Aspirations to a Higher Grounde

The White Mountain from charles on Vimeo.

Hope for a better future, hope for happiness, hope for love and friendships. In the worst of times, we lose hope, we believe nothing will ever make our life better but I am here to tell you the bad times do not last. They test us, they frustrate us, they make us dig deep but in the end we come out on the brighter side, better for the struggle.

The thing to remember is to not depend on anyone else to get you out of the trouble. Everyone is busy, everyone has plenty of problems and troubles of their own. We have to take responsibility for our own lives, for our own failure, for our own success.

One of the mistakes we make in tough times is to try too many things, like a drowning man we throw our hands about, trying to grab anything that will keep us afloat, but this never works. Instead try one thing at a time, try as hard as you can but if it does not work, move on to the next one. Do not take failure personally or emotionally, just keep trying till you hit success, and believe me sooner or later you will. So keep aiming, keep shooting.

When trying to make change happen there are two things to keep in mind -

Timeframe – Have a timeframe in mind to change your situation and adjust your goals accordingly. You might have a very lofty final goal that might take 10 years to achieve. Are you sure you cannot take some short steps towards that goal instead of getting into an all or nothing situation? Have a timeframe for how long you are willing to fight in your current situation

Intuition – If something feels right, then give it a try even if it seems a risky option. Almost everyone is going to give you advise to be safe, do not take risks and be sure of where you want to be 10 years from now, but does anyone really end up where they thought they will 10 years ago?

So keep on hoping, keep on living and remember in your life – “If you hate something, change it”.

Have you ever had the feeling? Something is eating you from inside. Slowly but surely. You cant eat, you cant sleep. Nothing seems interesting or enjoyable. No, I am not talking about love. I am talking about misery.

You feel like something is just not right, something needs to be changed and unless you make that change you are going to be sad, angry and hate every moment of you existence.

Isn’t is a wonderful thing. In fact it is, and I am not even kidding.

Stay with me for a second. Sometimes if we didnt feel that way, if our mind and body did not react in that way then we would never push ourselves to make that change. Misery is terrible but it makes us act. We know we cannot keep living like this and we know we have to do something new, to bring change.

We can live with misery for a few days, maybe even a few years for a variety of reasons but not forever. Make that change, swallow the bitter pill because nothing and no one is worth unhappiness for yourself.

The great thing about misery is that more often than not we know exactly what is causing us to feel this way, and we know what must be done. It might seem painful but take the first step, and the next steps will seem easier. Sure you might cause some people to feel heartburn, some anger but eventually they will understand and move on.

So take the first step to freedom and inner peace and tell me how it goes.

Most of us use the word “Mediocrity” as an adjective, as a defining word. To describe some event, some object but more often than not, to describe a person.

However I believe it is not just a standard of living. It is in fact a force, and could be defined as -

Mediocrity much like gravity, is a force. Always pulling us down, stopping us from achieving, making us average.

What is stopping us from getting out from bed, from making that all important phone call, from working on our dream project? It is the force of mediocrity. Its not us who are lazy, forgetful or indifferent, the force of mediocrity makes us so.

In order to achieve anything we must fight mediocrity. We must fight it to achieve our goals because if we do not, it will wrap us all up in the blanket of itself and make this world a grey place, with everyone and everything average. A world with no winners, no losers and no achievers.

There is hope, however because as in all battles, there is a yin for the yang and thats success. Success pulls us out from the drudges of the average and makes us dream about standing out, about achieving, about success itself. People dream of being successful and put in years of hard work chasing their dreams and fighting Mediocrity. Success is not about material goods or status or power. Success is nothing but the emotion of happiness, the joy of having made a positive impact, paid your debts, realized the purpose of your life.

Mediocrity, however has an even bigger foe. One that it fears above all others and that  is Greatness. In order to be great, you must be much more than successful. Not everyone can achieve greatness, but everyone can aspire to it. So make greatness you friend, strive to be not merely good, but great and mediocrity will stay miles away.

The next time you are struggling to finish that special project, or setup that important meeting, do not blame it on yourself. Its the force of mediocrity doing what it always does. Make success and greatness your allies and fight the force of mediocrity, and chances are you will be alright.

Apple released the “Think Different” Campaign in 1997, a time when its image was battered, the stock price was down and there were calls for the company to be shut down. What a way to mark down your philosophy and then follow it without a backward step.

When you find the going difficult, there is pressure to back down and follow the crowd, just remember to be crazy enough to believe you can change the world, and just maybe you will.

I think that all of us are born to be creative, to make beautiful things and express ourselves in our own unique ways. Expression of our individuality is not only liberating but also essential to the growth and well being of our minds.

A lot of us fall into the trap of believing that we have nothing to aspire to, no higher purpose. We do our jobs, obey the rules and follow the crowd.

We were not like that when we were kids. Our backyards were our kingdoms with castles and palaces, aircrafts and  spaceships. We could zoom at supersonic speeds and crawl in underground caves. We made stories of triumph and fear, of fun and frolic. We could be wizards one day and fairies then next. Almost anything could be turned into a prop. All we needed was imagination and freedom.

It is a cruel world. We all need to earn and make a living. We all need to pay our ever expanding bills. However that doesn’t need to come at the expense of our creativity, our imagination.

I went to a park today and there were kids playing, and running and swinging. It was peaceful and tranquil. There were sounds of laughter and excitement. Sat there for a while, enjoying the fresh air and greenery. There were only about 3-4 grown-ups, enjoying being out with their kids.  On the way back I stopped by a game parlor, the air was full of smoke and the loud sounds of machines. The place was packed with about 40-50 people, staring at screens and “enjoying” their weekend. It was easy to wonder why these people were not at the park.

We all have a skill, something that is immensely satisfying to do. You do not have to make a living on it. It could be a sport or an activity or something more creative. Express yourself. I promise It will be tremendously satisfying and more fun than watching TV.

Through our childhood its a word we hear often. Prospects.

“That kid has excellent Prospects. Try to learn something from him”

Often I wondered how people would determine this kid’s future “prospects” from his score in the science exam. How did they know he was going to be successful, make the right decisions, not waste his life gambling or drinking or drugging just by his report card. Could they see something I could not, was his future written in magic ink that I could not read?

And yet, the kids with the best and brightest prospects more often than not do not go onto become the geniuses, the leaders, the stars that we expected them to become. Prospects do not always turn into the real success but where does the fault lie?

The fact is that our prospects change everyday. They change by the amount of hard work we put in, our self belief and our dedication to stay the course. They depend on the choices we make, what we read and how we apply our minds. Our prospects evolve the same way we evolve, for better or for worse.

The choice is ours. To let the past guide our present OR let our present decide our future.

My other rants on Education

left brain, right brain

Absolutely great illustration on the make-up of our minds. All the “RIGHT” brain people seem to having fun !

tip of hat to shreya !

Decisions are always tough! You have to weight all the possibilities, come to all the conclusions and make up your mind on which side of the fence you are going to be. You have to stop talking and start doing. You got to pick a lane and stay your course.

As Morpheus says in The Matrix -

There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.

That is why we run away from decisions, cause once we have decided there are no more excuses, there is no turning back. We must walk to path we have chosen. Before getting to the decision however our minds not only oscillate between the good and the evil but wander among the hundreds of possibilities in between, each with its own positives and negatives and implications. We are so scared of making the wrong choice that we try and predict the implications, which is impossible. There is absolutely no way of predicting the future, of knowing how a certain choice would affect our lives in a few years time.

So what is the best way to make a decision – make it based on your beliefs, your principles, your loves. I think staying true to your inner self is the only way to stay consistent and avoid regrets. A lot of us are always seeking advice, but advice is cheap and most advice is also safe. However the best decisions are mostly the ones which go against the status quo, are based on nothing but belief and full of passion. So I say do not be scared of being bold, follow your heart and make change. However the greatest attribute of a good decision is the ability to stick to it and see it through till the end, when you realize that in fact you are ‘The one’.

Is Validation from others the only thing we are all chasing after? This video has the answers and more. I’d say this is the The best video on youtube.