

There must be students and friends at your school who seem to do well in everything and are highly appreciated. They are the examples your parents and teachers give in front of you to motivate you to be like them. Be it in studies or any other extra-curricular activities, these students excel everywhere! Somewhere or the other, you too have wished to be like them, although it might feel tough, it is not something you cannot be.

It is important to be an all-rounder if you want to achieve your goals and have a career that would make you happy. Lots of colleges and universities nowadays give weightage to co-curricular activities along with academic performances while considering a candidate for admissions. But it's not limited to admissions alone. Being the all-rounder boosts up your confidence immensely. While it's always good to be a Bookworm, being the cool, smart all-rounder is even better, isn't it?

Here are some ways to enhance your skills and personality to attain all-around development.

1. Stop Unhealthy Comparison

Comparison is the most common thing we as students face during our schooling period. There will always be an ideal all-rounder with whom you will be compared now and then. For Indian parents, more than the grades of their ward, they are fascinated towards the grades of the ideal all-rounder kid whom they constantly keep comparing their child to. This constant comparison is unhealthy for your child's mental health and would rather result in degrading your child than uplifting them. Everyone in this world is born different which set of talents and skills works differently for every individual. So if the all-rounder kid you are comparing your child to is doing great in basketball, doesn't mean your child too will excel in it. Probably he/she is interested in soccer rather than in basketball. Go with what your child shows interest in. Motivate them and show that you are happy with their interests in a certain field. Work on their improvement and help them achieve accolades in their interests. This will not only make your child happy but motivate them to do other things in a good and healthy mood and mindset.

2. Choose your area of interest

Now, it is not always necessary to choose sports as an extra-curricular activity for yourself. One might have interests in many other fields like fine arts, music, dance, martial arts, crafting, pottery, acting etc. But you need to choose the activity that you want to follow seriously in your life for a long time. If you are someone who is currently under training or following a certain interest, nurture your abilities with gusto. Do not get your hands into various other activities at once unless you are sure to take up another interest. Because this could mean getting closer to troubles in more than one way. Your wish to be the Jack of all trades would leave you to feel tired and lack motivation and would not give you even the slightest time enough to focus on that one activity you love. So choose your interest wisely. Choose something that you like or want to do rather than following what the "all-rounder" ideal boy that your parents keep comparing to in your school is doing in their life.

3. Work Hard on your Studies

Well, to be honest, there is no shortcut to show excellence in academics or your studies rather than to work hard for it. There will always be people around you who would encourage you to work smart rather than working hard, but truth to be told, a person can never be successful without working hard. Working smart would make you successful for some time, but if you hard along with working smartly, no one can stop you from attaining your goals. There are no shortcuts to excel in studies if you wish to do well in it. When you are engaged with other co-curricular activities, you need to divide your time so that you can focus on all the things you are associated with. To score good marks in your academic exams, the only method is to concentrate on your studies when you dedicate yourself to in. If you are not being able to keep your concentration intact, take small breaks in between every 45 minutes.

Another way to stay focused on your studies is by maintaining regular attendance in school. Do not miss your classes. Always remember that if you are idly having fun by missing your classes, you have wasted half a day of your life which could have helped you score those marks you lost in your exams. If there is any emergence or important things for which you had to miss out your classes, always get to know what was being taught in the class from your friends.

4. Choose your friends circle carefully

The kind of friends you socialize with is the most important factor in your life as it can either shape your future or break it. While an all-rounder's trait is to socialize with everyone but to choose only the ones who can help him/her grow to be a better person. There is nothing more beautiful than having good friends by your side with whom you can share your achievements and happy moments rather than having people who introduce you to bad habits and put you into practising them. Keep your close circle small if it needs to, but always socialize with people who motivates you to be a better version of yourself.

5. Live your life with Discipline 

What can be better than being a good behaviour and well-mannered boy/girl who practises discipline? Undoubtedly nothing. It is very important to have a certain way of life, certain sets of rules and code of behaviour that we must follow in our life. Your good grades and excellent certificates would be meant the least if you lack discipline in yourself. What is the point of being the best sportsman in your school if others students do not admire your behaviour? You would face more and more rejection in future if you do not practice morals and discipline. Be polite and follow good manners, try to develop them in you as much as you can. Always show your gratitude to people around you who have been helping in making you a better person. If you continue practising it, there is no way one can stop you from being the perfect example or the "all-rounder" your parents always wanted you to be.

When it comes to the development of a child, SFS makes sure the development takes place both physically and psychologically. It offers the students with the best guidance and mentorship that would help them reach heights of success in their lives.