Life

Articles about my life, experiences, learnings and more

There are 150 posts filed in Life (this is page 17 of 30).

Go the extra mile

Can you go the extra mile?

Can you go the extra mile?

Life can be wonderful,
Each second can make you smile!
But to see its true beauty,
It will need you to go the extra mile!!

Can you trust people?
On whom nobody will bet!
But if you can do it honestly,
It can become a big asset !!

Can you show goodness?
Even to those unfair to you!
It will reap you true friends,
Who can make miracles come true!!

Can you practice strong faith?
In times that will shake your patience!
You will reap all success possible,
Only if you can maintain your balance !!

You will definitely need courage,
To achieve anything worthwhile!
The only question you face is,
Are you ready to go the extra mile??

5 Ways to Love Yourself

Loving ourselves could be one of the most difficult task for many of us, yet it is very important and significant in our lives. All of us are unique in some talents and skills, and it is our duty to discover our talents and love ourselves for having them. Loving oneself is also related to self-esteem, self-confidence and self-respect sometimes. But it is not about loving oneself as an object, it is not about loving our body or anything physical. Loving oneself comes from within, so in that sense, self-love is more like an attitude and feeling.

The art of loving ourself begins with acceptance of what we are and what we are not. We then no longer seek happiness and fulfillment from people and objects in the outside world, but from within ourselves. It also does not mean being arrogant or over-confident or feeling better than anybody else. It means having a self-respect for ourself as a human being, a self-respect which is not dependent on external factors. Below are 5 simple ways to love oneself daily –

1. Acknowledge your efforts

When we do something good, very often we seek acknowledgement from others (normally higher authority) but often forget to acknowledge ourself for the wonderful work we have been putting in. So do it now, and do it daily. Acknowledge yourself for the effort you have been putting at work, acknowledge yourself for performing your duties as a son, father, mother, brother, and so on. Feel good about the good you are doing to the world.

“To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance” - Oscar Wilde

“To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance” - Oscar Wilde

2. No worries

There is never any point worrying about the past or the future. We all know this fact, yet sometimes we can’t stop ourselves from worrying. If we truly become independent of others’ behavior and how situations turn out, we will cease to worry. By worrying we loose the only moment we really have, the present moment. We should aim to enjoy the current moment to the maximum rather than worrying about what is not in our hands.

3. Forgive your mistakes, trust your abilities

We all are human beings, and we have all made mistakes. We might have lost a business opportunity, or we might have hurt some loved ones by our words. While it is human to make mistakes, it is also human to forgive ourselves and not feeling guilty about them, and move on with life. Because life moves ahead and not backwards, we should take the lessons from our past mistakes and trust our abilities to make better use of our time and opportunities that will come our way in the future.

4. Take breaks, relax

Life has become so fast paced these days that quite often we found ourselves so busy in our day to day activities that we loose track of time. Days turn to weeks and weeks to months before we realize the whole year has passed by. All this also leads to stress, tension and diseases due to an unhealthy lifestyle and habits like smoking and drinking. It is very important to take regular breaks to relax and just have some fun, either alone in reflection or spending some light moments with our friends and family. So take a leave every few weeks, just for relaxation, go out for a vacation once in a while, irrespective of how busy you are or how much your work demands of you.

5. Fun Fun Fun in everything you do

Life is one short journey, and yours will end too as it ends for everybody else. And everything you do revolves around people, whether at home, work or on the streets. So have fun at home by playing around with your kids. Have fun at work by not taking things too seriously. Spread smiles on the road by wishing everyone a good day. Count how many times you smile and laugh, and plot it on a graph. The upside of this graph is more important that the graph of your revenues and bottom lines.

5 Lessons from It’s a Wonderful Life

There are a few movies which you can watch any number of times. Groundhog Day and Peaceful Warrior makes the list, as does “It’s a Wonderful Life“, which I watched again yesterday. It is specially good to watch these movies when you are feeling a little low or demotivated. It is a movie about a man’s life, of his struggles with his responsibilities and his dreams. It is full of passion, despair and joy. The last half hour of the movie really touches and moves you and makes you feel grateful for your life. I am going to list out five lessons from it below –

1. Be a hero where you stand

Right from his childhood when he saves his brother, keeping Mr Gower from poisoning a child or helping the local citizens of the town, George Bailey shows how to be a hero in doing the little things. Giving your best to every person and making the best out of any situation is a common trait among all great achievers in history. Whether it is doing a sacrifice for the dreams of your parents, or taking a step back to allow your brother to pursue his dream, this movie shows these acts and their importance in the impact they make on others.

2. Relationships more important than money

This movie amply demonstrates the value of people over money and other material things. Money is only an artificial thing created by us, and it should be used in the welfare and happiness of all, it should never be the reason to hate or disregard someone. George Bailey, the main character in the movie, proves this time and again by giving loans to the needy even if they don’t seem to be able to pay back. If a little money can buy someone happiness, then it should be put to this noble use. Simple.

Our lives are indeed wonderful

Our lives are indeed wonderful

3. Invest in people

We invest in property, companies, stocks and other form of investments with an aim of increasing them over time. But the biggest investment is people. This movie shows that people never forget and are touched if you sincerely help them and care about them. Investing in people is one investment which never goes bad, and it comes back to you many times invested. This is demonstrated in the movie in the way the whole town comes ahead to help George Bailey when he finds himself in a crisis.

4. Fight for what is right

We all have a deep inner voice which always tells us what is right and what is wrong. In our daily lives as we go about taking decisions, we should always pay heed to this inner voice. We should not compromise even if everyone seems to be doing so. Fighting for what we feel is right will lead us to a life filled of happiness and joy. It takes leadership and courage to stand, often alone, for what you feel is right, and that is what distinguishes the hero from the crowd.

5. You are not a failure

No man is a failure who has friends, is the underlying message in the movie. We do a lot of good in this world, and a lot of people are living off better lives because of us. Most of the time we don’t even realize how many people smile daily because of us. So if we ever start to doubt ourselves, we should take a step back and ponder over our lives and see how many lives we have touched. We might have done something which we don’t even recall now, but we should always remember that the good we do during our lifetime can return to us in many unexpected and beautiful ways.

The storyline gives a very clear message and shows the importance of community, love and faith. Each viewer will see some reflection of his life after watching this movie. The Angel Clarence makes George Bailey realise that every human life is precious, and must be cherished. And that each one of us can MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!

Ripple of Hope

When nothing around you is going your way,
When nobody is hearing what you have to say..
Times like these are the real test of your will,
For amid storms is the challenge to stand still..

When your life will take a sudden turn,
When you will reach a point of no return
Just keep moving ahead despite of every hurdle,
For there is always light at the end of the tunnel..

When all you get is blow after blow,
When every hope and promise seems hollow
You have to decide how high you want to rise,
For you know in every crisis there is a prize..

When nobody around you knows what to do,
When everybody is searching for a clue
That is the time for you to stand strong,
For every night ends no matter how long..

When everything looks like falling apart,
It is very important not to loose heart
For every step you take against the slope,
You are giving rise to a ripple of hope..

Let us all spread a ripple of hope

Let us all spread a ripple of hope


Lessons from the movie “Peaceful Warrior”

Peaceful Warrior is one of the most simple movie with a lot of deep lessons in it. It is based on the book “The way of the Peaceful Warrior” (buy from Flipkart or Amazon) by Dan Millman and recollects his story as an athlete. Nick Nolte gives one of his best performance ever in the movie. After watching this movie, you will get the feeling of wanting to enjoy every moment, something which we don’t feel very often. This movie will leave you thinking about how you run your lives, and if you are open to these lessons, you will get a lot more than just inspiration from this movie. Some of the most important lessons I learned from this movie are listed below –

No Ordinary Moments

There are no ordinary moments in life. Every moment is special, and it is your choice to make the best of it or let it go. The movie also has a quote that “There is never nothing going on“, which signifies the fact that there is always a lot going on around you, and in each moment actually lies our life. Moment after moment, that is how life passes by, and the only moment we have is this one, and this one, and so on. So it tells you to experience every moment by being fully engaged in that moment.

A Warrior Acts, Only a Fool Reacts

Life presents us with many different people and situations, and there is only thing we can control about it – our response. Work on mastering your response to different situations. Don’t let other people and situations decide how you react and feel. Be aware of your emotions, of love, hatred, frustration when they come, but rise over them, and respond in a way you want to, rather than reacting in impulse at that moment and regretting later on.

Where are you? Here, What time is it? Now, What are you? This moment

Where are you? Here, What time is it? Now, What are you? This moment

Take out the Trash

We all need to take out the trash which is in our mind. Trash refers to everything which you don’t need or which is not in the current moment. It might be doubt about your abilities, fear from your past failures, worries about the future, and so on. All this trash keeps you from doing the only thing that matters which is focussing on the current moment. The current moment is the only moment you have, and all past and future thoughts in our mind are trash.

You will Never be Better, Neither be any Less

You will never be better than anybody else, and in the same way you will never be any less. Irrespective of the kind of lives you live, practices you follow, or whatever you do or don’t do, there is no higher ground where you stand compared to others. Treating every other human being with respect and compassion shows more about you than the other person. The same way you are also not less than anybody else, not based on money, resources, thought or anything else.

Service is the Highest Purpose

Service to others is the highest purpose in life. There is no greater thing to do in life than to serve or help others. Service means unselfish kindness without expecting anything in return. We all have various talents and skills, and it is our obligation to use them to teach others and serve them. Service to others gives meaning to your life. Everybody’s life has a purpose, and you will find your purpose in service. Service to something bigger than yourselves.

This is one of the best movies I have watched, and I watch it often when I feel confused or I know I am not living in the present. And believe me, every time I get something new out of watching it. There are a lot of important lessons to be learnt from this movie, and I will be writing another post soon to cover those.