#120 Chase your dream

Chase your dream

In the words of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, “Dream is not what you see in sleep, it is the thing that doesn’t let you sleep. “ In oxford dictionary dream is defined as a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep. Dream drives a person to achieve whatever he has desired for. A higher dream accelerates the possibilities of getting success. So, one should always try to dream and hold his/her thoughts for long. Dream leads to action and action leads to result.

Our dream is our own and that is no way related to other’s opinions. It may seem vague to others but we only know the importance of our dream. We should chase our dreams the way our shadow chases us all the time. I want to share a short story whose intention is to convey a message that we have to overcome all our hurdles while chasing our dreams. If we don’t find any hurdles in our path, this gives an indication that we are treading a wrong path. Dreams and hurdles are mutually connected. One can never taste flavour of success without tasting failures in life.

The Superpower behind the creation of universe is God himself. While creating human beings, a thought came across his mind. As he wanted to make human being supreme of all, he bestowed each and every one with a power, i.e ability to dream. When humans descended to earth, they started dreaming about their future. Some wanted to be scientists, doctors, teachers while others wanted to be singers, dancers, painters etc. To test the intensity of dream, God created some obstacles for them. 40% of the total human beings started trembling and found it very difficult to continue chasing their dream. They withdrew and thought to live life as it was. Now, 70% was successful in moving ahead but still they had to travel further. God was observing the actions of human beings from heaven. He again raised the level of difficulties for them and found that 30% of the total could not face it. Now, there were exactly 30% of the total human beings left who were chasing their dreams passionately. Those didn’t deviate from their paths. God was observing everyone very minutely. He raised the level of difficulty even more. It was the toughest of all. Most of the human beings found it very challenging. For them, it was like a mountain to cross. Their will power started getting deteriorated. They shattered and couldn’t move a bit. But he was astonished to find that there were still 1% human beings left who were successful in crossing this mountain of hurdles. By seeing their indomitable spirit, he got pleased and helped them to reach their destination. He blessed them with success and contentment.

1% is those people who are living a life which they have thought of. With passion and dedication, we can make our dreams come true. In reality, we give up most of the time when we are in the vicinity of success. Success and failure are like two sides of the same coin. We can never be successful if we don’t embrace failure. Failure shows us our true image and opens up other possibilities which we have never ever thought of. We should chase our dream till the end so that we may be not left with any regret in future.

I would like to end this article with a note that” Go after your dream, no matter how unattainable others think it is.”

Sweta Sarangi

15-4-2016

#119 Self-motivation

Self-motivation

Motivation is something that pushes one to move forward to achieve a goal. It is a driving force that keeps one going irrespective of obstacles. Motivation can be both internal and external. Self-motivation is related to how well you can encourage yourself to accomplish your task. That requires consistency of efforts. The fundamental of self-motivation is why you want to start a certain task. This lays emphasis on your abilities to perform a certain task. Sometimes, an external source also acts as a motivating agent like environment, parents, friends etc.

You might have faced many such situations where nothing is going in your favour. Everything is falling apart, not in a right place. Everything seems to be vague. There is no clear-cut path to move on. It is quite obvious to get disheartened and discouraged at this point of time. You can only think of getting out of such a situation by pushing yourself harder. Here, self-motivation acts as a catalyst.  I have enlisted few points to develop self-motivation-

1.     Set high goals
Before starting any task, setting a goal is very important. The higher you set your goals, the more you feel energised to complete it. You will try to think better options and work harder.

2.      Follow a plan
Make a plan before you start anything. Write down your plan in a diary. At the end of a day, have a look over this. It will act as a cross check of your action reminding you what have you missed.

3.     Read inspirational quotes
There are many quotes available on various websites. You can collect those. Try to read those on a daily basis. Reading quotations of famous personalities develop positivity. You can also paste those quotes on your wall so that you can read those whenever you want.

4.     Think about your past achievements
The best way to motivate yourself instantly is to think of your achievements and the memories associated with these. How did you able to achieve those? The answer is really simple. It was possible because of your hard work and devotion. It is just a reminder that you can also achieve your present goal. There is nothing like impossible. It will surely boost the level of your confidence.

5.     Read some good books
There are many books which are full of motivating stuff. Try to read it regularly. Here I would like to mention a few- Tuesday with Morrie by Mitchel Albom, Think and grow rich by Napolean Hill, Awaken the giant within you by Anthony Robbins, 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen R. Covey, You can win by Shiv Khera, How to win and influence people by Dale Carnegie, The turning point and Indomitable Spirit by APJ Abdul Kalam, Who will cry when you die by Robin Sharma

6.     Join regular classes
There may be many classes being started in your locality like Yoga, sports, Aerobics, swimming etc. These classes will make you sweat. It implies that you’ve worked against your body resistance. And you will find yourself relax and content.

7.     Question yourself
When you feel less motivated or out of energy, ask yourself why you have started the task. What has prompted you to begin? You will not be left unanswered. Surely a reason will pop up in your mind.

8.     Believe in your abilities
Try to visualise yourself achieving your goal. How will your life turn?? Life will not be the same as it is now. It will be transformed completely. You have to develop a faith that you can do it. Have a thought in your mind that you posses something different in yourself. You can only define yourself through your abilities. So, have faith in your abilities.

9.     Listen to some motivational talk or music
Music has enormous power to heal your mind. If you feel low, a soft music or instrumental will refresh you. Listening to music is very effective in curing heart aches and depression. You can listen to speech of motivational speakers like Zig Ziegler, Louise Hay, Les Brown, Tony Robbins, Nick Vujicic, Sandeep Maheshwari etc.

10.    Chant some Mantras
 You can chant some traditional and existing mantras regularly. Chanting Mantras refers to auto-suggestion. You can make your own Mantra like I can do it, I am confident, everything is possible etc. You are instructing your mind to do something repeatedly.  

It has been wisely said by Zig Zigler, “People often say that motivation does not last. Well, neither does bathing-That’s why we recommend it daily.” You need to remind yourself what to do. This is what self-motivation is all about.

So, be confident and be motivated to achieve a goal that you have set for yourself. That may not be the very first time, but hard work coupled with devotion can never let go your efforts in vain.

At the end, I would like to mention a quote that I read somewhere which very well exaggerates the essence of life.

“Life will push you, beat you down and stomp your face to the floor. Never give up because you are alive and here for a reason. Prove to everyone that you are bigger than what you think. Stand up after all the scars have tried to tear you down. Nothing will stop you. God will guide you to perfect life.”

Sweta Sarangi

14-4-2016

#118 Vicissitude of separation

Vicissitude of separation

The divine state of attachment

Since the day of my earthly arrival

Yours every bit of selfless love and care

Which I will always remember

The saintly demeanour of yours

In life’s every endeavour

You thought and spoke

No ill of others

As your lips endlessly chant

For others welfare

The words of appreciation that I heard

For each one you came across

Even though we met for limited duration

You taught me the life’s important lessons

Optimism – the strongest weapon

To battle against tough situations

There’s light even in darkest moment

To balance the uneven trend

The influence of your energy

From myself will never cease

May your soul rest in peace.

Good Bye ,Aai.

P.S: This poem is a tribute to my maternal grandma (Aai) who passed away recently. May her soul attain the highest degree of salvation in heavenly abode.

Swati Sarangi

08.04.2016