New Delhi, April 24 -- "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."

This Chinese proverb serves as a reminder that missed time cannot be recovered; however, meaningful progress can still be made today. The proverb provides us with lessons on action, regret, long-term thinking, and why starting late still beats not starting.

The proverb speaks directly to a very modern fear: the fear of being too late. It acknowledges delay without letting delay become a person's destiny. The power of this proverb lies in its practicality: what matters now is not the opportunity that we missed, but the one that is still available.

The proverb compares two moments of planting a tree. While an ideal moment would have been...