positive thoughts – Pick up smiles

The two wolves!

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Let me begin with a short story which you might have already read or heard. A grandfather tells his grandson “We all have two wolves inside us battling with each other. One wolf is angry, jealous, full of hatred and corrupt. The other one is joyous, loving, caring, selfless and compassionate. ” The grandson asks, “So which wolf wins the battle?”. “The one you feed!”, replies the grandfather.

Isn’t it so true? We all have both the good and bad wolves inside us. There are times when even the kindest person would have got angry, and even a worst of worst man also can be loving and kind. There is good and bad in each one of us. Sometimes, we go out of our way to help someone in need and at other times, we are so rude and angry with our own family members. Now, the question is – if we have the angel and devil both inside us, which one of our behavior supersedes the other? The answer is pretty simple, the one we pay more attention to!

Our mind is constantly getting fed with information from outside world. Think of it like a black box – you feed some input and you get some output. Let us not focus on what processes inside the black box. But what is 100 percent true is that the output is directly proportional to input. In this media dominating world, no doubt, we are constantly being fed with all the negative news and information about the world. So, what can we expect from the quality of our thoughts, aren’t they bound to be negative and full of fear and anger? Now, if we invest our time in reading motivational books and articles or listening to such videos/podcasts, isn’t is going to impact our thoughts in a positive way. It sure will!

Both the wolves are hungry, both need to be fed. It is totally our choice whom we want to feed more and give life to. And that is truly going to shape our life in turn!

Consistency is the key

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Does this ever happen to you that you start something new so energetically like meditation or blogging or exercising and within a few days, the motivation drops drastically and you feel like you are not getting the results? Does that mean you are doing something wrong, or doing it the wrong way?

No, nothing is wrong except for our impatience. We have forgotten that ‘slow and steady wins the race’ even in this fast paced world. Anything and everything in our life needs a constant and consistent effort before the results emerge out.

Imagine a person who starts going to gym to lose weight. He goes and exercises daily and looks after his diet too but after 7-10 days, the weighing scale is still being cruel in showing no progress. There are high chances he will quit soon and go back to his previous lifestyle. In fact, more than 80% of the people would do the same. But those 20% who don’t lose hope and stay consistent in their efforts, will one day, surely see the positive outcome.

It is like going to the dentist twice a year and expecting the teeth to stay healthy and germ-free. But the daily 2 minutes of brushing the teeth every single day of the year, is what plays a bigger role in the shine of those white pearls. And it is these ‘2 minutes’ of our daily life that actually make the difference! Similarly, for any new regime that we start, the everyday little effort, the everyday monotonous routine, and the everyday dedication that we show and put in, is what brings the fruitful end-result.

It is a well known theory that to develop a new habit, one must perform it consistently for at least 21 days, and only then it becomes a natural way of one’s life. So clearly, consistency breeds the mastery. If we talk about the Olympian legends, be it an athlete, or a soccer player, or a swimming champion, we just see the tip of the iceberg. We just see the ten minutes of their final race and we applaud at their success. What lies beneath this visible achievement, is the thousands of hours they dedicated to their practice, the daily devotion to their fields of interest, the everyday little effort to get one step closer to success.

So, in short, there is no short cut to success. There are no elevators. You have to take the stairs, one step at a time, everyday!

Which seed have you sown today?

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Seeds are the foundation of any plant. It is the type and quality of seed that determines what plant will grow from it. If you want to have a rose in your backyard, you won’t sow a cactus seed. What if you don’t know, what seed you are holding in your hand and you just throw it in the soil, and you do it again some other day, and keep doing it unconsciously for some time. One day, it may be in some weeks, or months or even years, you will see a little lawn of plants in front of you. And then you say to yourself, “this is not what I want”. But do you have a choice now?

Now replace the word ‘seed’ with ‘thought’ and replace ‘plant’ with ‘future’ and read the above paragraph again! Yes, I mean it.

Surprised? But isn’t it so true? Each day, each moment, we are writing our future, totally unaware and unconscious of it. Each thought we are creating, will one day, manifest itself into reality. This reality becomes our future. And once it does become future, do we have a choice to change it even if we are totally unhappy with it? Definitely No.

Of course, there is a time gap between when the seed was sown and when the actual plant budded out of it. Same is the case with our thoughts. But once we become aware of the power of our thoughts, we must start keeping a check on what we think, how we think. No wonder, we see people around us who talk negative most of the times, and then actually face a lot of unwanted circumstances. It is the result of all the seeds that they have sown all along the way.

Now, there is a very strong connection between the information we get and the thoughts we create. So, if your mind constantly creates worries, tensions and ‘what if’ kind of thoughts, you need to check what information are you feeding to your mind, what kind of people you are surrounded with. Once the inflow is positive and pure, the outflow will automatically correct itself. And soon it will start reflecting in your actions and thus your destiny!

In conclusion, our thoughts truly shape our life. We become what we think. The quality of the seeds we are sowing today will determine what crop we will reap tomorrow. So choose your seeds wisely and remember : “Your mind is a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers OR you can grow weeds. ”

You are the author of your ‘Life book’

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Let me ask you a question. Do you remember anything from your past life? Or any idea about how your next life is going to be? No, right? But, you know you have one life right now in your hands. And let me tell you this ‘one life’ is ENOUGH if you live it right.

I have often heard people saying, and I admit I said it too a few times that Life is hard, Life is challenging, Life is so busy, Life sucks etc. But isn’t it still better than death? Life is hard, but will we value it if it was too easy? Life might be a challenge but we have all the tools and strengths to face this challenge. Life is busy but it also means we are being productive.

We need to change our perception and shift our focus from negative to positive. Everybody faces ups and downs in their lives. Even those whom we call successful today like Oprah Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg, Tony Robbins and many more have all gone through different colors of life, some good some bad. But their hard work, their positive outlook and their zeal to live the life of their dreams, have brought them where they are.

We all have big dreams and ambitions. Its time to bring them into reality. Turn your dreams to realistic goals, set timelines, work hard day and night in the direction of your goals, stay positive, stay focused. Shape your life, make it beautiful. It is your property, it is your responsibility.

Don’t worry if there were some bad chapters in your book of life. You are still holding the pen. You still have the power to write and change the story. You still can make sure it has a happy ending.

Make your book worth reading 🙂