Why are Problems Opportunities in Disguise!

Problems are like crowbars and spades. One can use the latter to dig pits and plant fruit saplings which after some years will begin to yield delicious fruits for future generations or one can also use them to dig pits for the purpose of burying landmines and killing people. Likewise we can use our problems either to brighten our future and lift it up or darken it and blow it up. We can use them either as medicines to cure our moral and psychological diseases or make them act as germs to cause more and more diseases.

 
We can use them as sources of positive inspiration for our future activities or as forces to pull us back on to the path of our overall development preventing us from moving forward. We can use them as occasions to look back and rectify our track or as tragedies to push us into unimaginable depths of despair and suffering. Let us not forget that it is when we are tried very badly on account of constant problems, tensions, hardships and difficulties that we begin to search for all the possible powers, skills and abilities that are treasured within us. Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion, has rightly said, “Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging.”

Let us never forget that every life-challenging situation has a life-changing solution. Let us hence look upon problems not as blocks to life’s thrills but as pathways to castles of success and excitement. Let us look upon them as effective tools with which we can build up a bright and prosperous future not as strong winds that can disperse and scatter the clouds of success possibilities in the horizons of our respective lives. They do contain within them enlightening, healing, nourishing and strengthening powers which can be visible only to the eyes of hope and optimism.

If we think our future is going to be dark on account of the problems that we face, no amount of light from any number of sources can ever make it bright, causing even the sun, the moon and all the stars to all feel defeated. Likewise if we think that nothing good can happen in our lives on account of the difficulties and problems that we are facing, no amount of external assistance and influence can ever make us believe that difficulties are pathways to the certainty of success and that problems are stepping stones to remarkable achievements.

We need to firmly believe that problems are success opportunities in disguise. While dealing with problems, we ought not to bother about the pricks and pains that we sense from outside. Even pineapples though so sweet and delicious inside are so prickly and unattractive on the outside. With the eyes of hope, wisdom, experience and maturity we must be able to see the treasures of useful hints and suggestions hidden inside each of them. Where there is hope, where there is wisdom, where there is experience and where there is maturity, no one with a problem can feel let down and put down without a constructive solution.

Wise and clever as he was, Hugh Miller, a self-taught Scottish geologist, writer and folklorist was able to speak about problems thus, “Problems are only opportunities with thorns on them.” We must hence feel inspired and motivated to ignore the thorns and grasp only the opportunities.

This Excerpt is taken from the book: Opportunities to Grow and Glow by S.Devraj. To Order this book click here: Available Here!

Lift Your Gaze Above

Have you herd about the man who once found a $10 bill on the roadway? From then on he kept his eyes fastened on the ground looking for money. Over his lifetime he found 26 dollar bills, a few fives, and a couple more tens, plus countless pennies, nickels and dimes. But along the way, he missed 4235 sunrises and sunsets and never helped anyone who might have been in need along the way. He missed happy children at play and many other experiences of joy.

It is for the person who lifts his/her eyes above the ground, above the mundane and earthbound, and looks to the heavens, that life brings fulfillment greater than found coins.

George Eliot: “The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us, and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone”

Gold medals aren’t really made of gold; they’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.                                                                                                         -Dan Gable

“Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly st about remedying them – every day, begin the task anew.”                                                                 – Saint Francis de Sales

Flow McCarthy has given us the following story. Once there was a miser who accumulated a large amount of money, and was looking forward to years of happy living. However, before he could make up his mind as to how best to spend his money, the Angel of Death appeared before him to take his life away.

The miser pleaded with the angel to be allowed a little longer. ‘Give me three days of life and I will give you half of my fortune,’ he begged. But the angel wouldn’t hear of it and began to tug at his cloak. ‘Give me one day, I beg of you,’ said the miser,’ and you can have everything I have accumulated through so much sweat and toil.’ But the angel refused his request.

The miser managed to wring just one small concession from the angel – a few moments in which to write down this note: ‘ Oh you, whoever you are that happen to find this note, if you have enough to live on, don’t waste your time accumulating fortune. Live! My fortune couldn’t buy me a single hour of life.’

Rabindranath Tagore: “Money and power can imprison and inhibit just as effectively as barred windows and iron chains. ‘Set a bird’s wings with gold and it will never fly.”

Saint Paul: “Set your mind on things that are abpve, not on things that are on earth.” [Colossians 3:2]

Don’t beat yourself; beat your record.

While winning is everything, it’s always the process that will give you your future!

Many years ago, Arthur Gordon wrote in a national magazine: “When I was around thirteen and my brother ten, our father had promised to take us to the circus. But at lunchtime there was a phone call; some urgent business required his attention downtown. We braced ourselves for disappointment. Then we heard him say into the phone, “No, I won’t be down.It’ll have to wait.”

When he came back to the table, Mother smiled and said: “The circus keeps coming back, you know.” “I know,” said father. “But childhood doesn’t.”

A dream doesn’t come true by itself; we must pull it.

This Excerpt is taken from the book ‘Live Inspired Always’ by John Pichappilly. For more information on the book: Click here! 

 

 

He Dared to Do More!

Twenty years ago Shakil Ahmed was a dropout. Today he heads the NGO Nirbhay Bano Andolan, empowering people and making them conscious of their rights and, I guess, their duties, too. “We want to empower people, so that they can fight their own battles. We want them to lead fearless lives,” says Ahmed.
Shakil’s family, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, had come to Mumbai in search of livelihood. When Shakil was hardly twelve, and had just completed Std VII, the family returned to Andhra. The result — Shakil became a dropout. But the hero within Shakil refused to give up. He recalls, “I always wanted to do something for the society, and so I desired to continue with my studies.” Ahmed ran away from home, returned to Mumbai and joined his uncle in his scooter-repairing shop. Simultaneously, he pursued his studies and completed his Std X privately.

Later he took up a part-time job with a scrap dealer, pursuing law studies. Eventully, he became a lawyer. Ahmed now spends most of his time spearheading a movement that takes on the establishment, fearlessly defending citizens rights, spreading awareness about injustice done to ordinary people.

Pressing for the implementation of the Srikrishn Commission Report (recommendations) in Maharashtra, was one of his pet projects. Nirbha Bano Andolan was possibly the only NGO followin up the Gundewar Commission Report which found police guilty of killing 11 Dalits in Rambhai Colon (Ghatkopar) in Mumbai. “When the officers named as guilty in the report were promoted, we put up posters all over protesting the move and spreading awareness about the gross injustice.” He has also led groups of women protesting outside illegal liquor shops, he has written to national and international human rights group calling their attention to atrocities committed o defenceless people. Ahmed refused to be silenced. Nay, he wanted to do more. With this in mind, he did a one year diploma in journalism at Garware Institute of Mumbai University.

Ahmed is one who has discovered the light within. He lets it shine. Violence and atrocities of all kinds are on the rise in our country that once prided itself as the land of Buddha, Ashoka and Gandhi: once known the world over as the seat of world religions and their great ideals of compassion and Ahimsa.

Shakil is someone who dared to be different! We need to raise our voices in unison, particularly the youth in our country, as Ahmed did and still does, against evil that raises its ugly head in the form of communal passion and violence.

This Excerpt is taken from the book ‘You can make a difference’ by Alfonso Elengikal. For more information about the book: Click Me!

Positive Self-Talk Promotes Job Performance

If you happen to visit any office, it is common to observe employees experiencing a wide range of positive as well as negative emotions. Emotions are not only an integral part of our work life – be it in office or in business – but these do have a substantial impact on one’s job performance. For example, when an employee is in a bad frame of mind, upset, unhappy, angry or frustrated, the negative emotions tend to “colour” or “blind” his or her rational mind. As the Roman poet, Horace (65-8 BC) rightly puts it, “Anger is temporary insanity.” Impairment of the rational mind has an all-pervasive impact on employees’ job output, reasoning power, decision-making skills, team work, etc.

Studies suggest that negative emotions do have an adverse effect on a person’s output. Misunderstanding, jealousy and conflicts with fellow employees at the workplace lead to frequent fights which in turn result in dirty politics and unproductive and undesirable acts. Studies suggest that people living with positive emotions have better cognitive abilities and they tend to perform better at the workplace and with much greater accuracy. Further, positive emotions foster increased creativity and co-operation amongst employees.

Feelings of jealousy and anger lead to poor relations with colleagues whereas positive emotions induce a helping attitude in people. Positive emotions like enthusiasm and motivation matter a lot as these drive one’s performance. Positive emotions and cordial relations also help in reduced absenteeism from office and fewer employees leaving the organization. Thus, positive emotions are essential to attainment of organizational or business goals.

This Excerpt is taken from the book ‘Positive Self-Talk’ by Shammi Sukh. For more information about the book : Click Me!

Is it not Good to become too Confident ?

To this question the answer is `no’. Self-confidence can be compared to air pressure in a car tyre. When the pressure in the tyre is right, one can drive smoothly along the road. However, if it is too low or too high, one feels all the ‘jerks’ and ‘bumps’, and the journey no longer remains smooth. Self-confidence is that state of mind, which leads to adequate behaviour. If a person becomes too confident or over-confident, his or her behaviour tends to become inadequate again — and hence, more failures. An over-confident person takes it for granted that things would go all right even if he did not exert. A person can save himself from many hard falls by refraining from jumping to conclusions due to over-confidence.
Don’t ever try to cross a bridge unless and until you are sure that there is one. The relationship between self-confidence and success rate is illustrated in Figure 4. This figure shows the effect of different levels of self-confidence on the success rate of an individual.

Figure 4: The Relationship between Self-confidence and Success Rate of an Individual
For example, the chances of achieving success are low when an individual’s self-confidence is low. Increasing confidence level can improve the chances of one’s success. Too much confidence or over-confidence, however, diminishes the chances of one’s success. In general, as the self-confidence increases beyond the level at point B, the chances of success deteriorate.

Hence, too much of confidence or over-confidence is as ‘bad’ or dangerous as low confidence. As is often said: the careful driver stops at a railroad crossing for a minute; the over-confident one, forever!

This Excerpt is taken from the book ‘How to Boost Your Self-Confidence’ by Shammi Sukh. For more information about the book: Click Me!

I Did Not Start to Live Until I Started to Die

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” – Ancient Buddhist Proverb

 
My earliest days as a physician found me in a strange city, away from the security of home for the first time, and filled with both excitement and apprehension for the journey that lay ahead. The title doctor fit much like a new pair of shoes—looking polished to the eye, but feeling uncomfortable and needing wear. Being addressed as “Doctor” would invariably cause me to look about in search of a real physician. Although the memory of medical school graduation was still fresh and vivid, I held no illusions that those years of study had adequately prepared me for the practice of medicine. I had much to learn and I was in a rush, almost a panic, to do so.

As I started internship, I knew that the learning had just begun. It was a different kind of learning. Morning rounds, grand rounds, afternoon rounds—endless hours of rounding and learning patient care firsthand from more experienced physicians. Internship was saturated with the opportunity to learn. Sometimes, the most powerful lessons were those taught by the most unlikely teachers, the patients we cared for. Much of my training as an intern took place during rotations through our local VA hospital. The VA hospital was a great place to learn medicine. It was a bottomless well of those in need, and at the end of the day, even the most inexperienced among us felt the satisfaction of service. It was also an intimidating place, and frustration was an emotion we were taught to master from the moment we walked through the doors. That moment, my first glimpse of the VA hospital, will remain seared in my memory forever.

 
No signage was necessary to identify the building as government designed and operated. It would have been difficult to build a more drab and uninspired structure. With its concrete block walls and paucity of windows, it could have been a prison. Even the large revolving doors spoke of purpose —the rapid movement of people. Those doors opened into a vast, cavernous space. It was not space dedicated to welcome, or even comfort. It was designed for waiting, and it was well used. Windows were spaced along the perimeter of the room. Above each window a sign described the activity that took place there—benefit services, pharmacy services, emergency services, inpatient registration, outpatient clinics, and even pastoral care. A line of men stretched from each window. Certain windows seemed strategically placed to accommodate impressively long lines. Pharmacy, benefits, and outpatient registration seemed to be particularly popular, with hundreds of men waiting their turn for a moment of individuality. In the centre of the room were clustered rows of moulded plastic chairs, more typical of a bus station than a hospital. Here veterans waited their turn to stand in line and wait.

 
It took me a good number of minutes to process the scene before me on that first visit, standing just inside the revolving doors, no doubt with mouth agape. It would not be the last time that day that I would question the wisdom of the path I had selected. How easy it would have been to go back through the doors to a place of safety, familiarity, and comfort. But there was also something fascinating about this strange new world that I had stumbled upon. As I stood among a sea of fathers and grandfathers, I could see my own father and feel his wisdom.

 
He had helped me acquire the title of doctor. What better place to learn to become one? If I had had any fantasies that my days would be consumed with scholarly pursuits and practicing the art of medicine, the VA system was quick to show me reality. It was a hard place for an intern. Many of the support services taken for granted in the community hospital were lacking or absent at the VA. Medical students and interns were an irresistible and well-exploited resource for budget-strapped VA hospital administrators.

 

Much to our chagrin, drawing blood, starting IVs, transporting patients for testing, and even clerical and nursing duties would fill the majority of those early days as doctors. Perhaps, though we were too tired and harried to appreciate it, our daily burdens brought us closer to our patients. It was a humbling revelation that patients would share things with their transporter or phlebotomist that they would never dream of telling their doctor. It was through these eyes that patients were transformed into fathers and grandfathers, men with lives to share and lessons to teach. While it would take many years for me to realize, I encountered my greatest teachers while pushing a stretcher or changing a bed. And so it was with Roger Harrold.

 

I met Mr Harrold for the first time in the Patient Evaluation Area, the VA’s version of the emergency room. His weathered skin and coarse features made him appear older than his sixty-two years. His eyes and soft-spoken way reflected a kind and gentle being, but in those eyes was also a sense of darkness, perhaps even sadness. He had the look of surrender about him, as if his very presence was an admission of personal failure. This was a man unaccustomed to illness and problems that he could not solve himself. Standing by his side was a petite lady with graying hair and facial lines that suggested a perpetual smile. There was no smile that day, only a look of concern, a look that explained her husband’s presence at the hospital.

This Excerpt is taken from the book ‘Dying was the best thing that ever happened to me’ by William E. Hablitzel. To order the book: Click Me!

The Story of Prutha: The Extraordinary Painter

During one of my visits to Ahmadabad (Gujarat), I had the privilege of meeting a 14-year-old girl —Prutha Desai — then a Std IX student of Mount Carmel School. In fact, the main reason for my going to Ahmadabad was to meet Prutha!

Prutha was one of the young victims of the earthquake that shattered Gujarat, years ago. What makes Prutha special was the way she reacted to the tragedy that resulted in the amputation of her right arm, almost up to her shoulder. All this happened when Prutha was dreaming of becoming an artist (painter) of repute, once she finished her studies.

I literally stood up before Prutha and her mother who brought her to the Principal’s office to see me. “God takes away, at times, what he likes most. Probably he liked my right arm. We must respect His wishes. By taking away something, He always gives us so much more in return,” Prutha said with a great sense of pride that was reflected in her eyes, “I now realise that I can do the very same works with my left hand, as well.”

In fact, Prutha had already done some very good paintings with her left hand over the past two years, which were on display in different parts of Gujarat, and even in some major cities of India.When I think that the Gujarat tragedy happened when she was barely a girl of 12! I do not know how much support she received from her family and others. But her mother kept on saying to me that it was Prutha who kept up the morale of the family, in those difficult days.

Prutha’s dreams were clearly fixed in her mind. But she was equally prepared for the inevitable to happen. Nothing could upset her goals. She believed that God had a master plan for her and was willing to give God time, unlike many of us today!

This excerpt has been taken (and slightly modified) from the book  ‘You can make a difference’ by Fr Alfonso Elengikal. For more information on the book, click me 🙂

Positive Self-Talk

“You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” – James Lane Allen

• Do you want to lead a happier life?
• Do you enjoy rewarding & lasting relationships?
• Do you want to reduce stress?
• Do you want to improve physical & mental wellness?
• Do you want to charge yourself with positive energy?
• Do you want to enhance your self-esteem?
• Do you want to greater achievements in life?
• Do you want to feel young?
• Do you want to increase longevity?

 

If your answer is ‘Yes’ to one or more aspects mentioned above, this miraculous book is for you. You might raise your eyebrows as the benefits of self-talk might sound very strange to you, but millions of people have been benefited by the power of self-talk, the world over!

It’s now your turn to experience those wonderful benefits!

 For More Information: Positive Self-Talk

Make Pleasure a Friend, Not a Foe.

There are infinite possibilities of pleasures all around us. We cannot think: of human life without its rightful pleasures as willed by God. But quite often we pick the wrong pleasures for the wrong reasons and get everything wrong in our lives.

While some pleasures give us abiding satisfaction followed by a profound sense of fulfillment, others give only passing gratification followed by distressing feelings of emptiness, bitterness and worthlessness.

Make Pleasure a Friend, Not a Foe is an attempt to draw attention to the unparalleled joy of indulging in mental, moral, intellectual and spiritual pleasures.

Website: http://bit.ly/230lWZq

Man’s Search for Meaning

This is an amazing and fascinating book by a man who lost both his parents, brother and wife through the brutal cruelties of the Nazi torturers and exterminators, and who was deprived of everything except an almost meaningless existence.

From Deep meditation on his own plight, Dr Frankl has worked out a technique of what he calls logotherapy. Nothing is more moving and more enlightening than the way in which this brilliant psychiatrist has proved the worth of his theories by the relief they have brought to others.

Find out more about the book : http://bit.ly/1S7emdW