I like watching lots of movies especially animated movies. I also draw a lot of conclusions and try to learn something worthy from those movies. I think animated movies/series have more lessons in them than realistic movies. This is not to say that I don’t enjoy a good action movie, but if given choice I would rather watch animated movie than watching realistic movie.

Anyways, so the other day I was watching Kung Fu Panda for the 6th (Yes, its a 6) time. I like that movie very much – it’s one of my favorite movies. So I was watching it and there came the part where Shifu informs Oogway that Tai Lung has escaped and is on his way to destroy the valley and take the dragon scroll. I had seen that part 5 times before too and I was almost certain that there was nothing special about it. But I was wrong – Oogway’s response got my attention (100% attention.) He asked Shifu to guide Po and believe in him.

In the movie Oogway makes a very valid point. He says that the peach tree can defeat Tai Lung if Shifu is willing to guide it, nurture it and believe in it. I gave his sentence a little thought and found it to be more than just true. Without belief nothing is possible. If you do not believe in yourself and in your thinking then you do not stand a chance.

Take Walt Disney’s example. He believed in his imagination, his talent and his creation. No matter what world told him, no matter how many failures he faced, he believed in himself. His persistence and bravery finally came to fruition. It’s almost impossible to find a person who doesn’t know Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney’s creation.

Take the example of Thomas Edison. He failed thousand times before being successful and gave world its first light bulb. He had the option to quit after failing first 50 or 60 times, but he believed in his imagination. He was certain that he would succeed no matter how many times he had failed.

After a few bad breaks and failures, quitting might seem to be a logical and easy option. At this point we need to strengthen our belief and have confidence in ourselves. We shouldn’t think about what others would say about our endeavor. Remember this, ordinary people simply follow the path laid out by leaders. It takes courage and strong heart to do something extraordinary and take the less travelled path. These are the pioneers who give the world and people living in it something new, something worthy, something that will last forever. And it all is the result of one thing – their beliefs.

I found my first clue when I read a book called The Practicing Mind by Thomas Sterner. According to Mr. Sterner, such things happen when one is not in control of his mind. He gave an example of two chariots with equal number of horses. He said that the chariot rider who doesn’t take control of the reins and let the horses run wild wastes energy of the horses without getting anywhere. Whereas, the rider who takes the reins in his hands and controls the motion of the horses reaches wherever he wants to.

Mr. Sterner explains that similarly a person who doesn’t take control of his mind, and lets it wander off, wastes a lot of energy and reaches nowhere. But if a person decides to take control of his mind, he can accomplish anything he want and reach wherever he aims. The same principle is explained very nicely by Napoleon Hill in the following video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ0hHIQIr_E

The title of this post is only three words, but its meaning is more than this post itself. This short sentence is not difficult to understand – it can be understood even by a high school student. Still, I have seen many adults who fail to weave these words in their life. Let’s decipher this proverb.

The proverb emphasizes on the importance of health. If you are healthy, you can achieve whatever you want. However, if your health is not in a good shape, you will not be able to deliver your 100%. This could lead to unhappiness.

Take for instance your job. If you are ill, you will have to take a sick leave. This will lead to less pay in your next paycheck and hence less wealth.

Let’s see another example. In USA, 30.6% of all adults are suffering from obesity. These adults are more prone to heart attacks and diabetes as compared to those who are not suffering from obesity. Needless to say once the disease becomes serious, they will not be able to work like before. In many cases, this could prevent them from working altogether. And then starts the money issues.

Besides monetary issues, these problems might also keep them from simple enjoyments of their life like spending time with their family traveling or visiting friend’s place. All they will be doing at this stage of life is take medication and stay home.

So, explaining the proverb in one statement, it says if you are fit and healthy, you can be happy, which the true wealth of life is.

“Until you spread your wings, you’ll have no idea how far you can fly” – Anonymous

Has anyone ever told you that a thing cannot be done? Has anyone ever told you that the thing you are working on is impossible to complete and that you will not succeed? Has anyone ever told you that many people have failed in doing this work and you will also fail?

It is talks like these that make it very difficult to do a task without thinking about their end result. Once you hear these questions, you tend to think if the efforts you are putting worth anything. These questions raise fear of failure inside you and could hinder your efforts.

At this point you should remind yourself that everything in the world is impossible if you don’t have enthusiasm, persistence and patience. The people that are saying they have failed lacked this vision. They either ran out of enthusiasm or self-discipline. These are the key ingredients to success.

“The block of granite which was an obstacle in the path of the weak, becomes a stepping stone in the path of the strong.” Thomas Carlysle

Let me give you an example. Before I started this blog, I did some research on how does a blog work and what are other things people are doing on their blog. It was at that point I came to know about other great blogs like techcrunch.com and problogger.net. On many forums I saw people saying that your blog will need a miracle to become as great as them. There were many naysayers too who said blogging not worth your time. There were also many people who told me you are late. The blogging revolution was in 2002-2005. If you had a blog back then, you would have been very famous. Now it’s too late.

Should I not start my blog because some people said I will not succeed? No, they don’t know my future (well, they don’t even know their own future). It really doesn’t matter what people say as long as you are heading in the right direction. With persistence and patience, you will be able to achieve what you were set out to achieve.

Remember. Mount Everest was once said impossible to climb. Many tried. But they failed. Does that mean it is not possible to reach at the top of Mount Everest? No, all it means is that you will need a lot of self-discipline and courage to take that challenge. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the top of Mount Everest. Of course they faced a lot of difficulties and challenges, but they showed great determination and overcame those challenges.

What if they had quit? What if they would have never attempted to climb Mount Everest because a lot of people had failed? Would they have been famous today?

So, next time when you find yourself struggling, pause and remind yourself that great things are achieved by persistence and patience. This will give you the extra boost you need to keep you going down the path of your dreams.

Ways to relax:

1. Exercise daily: There are many benefits of exercising. It releases necessary hormones and chemicals that stimulate your brain and body. These chemicals help your brain develop new nerve cells and keep you away from various diseases including various cardiovascular diseases. Exercise makes you take in deeper breaths hence more oxygen for the body. This rejuvenates your mind and body. It improves your blood circulation throughout the body and leaves you feeling great and refreshed.

2. Meditating: Meditating helps you refocus your mind. It helps you to save a lot of energy by taking your mind off of anything that’s bothering you and uses that energy instead in refocusing your mind. Even a 5 minute quick meditation can work wonders. Such a short session simply involves taking deep breaths and counting the number of breaths. A longer session might include focusing on an imaginary point between your eyes and can also include some yoga activities. It is very beneficial to do such long sessions early in the morning.

3. Going for a walk: Going for a walk is also a very helpful way to unwind your stressed mind. If your office is situated in a quiet place with some/lot of greenery, take a break and go out. Go out and fill your lungs with some fresh air. My job is a desk job and it primarily includes staring at the computer screen in a dark room. Around 3 PM or so I take a 15 minute break, during which I just go to my boss and we together go out for some fresh air. I would suggest you guys to give it a try. It’s very effective.

4. Communicate: I see many people in our office just sitting there doing their jobs, and I respect that. But communicating with your colleagues is also an important thing. It helps you understand your colleagues better. You come to know their likes and dislikes and they come to know yours. This makes the office environment very friendly and stress free. It might even make you feel your workplace as your second home

5. Prioritize: Almost 95% of all the stress is built up because of delayed issues. People keep procrastinating some issues. And when the deadline comes, they start working on it as if they don’t do it they are going to die. Due to the NOW time sensitive nature of the issue it becomes their utmost priority to sort out that matter. Don’t let things reach this stage. Take care of your pending issues. An easy way to start doing this is to take care of one pending issue every day. Make that call to your friend that you have been putting off, or complete a part of that report you have been working on. Prioritize your tasks judiciously.

Following these simple points will keep your mind stress-free and sharp. You will feel the change in your personality and your behavior. With these points you will be able to maintain a peaceful environment around you. If you liked this article, please subscribe and pass it on to your dear ones!