A professor once walked into the classroom with a glass of water. He stood before the class and asked, “Can you guess what is the weight of this glass of water that I hold in my hand?” The students began to guess, “125 gm”, “150 gm”, another said “137gm” and so on. The professor stopped them and said, ‘I too do not know its weight. My guess too will be wrong. I will need a measuring scale to be accurate.” The students look perplexed. The professor continued, “Now if I hold this glass for a few minutes, what would happen?”. The students replied nothing much would happen. Then the professor said, “If I continue to hold this glass for an hour….or even more for a day, what would happen?. The students said that his hand would pain, grow numb and may also need medical assistance. The Professor smiled and said, “This is the same way we hold on to our negative thoughts. We hold on to our negative thoughts for a long time through life. When the simple solution is to put it down just like this glass of water”
The Principles of Success are very few but they call for practice and hard work. Success also calls for us to work on changing ourselves bit by bit. Change is something that will happen no matter whether we like it or not. The things around us change, the people around us change and we too change. The best we can do is be prepared and ready for the change.
Through the word CHANGE I will share with you the principles that make success and happiness possible.
C – Every Choice has its Consequences
Every choice we make in our life has consequences. Life gives us many things to choose from. We can choose the good, or we can choose the bad, or we can just ignore the choice presented to us. Yet, whatever be the choice there will be a consequence for every choice we make. Let us suppose a student chooses a negative and hurtful habit such as smoking. The student might feel that it will just be one puff or just one cigarette. But do you think that this “one puff” has no consequences? That “one puff” of smoke leads to another and yet another and after a few years the student finds their lungs impacted. More than 1 million people die in India due to smoking tobacco. So be wary of what you choose. If you choose negative habits you will need to bear negative consequences. If you choose positive habits you will reap more satisfying rewards.
When you choose the right path, there will be dis-comfort. If you decide to go before the class and give a speech, your friends may poke fun at you and even threaten to quit being your friend. But the more you practise to choose the right path the more you develop a stronger will and determination.
The choices you make today or even tomorrow will decide your future.
H – Be Hungry for Knowledge and Improvement.
The best hunger to have is the hunger for knowledge and improvement. It will ensure you never stay hungry your whole life. Knowledge will give you skills on how to earn and supplement your basic needs. Knowledge will give you the understanding about life and how to act wisely. It teaches you to ask questions and seek answers.
Learning happens only when there is a change in your life. Reading a book is of no use if you do not allow yourself to learn something from it. You can get your knowledge by observing everything around you with questions and then seeking solutions. You can improve on your knowledge from the people around you, from the situations you face and from introspection or contemplation. It is important to learn how to ask for HELP when you face a problem. There is always someone out there who will be able to guide you to achieve a solution.
A – Take Action. Take 10% More action. Take Feedback.
Life is all about the actions we take and the choices we make. The most famous people in the world are the people who have taken action and improved themselves over time. The life story of APJ Abdul Kalam is one such inspiring story.
You may need to improve on a skill you are lacking in. Let us say, a student is “afraid” of Public Speaking. Now, this “fear” will always remain with the student till he/she decides to take action on it. When the teacher gives such a student a chance to speak before the class, the student will certainly make mistakes. This “fear” may not go in one day, or two days or even five days… but the more the student takes action the more fear will lessen. The first time is always the most difficult. Your friends may poke fun at you, you may feel awkward, you may forget your speech, you also may make grammatical mistakes. The next time remember to do it just 10% better. And the next time after that another 10% more. You will need to make the effort to improve just a little bit.
N – Never Quit.
There will be times in life you wish to quit a goal or a job. By the phrase “Never Quit” I mean that you need to learn all you can before you decide to change your path. I find that people change goals and jobs very fast and they don’t seem to learn anything in the long run. Do not quit till you know you have learnt enough and only then move on to learn newer things.
The never quit advice also has within it the motto of “try, try and try again”. To try and try again will give you a character that you will be proud of in life. If you try once and then repeat the try half-heartedly, then you will not learn. If you try then you should try with all your heart. You should put in all effort into each work you do, into each game you play, into every book you read.
G – Grow with Gratitude.
Gratitude is when you are thankful for all the blessings and knowledge you have received. You will find that so many people have taught you so many wonderful things in life. It is our duty to pay them respect. We learn from our teachers, our elders, our parents and our friends too. We need to be thankful to everyone who has helped us become a better person.
On the other hand, a complaining nature will not get us far. We find so many people around us who keep complaining all the time. A person who keeps complaining does not look to solve their problems. But, when you are grateful, you also are able to come up with solutions to solve the problems you face.
E – Everyone Matters.
Happiness is felt best when you are sharing your knowledge and skills with everyone and for the benefit of everyone. There are so many people in the world who do not have the skills and knowledge you have. There are so many poor and downtrodden people who need help and assistance. It is our duty as human beings to work for the benefit of everyone.
The truly happy person is one who works not just for himself/herself but for all of society and humanity included. He/She enjoys building and sharing a community for all.
The student who understands CHANGE allows CHANGE to improve his/her character for success and happiness. Wish you all the very best for your future! Make the Change happen!