A popular speaker started off a seminar by holding up a $20 bill. A crowd of 200 had gathered to hear him speak. He asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?”
200 hands went up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.” He crumpled the bill up. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” All 200 hands were still raised. “Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” Then he dropped the bill on the ground and stomped on it with his shoes. He picked it up, and showed it to the crowd. The bill was all crumpled and dirty. “Now who still wants it?” All the hands still went up. “My friends, I have just showed you a very important lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, life crumples us and grinds us into the dirt. We make bad decisions or deal with poor circumstances. We feel worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. You are special – Don’t ever forget it! |
Imagine you had a bank account that deposited $86,400 each morning. The account carries over no balance from day to day, allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every dollar each day!
We all have such a bank. Its name is Time. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever time you have failed to use wisely. It carries over no balance from day to day. It allows no overdraft so you can’t borrow against yourself or use more time than you have. Each day, the account starts fresh. Each night, it destroys an unused time. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, it’s your loss and you can’t appeal to get it back. There is never any borrowing time. You can’t take a loan out on your time or against someone else’s. The time you have is the time you have and that is that. Time management is yours to decide how you spend the time, just as with money you decide how you spend the money. It is never the case of us not having enough time to do things, but the case of whether we want to do them and where they fall in our priorities. |
The Sad Peacock
This beautiful story about making the best of what you have is our first pick for this list. A comparison is inevitable and starts pretty early in life. Though ambition is not a bad thing, there is usually a very thin line progressing to greed. It can run both ways, parents may end up pushing their children so hard that kids may end up frustrated. On the other hand, kids may end up demanding for more, without regard to what they have already and this may end up making them selfish. Here is a wonderful story about a peacock who almost went the same way. So, there was this once a beautiful peacock who was all but dancing on a rainy day. He was busy admiring his plumage. However, he was suddenly reminded of his shortcoming in a rough voice. All the joy beaten out of him, he was almost in tears. Suddenly, when he heard a nightingale singing nearby. Listening to the nightingale’s sweet voice, his own shortcoming was once again thrown into sharp relief became very evident. He began wondering why he was jinxed in such a manner. At that moment, when Juno, the leader of the Gods, appeared and addressed to the peacock. “Why are you upset?” Juno asked the peacock. The peacock complained about his rough voice and how he was sad because of it. “The nightingale has such a beautiful voice. Why don’t I?” After listening to the peacock, Juno explained, “ that every living being is special in his or her own way. They are and made in a certain manner that serves the greater purpose. Yes, the nightingale is blessed with a beautiful voice, but you are also blessed – with such a beautiful and glittering plumage! The trick is acceptance and making the most of what you have.” The peacock understood how silly he had been in comparing himself to others and forgetting his own blessings. He realized that day that everyone was unique in some way or the other. Moral of the StorySelf-acceptance is the first step to happiness. Make the best of what you have rather than being unhappy about what you don’t. |