Appreciation

We always fancy about buying new clothes, expensive jewellery, the latest things for ourselves .We always buy new dresses, new shoes, accesories for special occasions. We are always concerned about how we look, whether our dress is "IN'' these days or not..

Have you ever gone through a situation where you bought new branded clothes, dressed as beautifully as you could and when you go out, nobody praises you. You don't get even a single compliment. Seems as if all the effort, all the money and time spent on dressing up is in vain? Are you distressed? most of us won't agree that we actually become upset. We say, "I dress up because I love to" .. But the reality is, most of us dress up, work hard, spend hours at some task to merely impress others. 

Some people become so used to getting compliments, that if one day they don't get any, they would be highly distressed and would throw a fit as to how anyone did not notice them or their work. Imagine, if kareena kapoor walks through the streets, unnoticed, how it would hurt her ego, and she won't get out of depression for days!!

It is true that we work hard, accomplish our tasks dutifully,with perfection to achieve our personal goals, for money and APPRECIATION. As I said, in the example of kareena, famous personalities are used to getting compliments all the time. You wholeheartedly appreciate kareena's beauty or aamir's movies or paulo coehlo's books. But do you ever care to appreciate the topper of your class? Do you ever defy your ego and go up to your competitor to say congrats when he won the match? Do you ever dare to tell your friend that she looks better than you?

Leave those achievements alone, have you ever appreciated your mom for making such yummy food for you? Have you ever appreciated your sibling for bringing pens and notebooks from the neighbourhood shop when you were in need? No, we always say, "mummy kya roz roz wahi khaana khilaati ho" or "bhai itni der laga di tune, kaha reh gaya tha raaste me"..

Everyone in this world loves to be appreciated for whatever they have done, however petty the task may be. And most of the people find it against their ego to appreciate the other person. They speculate "appreciation" as a task that would hurt their ego. Think, how delightful it is for you to receive compliments, and how pleased the other person would be, on receiving unexpected compliments.  It won't seize anything from you, but would give the other immense pleasure. So, never hesitate to appreciate the pettiest of achievements by the people around you, because..

"Appreciation is a wonderful thing, it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well"

Courage

"Courage"- The thing which all of us claim to possess but very few people actually possess it.
Most of the people of our age think that courage is all about going alone to an unknown place, or to ask out a girl/boy or to fight with some one else or some other small silly things.
Very few of us have the courage to face life. Very few of us have the courage to face the crucial situations of life and act wisely in them. Very few of us have the courage to get out of the cobwebs of the society, to take major decisions against the society and our parents. Very few of us have the courage to get out of the convention and do something different.
Very few of us have the courage to follow our dreams, because rest of the world says that they are silly.
It is easy to preach and difficult to act. Here, I preach about following your dreams and pursuing your choices. But, when I had the best opportunity,I was unable to break the convention, to follow my dreams, to decide my career against the wish of my parents. I was also a victim of the Social status and family expectation factors. After completing my +2, being a science student, I had the option to choose whatever course I wanted to, but I was taken in by the expectations of my parents, family and teachers. I was blinded by the information fed into my mind about pursuing a proffesional degree rather than a course of my choice.
I had the spark somewhere inside, that I am born to do something creative, but never had the courage to pursue it. Whenever i spoke something of it, my parents used to say " beta you have scored so well in your 12th std, you should go for a proffesional course, you have the capability, then why do you want to waste it in some silly fashion or english undergraduation course"..
And I, never had the courage to break the convention and here I am, struggling to fit myself in this technical course. Here I am,satisfying the artist in me by writing in this blog and pursuing drawing courses in the summer holidays.
I wish I had the courage to go out and do whatever i wanted.. I am still trying to gather all the courage required to fulfill my creative dreams.
I somehow managed to get the courage to start this blog and start writing. And it keeps me happy. I wish to achieve the courage to take bigger steps in life. And I am trying each day.
I truly want that you learn from my mistakes, because the one who learns from other's mistakes is wise.It saves you from unecessary pain and regret.
Your decisions must be taken by yourselves, don't let others influence you..Act wisely, have the courage to face everything and every one.
I wish the best for all of you..
Be happy.. :)

The purpose of life is a life of purpose

God has sent all of us to earth to accomplish some tasks.Each one of us has been assigned a task to be fulfilled. We have to search for the purpose of our life. As is said by Robin Sharma in his book The monk who sold his ferrari:

When you clearly know what aims you wish to achieve over the course of life,and you spend your days accomplishing them,you will ultimately find joy. It is known as our "Dharma" which is the sanskrit word for life's purpose. Dharma is based upon the ancient principle that says every one has a heroic mission when we walk this Earth. We have all been granted a unique set of gifts and talents that will readily allow us to realise this lifework. The key is to discover them , and in doing so, discover the main objective of your life.
There is always the apparent risk that comes with self examination and soul searching. Many people quit their jobs that have stifled their progress the moment they discover the true purpose of their existence. Self knowledge is the DNA of self enlightenment."

This book proved to be life changing for me. I had screwed up my life and was regretting my decisions taken in the past. I had developed the thinking that everything has been screwed till now and nothing can be changed. My decision of pursuing B.tech was the most regretted decision for me. I was least interested in my course and was practically goal-less. This book gave me the courage to dream. It taught me that courage allows you to do whatever you want to do because you know it is right. There is never a risk in discovering yourself and the mission of your life. now, instead of brawling over my decisions, I am getting involved in the activities which interest me. This blog is also a result of the motivation and optimism that this book has embodied in me.
It is very essential for all of us to learn these lessons of self-mastery and inner fulfillment. We cannot Love others until we love ourselves, we cannot keep others happy, until we are happy with ourselves.
The moment we set our goals and start working upon them, our life changes to a purposeful one, where we know what our "dharma" is.
The joy and fulfillment achieved by this is beyond any material happiness and it is a lasting one, you feel content and satisfied with yourself and are ready to take up any challenges that life is going to give you.
So keep searching, and follow your goal with passion, because passion is the most potent fuel for your dreams.
n yes, Happy blogging :)