Once, a woman entrepreneur suffered a big loss in her business. She was devastated over the issues, as she made some wrong strategies and decisions. She was unable to look further and continued talking to herself. What to do now? How to recover the losses?
Suddenly, a reminder appeared on her phone, and she remembered she had to go to her son’s school. He is having a football match today. She was not in the mood to attend that, but she had promised him. She thought that attending it might divert my mind.
So, she reached there, but she was a little late, as the match had started.
As she sat there, she asked her son what the score was.
With a bright smile on his face, her son replied, “They are leading us by 3-0!”
With a surprised face, she said, “Really! But you don’t look discouraged at all.”
“Discouraged!” the son asked with a puzzled look on his face.
“Why should I be discouraged when the referee has not blown the final whistle yet?
I have confidence in my team and the coach, and we shall definitely win the match!”
And surprisingly, the match ended 5-4 in favour of Son’s team!
Son waved at her mother gently, with a charming smile, as she left.
On her way back to the office, she was constantly thinking about her son—such confidence, such beautiful faith, and he is just a small boy.
She got back to her seat, but her son’s question kept ringing in her mind again and again. “Why should I be discouraged yet?” “When the referee has not blown the final whistle yet!”
She immediately called her manager and launched a new strategy to recover their loss, and after a couple of months, they started doing well in their business.
Our life is exactly like a game.
Why should we be discouraged when we have the support of meaningful friends and family?
Why should we be discouraged when there are powers higher than us to help us?
Why should we be discouraged when there is still life left?
And most importantly, the final whistle has not blown yet.
it’s never too late to succeed or turn things around in life. Don’t get discouraged by current setbacks; the game isn’t finished. Many people “blow their own whistle” by quitting.
Keep giving your best effort until the very end, because “it’s easier to quit than to keep playing,” but persistence is key.
You have made mistakes; life seems to have scored so many goals against you. Hold your peace, the final whistle has not yet been blown.
Half-time does not mean the game is over. In the game of life, people score and win even in the very last minute.
Remember, a great comeback always makes a good story. Yours will not be any different. Winners are those who keep fighting to the very end. It is not over until it’s over.
Life without challenge is an illusion. Challenges are the spice of life. It makes victory sweet. Stand up and take charge of your life.
An old man was sitting in the window seat of a train with his 15-year-old daughter sitting right opposite him. She was so adorable and looked like an angel.
It was early morning, and the train was fully packed with people of all ages, working men and women, college students and many others.
Everyone was too busy with their own work; some passengers were chatting, some were reading, some were taking naps, and a few were busy on their smartphones.
A young lady was too busy making her presentation ready for her office, as it was a significant day for her. Based on her presentation, she is going to get a promotion, so she was not in the mood for any disturbance.
Suddenly, the 15-year-old daughter of this old man, speaking with joyful excitement like a small kid, said, “Oh, Dad! Just look at those beautiful trees and animals. They are amazing, aren’t they?
All the people around them start staring at them. And they start talking among themselves, What’s wrong with this girl? Is she out of her mind? Why is she behaving like a little girl?
After some time, the train crossed through some mountains, and this 15-year-old girl got super excited and started clapping like a baby.
The young lady, who was busy making her presentation, got so irritated and shouted at the old man, “Please control your daughter. She is causing so much disturbance. Why don’t you take her to a psychiatrist? She really needs some medical help.
The old man folded his hands and, with tears in his eyes, said sorry to everyone. He just broke down and continued, “My sincerest apologies for all this. We are on our way back from the hospital.
My daughter has been blind from birth. Just a couple of weeks back, she got her vision.
Her mother died a couple of weeks back, gifting her with her beautiful eyes so she could see.
These trees, animals, and mountains are all new to her. Please forgive us for the inconvenience caused.”
After listening to him, everyone was shocked and unable to speak. They felt awful and felt sorry for thinking badly about that girl. They felt grateful that their bodies were functioning without any problems and said thanks to God.
We, people, are like that only, always in a hurry to conclude. We often take things for granted. The simple gifts of seeing, speaking, hearing, and so many more functions of life are so precious. Be grateful for what we have because some are not fortunate.
Just show some empathy to those who don’t have these and their situation, and do our best to make their life beautiful. Please wait for the conclusions and stamp someone or something before you know the complete story.
There’s always a story behind every person, a reason why they’re the way they are. Think about that before you judge someone. People often have untold stories of pain or challenges that influence their actions.
Try to put yourself in their shoes and understand their perspective. You need to get to know someone or experience something fully before making a judgment. Showing empathy can help foster understanding and compassion towards others.
The most powerful relationship you will ever have is the relationship with yourself. The love and attention you always thought you wanted from someone else is the love and attention you first need to give to yourself.
Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have. Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line. Self-kindness is the foundation of all kindness, for only when we love ourselves can we truly love others.
“To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness.” — Robert Morley
What you say to yourself, good or bad, can either build you up or tear you down. Self-talk is what you say to yourself, in your head. It’s the voice in your mind that says things that you don’t say out loud. Take time to reflect on your self-talk.
The way you speak to yourself matters because it directly impacts your thoughts, feelings, and actions, influencing everything from your self-esteem and motivation to your ability to handle stress and achieve goals. We have thousands of thoughts that fill our heads every day. Our thoughts directly impact our feelings and emotions, and our emotions influence our actions.
Be careful how you talk to yourself, because you are listening. When we speak negatively about ourselves, even if we don’t intend to, we start to believe it as the truth. The one who can pull you down is yourself, and don’t allow yourself to let yourself pull you down anymore.
Remember, life reflects what you put into it. We are what we believe we are.
Speaking positively about ourselves is like giving our minds a power boost and planting seeds of self-belief in our minds. It’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy—if you consistently tell yourself you can handle challenges or achieve your goals, your mind starts finding ways to make it happen.
A positive inner voice builds self-esteem, which improves your mood and performance. Positive self-talk helps you feel more in control of your day and react to situations more constructively.
On the other hand, negative self-talk can hinder your self-esteem and self-worth. A negative inner dialogue can limit your perception of what is possible, creating mental blocks that prevent personal and professional development, which will directly impact your feelings and actions.
Negativity from another person is bad enough, but when it comes from your own head, that’s rough. It can be detrimental to your mental well-being and performance.
So, please be mindful of how you speak to yourself; it can make a difference in your relationship with yourself and others.
But being gentle and good with ourselves isn’t always easy; sometimes it feels like trying to catch sunlight in a jar. Life has a funny way of throwing challenges, doubts, and insecurities at us, making it tough to keep our self-love meters high.
You might be familiar with the term “affirmations.” Affirmations are simply positive or neutral statements that are meant to encourage. We can use affirmations to replace negative, unhelpful thoughts.
Instead of thinking, “Oh!” I made a blunder; you can think of it positively, like what corrective action I should take to fix it.
Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle. Be gentle with yourself, and learn to love yourself and to forgive yourself, for only as we have the right attitude toward ourselves can we have the right attitude toward others. Be your own biggest supporter. You have the power to lift yourself as no one else can.
Believe me, you will never speak to anyone else on top of speaking to yourself—in your thoughts.
So, the content of your self-talk should be compelling because you are the most influential person in your head. Yes, other people can certainly influence the way we feel and think, but at the end of the day, we are the ones who accept or reject the messages received from others. So just be good to yourself.
“No other love, no matter how genuine it is, can fulfill one’s heart better than unconditional self-love.”
Just try to change your inner thought and see the difference. Let me share a story…
A lady named Maria lived with her mother in a small apartment. She was not too young nor too old, not particularly beautiful, nor was she ugly. Maria was just an average woman.
She worked as a secretary at a large company, and her life was pretty boring and mundane. No one at work ever paid any attention to her, and those who did considered her to be as boring as her life was.
One morning, on her way to work, Maria saw a hat shop that had opened just down the street. Out of curiosity, she walked in. In the shop, there was a lady with her daughter, who had come to pick a hat for her daughter, and a couple of other customers who were trying on different hats. Maria also tried on a few hats until she found one she truly liked. She put it on, and it looked really nice!
The first one to notice was the little girl, who exclaimed, “Mommy, look how pretty that woman looks with the hat on!” The mother said, “Ma’am, I must say, this hat looks awesome on you!” Another man in the shop also came up to Maria and said, “Ma’am, you look lovely with that hat on.”
Maria went to the mirror; she looked at herself, and for the first time in years, she liked her own look. Smiling, she went to the counter and bought the hat. As she walked outside, a new world revealed itself to her like never before.
She had never before noticed the colors of the flowers around her or smelled the scent of the fresh air. Even the sounds of the cars and people on the road sound like a harmonious melody.
She walked as if she were drifting on a cloud with a song being played in her heart.
When she passed by the same coffee shop she walked by every morning, a young handsome man called out to her, “Hey, you are looking gorgeous.” Can I buy you a cup of coffee?
She blushed, kept walking, and floated on the cloud of her newfound joy. When she got to the office building, the doorman opened the door and wished her good morning. Never before had he even noticed her.
The people in the elevator asked her the floor she needed and pressed the button for Maria. Her colleagues at the office, as if seeing her for the very first time, raised her on how lovely she looked that day. The manager asked her out to lunch to talk about how she felt at work!
When this extraordinary workday was over, she decided to take a cab back home instead of the bus. As soon as she put her hand up, two taxis stopped! She took the first one and sat in the back seat, thinking about the magical day she had had and how her life felt so different and changed, thanks to the new hat.
When she got home, her mom opened the door. The sight of Maria took her breath away!
“Maria,” she said, surprised, “you are looking fabulous today.” Your eyes are all lit up like when you were a little girl!
“Yes, Mom,” said Maria. “It’s all thanks to my new hat.” I had the most marvellous day in years.
“New hat?” asked the confused mother. “Which hat are you talking about?”
Maria panicked.
She touched her head only to realize that the hat that had changed her life was not there. She tried remembering where she may have left it—in the cab, no; at lunch, I don’t think so; at the office, not at all. She thought of the store, where she had bought it.
How she had noticed it for the first time, how she had put it on her head, and how she had gone to pay for it at the cashier’s.
Oh, my goodness! She remembered how she had put it on the counter to get her purse out to pay and how she had forgotten it right there on the counter. And then she walked out right there to the street, “Hatless” yet “Glowing!”
It was not the external hat that made Maria’s day great; it was the quality of her internal dialogue that transformed how she felt. Our internal dialogue can enslave us into a horrible routine life or liberate us to a life full of gusto, energy, passion, and joy.
Self-talk is just like this external hat. Change your hat inside today and see the difference.
Remember, the relationship with yourself sets the tone for all other relationships in your life, so be kind and gentle, and always love yourself. Words carry weight, so be mindful while using them. As soon as you begin to love yourself, the war within will end. Start or end your day by saying positive things about yourself or your intentions for the day.
Life is the most precious gift we have received. Live it fully and beautifully before it is taken away from us. It’s not a destination to reach. It’s a journey that starts the day you come alive.
So many people seek happiness in ways that demonstrate they believe it’s just around the corner, or perhaps a long way off. A destination to be reached. But there is only one destination in all of our lives. Death.
Sounds crazy, but it’s a fact. So, live your life as a journey and make it as beautiful as you can.
I saw a post asking, “On your deathbed, if you could go back to one moment in your life, what would it be?” It was a potent reminder that it actually wouldn’t be the vacation on the beach, or purchase a luxury car, but in reality, when you close your eyes and think about it, you would like to spend some more quality time with your loved one, you would like to give an overwhelmingly powerful hugs to them, and would like to see their smiling faces one more time.
That’s happiness. The practically throwaway moments that make life so unimaginably full. All the success you have achieved is worthy of pursuing. But it’s not happiness. Happiness is the journey. And what a beautiful journey it can be. Happiness often leads to success, but success does not always lead to happiness. It is therefore upon oneself to make the most out of it as we traverse through this beautiful journey called LIFE.
“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced”
Life is a series of small moments. The goal of life isn’t to acquire things. Rather, it’s about learning how to focus on and enjoy the process of success and find true happiness within. If you obsess about the outcome, you end up missing out on all the amazing things that happen along the way.
Don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying that goals aren’t important.
Goal attainment is merely a by-product of your journey towards success and happiness. It’s not the result that matters. Rather, it’s the lessons that you learn and the person that you become. We live in a world obsessed with destinations, Promotions, Titles, Achievements and Milestones. But here’s the irony— The moment we reach one, the joy isn’t as lasting as we imagined. Why? Because the destination always moves. The goalpost shifts. The next ambition calls. The belief that we will be happy once we get a promotion, buy a house, or achieve a specific milestone is a form of delaying happiness. Often, the goalpost shifts, and the joy of the “finish line” is short-lived.
Goals give us hope and something to look forward to. Achieving a goal makes us feel good about ourselves and can help us improve the quality of our lives and the lives of those we love. Life would be awfully mundane if we didn’t have something to work towards. To achieve the goal, though, you need resources, and you need to grow as a person as well as grow your skills and capabilities, and that is where the interesting part is. That is where the fun is.
The world keeps pushing us toward the next milestone, success in one’s career, personal goals, or goals that are set by society. We are in such a rush to achieve outcomes in life. Life is not about ticking off lists of so-called achievements, but experiences and lessons and pieces of moments that make us who we are.
In reality, 90% of our lives are spent in the journey. And if we only run after the destination as a finish line, we miss the magic of life itself. And trust me destination always moves. But the journey— That’s where life happens.
When you focus on the goal alone, you forfeit the lessons and wonderful experiences that lie in between. The journey is the essence of where life exists in all her glory. Goals are meaningless without the intermediary process to get you there.
Just embrace the process of your journey. The real joy comes from the process itself—the effort, the learning, and the growth that happens along the way. Celebrate your progress during the journey. Don’t wait for the “big win” to feel good about yourself. Instead, take note of the progress that you make every step of the way. Every small milestone that you achieve deserves recognition.
It’s in the journey that life happens. The ups, the downs, the in-betweens—these are the moments that shape you, define you, and ultimately make the destination worth reaching. So, take a deep breath, look around, and enjoy the ride.
“Enjoy the journey, because the destination is a mirage.” ― Steven Furtick
The journey itself becomes the ultimate source of happiness. But a simple question arises: What is Happiness?
Happiness is generally defined as an emotional state characterised by joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfilment. While happiness has many different definitions, it is often described as involving positive emotions and life satisfaction. We all understand and define happiness differently. However, happiness is mainly about the positive feelings and the pleasure we derive from our lives.
Happiness is a continuous process that depends on living life by your choices and cherishing all the moments that lead to peace, love, and contentment.
We often place our happiness at the mercy of future events—waiting for a promotion, a relationship, or a major success. But when we hinge happiness on external events, we give up control over our emotional well-being. And if those events don’t pan out as we hoped, it leaves us disheartened.
Even when those external events do happen, the happiness they bring is often short-lived. This is why we must find joy and contentment from within, rather than chasing it through circumstances beyond our control.
Pay attention to the present and appreciate the little joyful experiences each day.
Happiness is an unbound and limitless treasure we can cherish for a lifetime! But to access it, we must shift how we see it—not just as a finish line but as a part of every step we take.
By extending gratitude, building healthy relationships, being present, and savoring the journey, we unlock happiness within ourselves. As the quote goes:
“Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.” So, let’s make more mindful and joyful choices!
In today’s fast-paced world, almost everyone is running behind something to achieve. Happiness is often misunderstood and misrepresented as an endpoint that people strive to pursue or claim upon reaching a certain milestone or fulfilling a long-desired goal.
Whether it’s landing a high-paying job, buying a house, entering a relationship or achieving academic success, many of us believe that happiness will automatically follow once we reach our desired goal. But does this really happen? Do we really feel completely satisfied with our achievements ever?
Now, I’m not saying that arriving at a destination, achieving a goal or fulfilling a dream isn’t fantastic. It is. It really is. But our destination keeps on shifting, and so as our expectations. If the destination is a place, once you’ve been there, you want to go somewhere else. If the destination is about success, the more success you have, the more you want. If the destination is about a specific goal, you probably have another new goal waiting in the wings. If the destination is about love, once you find it, you never stop loving – you want to nurture that love, make it stronger and deeper.
If you focus only on the destination or end goal, you miss out on everything that happens along the way. You miss out on life. And life is great. It’s hard, it’s frustrating, and it’s confusing. But it’s also wonderful, full of opportunities and experiences, and it makes you who and what you are.
Life is a continuous journey with many stations—some beautiful, some devastating. The goal is not to arrive at a final destination but to appreciate and learn from each part of the journey, which is happening all the time until the end.
It’s not about what you do, it’s about how you do it. It’s not about what you achieve, it’s about how you achieve it. The journey is where you actually face everything that will shape you and give you the experiences that you will truly remember and cherish for a lifetime.
The people who win at life enjoy the journey. Life is unfolding in this present moment. Enjoy this moment because you can’t get it back. Unfortunately, too many people look too far ahead and miss out on what is in front of them. They worry about what’s to come, instead of paying attention to what is in front of them.
“In this life, if you don’t celebrate yourself, nobody will.” — Kevin Williams
We can feel content and joy once we see happiness as a journey rather than a mere destination. At some point in your life, you must have heard people say, “Don’t run after happiness, try to be thankful for each day you spend on earth, each day you spend with your loved ones and everything you have. Try to live and enjoy the present, and the happiness will automatically follow you along your journey in life”
Therefore, rather than being something that can be acquired or possessed, happiness is better understood as an ongoing process, a way of engaging with life daily through mindful awareness, emotional resilience, meaningful connections, and intentionally positive actions.
It is not found at the end of the journey but within the journey itself in the small, often unnoticed moments of daily life that offer joy, connection, and purpose when we allow ourselves to be present for them. And believe me, if you are not enjoying the journey, you probably won’t enjoy the destination.
Just look at the butterflies. So full of colour and so beautiful. But the butterfly doesn’t know it. Life’s journey is just like a butterfly, so colourful and beautiful, just enjoy its beauty instead of just chasing them.
Happiness won’t happen; you have to make it happen. You have to craft your happiness with what you have, not cribbing that I don’t have this. Just see what you have and make things happen for you.
What we have is not as important as who we have. What we have makes our lifestyle a little better, and who we have makes life a little better. And there is a big difference between making your lifestyle better and making life better. What you have makes your lifestyle better and not your life, and who you have makes your life better and beautiful.
Life is a beautiful ride; just enjoy the ride. Happiness is a continuous process, not a destination. Just marry the process and divorce the outcome.
Failure can be a delay but not a defeat. It is a condition when a person is not able to meet the desired result or an intended objective. Now it is up to you how you are labelling your failure, if you take it as self-improvement it will become a stepping stone or if you start judging yourself, starts losing your hurt, and not able to hold it anymore it will become your stumbling blocks.
If you will see your failure as a mistake and are ready to take corrective action, it will become your stepping stone. You have to move from that particular situation don’t allow yourself to stuck at that point. All individual has different potential and a different set of goals for their success and they do have different strength to deal with failure. Never be afraid to fail. Failure is only a stepping stone to improvement. Never be overconfident because that will block your improvement.
J K Rowling’s Harry Potter books were rejected numerous times before they were actually published. Had she given in to the failures, this unemployed, single mother would not have been a millionaire. It is the determination and perseverance that have made our success stories and not lamenting over them.
The fear of failure is the biggest stumbling block as individuals give up on themselves. If you are not able to set your Goals and not able to channelize your efforts in the right direction, it will become your biggest stumbling block.
“The best way to treat obstacles is to use them as stepping-stones. Laugh at them, tread on them, and let them lead you to something better.” ― Enid Blyton, Mr Galliano’s Circus
Failure makes us more productive. If you will be optimistic and constantly make efforts to improve performance, definitely opportunities will knock on your door and you can turn your failure into your success stories.
Always learn some lessons from your failure. Failure is actually your virtual teacher as you can learn most of your lessons from failures in life. We really never fail until we give up trying—trying with determination and enthusiasm. Vision means to see the invisible, to feel the intangible, and to achieve the impossible.
Actually, challenges or failures can either be stepping stones or stumbling blocks on the road to success. It is just a matter of how we look at them. We can see a glass as half-empty, or we can see the same glass as half-full. One way of seeing will bring us enthusiasm, while the other way of seeing will bring us discouragement. We cannot be successful unless we have the courage to fail. And every failure contains the seed of success.
When difficulties, obstacles, pressures, and even failures come into our lives, we should always be seeing the invisible, feels the intangible, and in this way, we can achieve the impossible. We may not understand the exact cause behind the difficulty, but if we have faith, if we have hope, we can always be looking at that “flower” that will grow from this “rainstorm.” That attitude is the substance of a successful man.
Opportunity knocks, but most people complain about the noise. We should see an opportunity in every situation; we never really lose until we stop trying. It is said that in the darkness a star shines the brightest. Someone said when life gives you a lemon, make lemonade.
I would like to share a story….
It was a very hot summer day and the humidity was so high that you sweat like crazy. One afternoon my father return from the market with some grocery items which my mom told him to get. I decided to make some fresh cool lemonade for him. As I began a friend of mine called and in the process of speaking to her I didn’t realize that I made a big blunder I ended up adding about five times the amount of lemon to what was actually needed. It tasted so sour that one sip poured into the mouth of an unconscious man would probably bring him back to consciousness.
But as I had no lemon left with me, somehow I had to correct this now, and as much as I wanted to remove some lemon juice out of the water to make it taste perfect again. But honestly, it was impossible because some things in life can just never be undone there was no way to remove the extra lemon from the water but there sure would still be a way to fix the problem.
The only way to correct the situation was to add some more glasses of water and dilute and here I was instead of one I now had five glasses of fresh lemonade ready to be served out to four more people.
Sometimes, I think life is exactly the same, we cannot undo some things that have gone wrong in our life some wrong decisions, wrong choices, and wrong words that we may have spoken can never be undone. It’s not like that we shouldn’t try we should definitely give our very best but after having done we cannot reverse things.
But to still keep trying is like attempting to remove lemon from water and I think that would be such a waste of time. Instead, we should try to work on adding so many right things in our life that the wrong seems smaller than what it was earlier. When problems seem to be helplessly beyond our control rather than simply trying to remove them let us add positivity to our lives and change our experience.
When you develop the skill of learning from your mistakes, you become the kind of person who welcomes obstacles and setbacks as opportunities to flex your mental muscles and move ahead. You look at problems as rungs on the ladder of success that you grab onto as you pull your way higher.
You will become a creator of circumstances rather than a creature of circumstances.
We should learn from the past, but not be stuck in it. Sometimes life circumstances and personal setbacks can haunt and prevent us from seeing our true potential and recognizing new opportunities. What has already happened we cannot change, but what is yet to happen we can shape and influence.
If we pay attention to only mud on the ground after a storm, we won’t notice that the sky above us has already cleared. Don’t focus on the mud. Make better choices today and move on. Nothing is worth more than this day.
We should respect failure as an honour. We cannot be successful unless we have the courage to fail. And every failure contains the seed of success. When we learn from mistakes when we learn from failures, we become stronger, we develop greater integrity.
Thomas Edison tried various experiments before he finally invented the electric bulb. Later when he was asked about it, he said that he wasn’t discouraged by all those failures. “From every failure, I at least learned what doesn’t work.” That attitude is a success!
Edison was quoted saying “many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up”.
That is what failure means, giving up when you have every opportunity to continue. Our greatest weakness lies in giving up; the most certain way to succeed is just to try one more time. Surely, there is “no harm in trying”. When you give up, you have failed and failure becomes a stumbling block. But when you fail while trying and try again, failure becomes a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block.
Just because something doesn’t work as you planned doesn’t mean it’s useless. Our problem is that we’re quick to jump to conclusions when something doesn’t work as we planned. We lose hope and stop trying thereby missing an opportunity. Don’t lose hope if you can’t see any growth initially.
Whenever you feel low, depressed, and overwhelmed with negative emotions because of the ups and downs that inevitably come in life; whenever you felt like you want to quit, whenever you are just not able to see a reason to continue living; do remind yourself of a simple yet profound analogy.
A man plants fern and bamboo seeds and cared for them really well. He made sure that they both got adequate light and water. The man was delighted to see the fern quickly spring out from the earth and grow really fast, covering its entire surrounding with its bright green colour. But he was disappointed when he saw nothing come out from the bamboo seed.
But the man did not give up on the bamboo. In the second year, he saw that the growth of the fern was luxuriant, vibrant, and abundant, and the bamboo seed? Nothing came out still. But the man continued caring for the bamboo and did not quit.
In the third and fourth year also nothing come from the bamboo seed and the man still would not give up and didn’t quit. It was in the fifth year when the man saw a tiny sprout emerge from the earth. The bamboo sprout was tiny and insignificant compared to the fern. But in just 6 months from then, the bamboo shot up to over 100 feet tall. The man realized the bamboo had spent those five years growing its root. Those roots made it strong and gave it all that is needed to survive, thrive and grow.
Isn’t it true that life does not give anyone a challenge that they cannot handle? If there is a challenge at the moment know for sure, that you have the capacity to handle it. Were you aware that all the time you have spent dealing with your challenges and struggles? You have actually been growing roots. Just as the man did not give up on the bamboo, don’t give up on yourself. Never quit. Don’t compare yourself to others.
The bamboo and the fern are so different, yet, both make the forest beautiful, each one serving a different purpose. Just relax, your time will come. You will shot up and rise high as well. Go as high as you can as high as your potential, not someone else’s potential, be patient, and keep working on yourself, and one day you will shot up like the bamboo tree too. Everything will be happening at the right time. Be patient and the right time will come to you as well. Don’t hurry and don’t worry you are neither early nor are you too late. You are just on time. Your time will come.
What is so humbling about failure that it changes people into better persons? What is so inspiring about failure which incites people to change their story of loss into their story of achievement? Most people are afraid of failure. They do not want to taste the bitter feeling that comes with failure. Failure takes away our biggest fears from us and in turn, gives us the fearless spirit which is most required to be successful.
Success also brings along with itself a lot of expectations. Often, people feel overshadowed by these expectations. A failure provides them a chance to release the burden and start all over again. If a person desires to succeed, the only mantra is – try and try, till you succeed.
If you wish to be successful, work as hard as you can. And if you wish to be greatly successful, stand up every time you fall and stand up with greater energy, stronger motivation, and unflinching spirit.
Life throws stuff at us. Things get in our way or don’t go our way. Projects don’t work out. Relationships go sour. Life gets hard.
The best way to handle the stumbling blocks in your path is to use them as stepping stones. Instead of carrying your past mistakes around with you, place them into your feet and use them as stepping stones The only difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is the way in which we use them.
“Mental health is not a destination, but a process. It’s about how you drive, not where you are going.”
We always tell ourselves to be positive and think positive, but do we really mean it? To be positive we must have to be relaxed, calm, and most importantly healthy. Healthy means not only a healthy body, but the mind too.
What we should eat to keep ourselves healthy and fit, it is known by almost everyone, but how to maintain a healthy mind is not known by all.
Every day what we are eating healthy or unhealthy has healthy and unhealthy effects on our body. Similarly, what we are reading, watching, talking and thinking has similar effects on our mind.
If we will watch negative things all the time on TV, at the place we are staying or working, obviously we will become like that mind-set. In the same manner, if we will read the bad things, always busy in gossip or directly – indirectly we are participating in it; our mind will start functioning accordingly.
“An unhealthy mind, even in a healthy body, will ultimately destroy health.”
So, what is the solution, if I will tell you, watch only positive things, read-only right things, stay with only good people, it doesn’t mean anything, because, you can’t decide it completely. Somewhere and somehow you have to face both negative and positive things in your life.
I will explain it a little further, just like watching something, whether on TV; place of work, at home and nearby. You can’t close your eyes completely but somewhere you can avoid it, just like, doesn’t watch useless things on TV all the time. You just have to update yourself, on what is going on in this world. Watch it, get the information but don’t involve in the useless discussion, which actually you can’t fix.
You may have to listen to someone in your home or at the workplace. They may be your parents, your boss, and your spouse. These peoples are unavoidable and you have to listen to them, but how much information you have to retrieve in your mind is up to you. You need not remember all things if it is negative and will affect your mind.
You have to remember only that much which is positive and will give you some peace and learning, the rest just forgets that. While talking to any person, always try to talk something good, which gives you some knowledge to your life not the gossip about someone or something.
“Every negative belief weakens the partnership between mind and body.”
If you will start giving the right information to your mind, it will automatically start working positively. Since childhood times we are listing these things – input and output; information and thoughts are just like that. They are directly proportional to each other, whatever you will feed to your mind it will function accordingly.
You can only avoid them, who so are avoidable in your life, who have a negative mind-set. But how can you avoid the peoples who are your close relatives or directly connected with you; like your parents, your spouse, and your boss. Even you might change your job, but it can’t guarantee to get the right boss, and to be very honest no one in these worlds has all the positive things.
Every person in these worlds has all the shades in his life good, bad, positive, and negative. It’s just a matter of their view on some particular situation. So basically, you need not avoid all the peoples with a negative mind-set. Avoid only them, which actually have no role in your life or at least your day to day life.
The rest of the peoples who have a great role in your life and which are not at all avoidable; just avoid their negative thought not them. Listen to them, but remember only positive words and forget the rest.
“You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.”
It is very much true, in your leisure time, try to read some good books, which actually gives you some information about successful peoples, about the world, about new skills and knowledge; basically, try to read something which is actually valuable in your life, instead of wasting your time on some invaluable things.
“No food will ever hurt you as much as an unhealthy mind.”
I am not telling you, don’t entertain yourself; entertainment is a must for every human being to relax your body and mind. Entertain yourself, watch some movies, listen to some music, read some good books, every person has a unique way to entertain themselves. But it’s doesn’t mean to do wrong things for the sake of entertainment; just like putting someone down is not at all entertainment.
“You can’t control what goes on outside, but you CAN control what goes on inside.”
Do the things which give you peace, not only fun. This is the right diet for your mind, but you must have to give the right diet to your body also. Here I will not discuss any eating habits; I think we all know very well about which food is good and which one is bad for our body, which makes your immune system strong or weak and the correct time of eating.
I would like to discuss apart from that, about daily work out, which is actually very important for each and every person, not only for old peoples but for kids and young ones also.
To make our body and mind strong and healthy, a daily workout is also a mandatory thing. At least 30 minutes work out everyone should do as a routine. It will not just make you fit and healthy; in fact, it will help you to make your immune system strong, a healthy and active mind, a positive attitude towards daily work and your life.
“If you can control your mind and body, you can control your life.”
The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. Physical activity will help you to burn extra calories and it also stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier, more relaxed, and less anxious. Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. Exercise helps your learning and memory power.
As parents, we always teach our babies something almost every day, but can we learn something from them; definitely, a baby almost always wakes up with a smile, pumped to practice new skills and learn new tricks. You should do the same.
Your mind will believe everything you tell it. Feed it the right thing. The key to a healthy life is having a healthy mind and a healthy body.
If you can dream it, you can achieve it. But you can’t achieve it without taking any action. One day I will get the time to fulfill my dreams, one day I will plan to start my dream project. All these things will really matter if you will ever get time for it.
In fact, the fact is whatever, is the condition right now it will remain like this and it might possibly that it will be worse than this. So, your dreams will remain dreams only.
“What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.”
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Keep your dreams alive always. Never think it’s too late. If you haven’t lived your life as you dreamed it, live it now. You can still change it; just start taking action for it. It’s human nature to put off the things. Sometimes we think it’s not the right time, sometimes we got stuck in our other responsibilities and we keep on delaying it for too long. We make ourselves busy struggling up with our day to day life. But we always forget that we have some responsibilities for our dreams also.
When I was very young, my father used to tell me, Never be too lazy to complete your work today itself. You never know, how much work is assigned to you tomorrow. It applies to your dreams too, if you have some plan for yourselves never delay it, take an action right now. Until you realize, you actually don’t have time for it.
You have to make a reminder; you are not going to get an infinite time to live here. It’s now or never. Today is the day to take the right step towards your dream. Never ever leave any plan for your future, because, the future is unseen and misleading. You will never get your golden time to start something new. You have to steal your time from your daily life. You are already occupied since morning to evening, what if; you will be occupied for another one hour.
It’s just a matter of prioritizing your responsibilities. You have to prioritize your responsibilities towards your family, Job, and the most important towards your dreams. You must have a very clear vision for it. But one thing should be very clear in your mind. As you get older, your quality of life will be affected and you can’t deny this life cycle. It might be possible that your health will not support you.
Accept the reality; you have a limited period of time to accomplish all things. So, what is most important; you can’t run away from any of your responsibilities, but yes, you can make the priority list for your life. If time is short, you can’t walk and achieve your finishing line, instead of that, you have to run, and sometimes you might have to fly to achieve your finishing line.
Sometimes, we take our life and time for granted, but on the contrary, time waits for none. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. It’s a fact; the future doesn’t exist. We can only imagine for our future, but it’s not real. If you are living your life to fulfill another person’s expectations right now, you will be doing the same tomorrow as well. That expectation from you will always be there, it’s not going to change. In fact, it might increase day by day. And the past is over; you are only left with your present. But your goals and vision must be clear; what you actually want from life.
Sometimes, we keep on giving excuses in life to achieve our dream and inner side actually we are scared of failing. We don’t believe in ourselves and before taking the first step towards it, we let it remain like this as a dream only. But pass or fail is the different story until or unless you tried for it, just have faith and believe in it, it is achievable. You should have self – confidence. You can always upgrade yourself. Have faith and belief in you and try with great determination and dedication. Give your hundred percent. If you have that much dedication no one can stop you.
“The only thing worse than starting something and failing … is not starting something.”
– Seth Godin
Focus only on what you want. Work silently on your dreams each and every day and let your success speak. Never listen to them who tell you it’s not possible. If you will listen to them you can’t achieve it.
I will tell you a short story, which my father told me when I was very young. Once upon a time, there was a challenge given to very small children around (5-10) years old one. It was a small mountain hiking challenge. All the children started with great enthusiasm, but on the contrary, their parents were very scared of them. All children started their first steps, but slowly they started taking their feet back. The reason was as soon as the children stared, their parent’s starts talking among themselves; oh… it’s very difficult. These kids can’t complete this. And ultimately all dropped out. But there was a kid who has successfully completed his task. You know what the reason behind that was. The kid was deaf. While others were listening to their parents, he was not able to listen to any of them. And he completed. So, if you really want to accomplish your dreams, don’t listen to anyone if they are trying to stop you willingly or unwillingly.
Perseverance is a must to fulfill your dreams. If you are not getting success in your first attempt, just learn from it, what has gone wrong, and upgrade yourself. But don’t simply quit.
Wherever you are busy, but make your dream alive in your subconscious mind. Just make yourself reminding them what is your dream and what you have planned for it.
Jennifer Bricker was born without legs, and her parents abandoned her. She was then adopted by the Bricker, who taught her to not say “I can’t.” As a child, Jen was active in sports and decided to do gymnastics seriously. And at the age of 11, she won the Power Tumbling Championship in Illinois and took the 4th place at the Junior Olympic Games.
She was fascinated by the American gymnast Dominique Moceanu, the gold medal winner at the 1996 Olympics. And at the age of 16, Jen learned that her idol was actually her older sister. And Jennifer reunited with her biological family. Later she participated in the Britney Spears Tour and wrote a memoir. Currently, she is an acrobat.
So, it’s never too late to accomplish your dreams. “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” Start it now.
