My Inspirations

Problems are with everyone, it is on us to bow down in front of them or overcome the hard times and become successful. All of us must have faced some or the other hurdles in our teens and we will be facing it until our last breath. No man in this world is stress free. Many of us must have heard the quote that “WE CANNOT CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF THE WINDS, BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY CHANGE THE SAILS OF THE SHIP.”

Obstacles are like winds in our life that we have to face firmly or surrender. That is what I too decided to do with my problem when I was young. I was in my eighth grade and my final exams were just around the corner! But my groundwork was still pending. I knew that I won’t be scoring well this time as my preparations were not up to the mark. Somehow, I passed my exams and finally the result day came.

I was not bewildered to see my results. I was very disappointed with myself and felt hopeless. My mom too didn’t feel good about my performance, however she instilled a positivity in me by her words. She had said that those were not my final exams. I still had two more years to prove myself! Saying those golden words she gave me a book named “100 GREAT INSPIRING STORIES” which truly inspired me a lot… and is still inspiring me till day. The book has a collection of inspirational and motivational stories, written by a great writer Francis Xavier with his innermost heart of hearts.

The book’s one of the special feature is that, the ending part of the stories is not revealed. The readers themselves have to think for a while and come up with their own answer which should be the best to suit the story’s ending. The stories that adorn the book I read deals with a variety of subjects like, personality development, time and stress management, moral ethics, human relationship, spiritual values, etc. Another interesting part of the book is that the book is for the readers of all ages. Along with my parents encouragement the book has guided me a lot in life, never stop trying or say that you have failed until you have tried umpteen times, and never say that it’s your last attempt until and unless you have not succeeded! 

The next thing that inspired me to change my outlook towards life’s expectation, the actual experiences, and the different perspective of human behavior was a short moral-based story which I had read long back when I was young. It was about a family…where in the kid’s mom liked to cook food and then the little boy remembers that she used to cook food for their family. One night in particular when she had made dinner after a long hard day’s work, mom placed a plate of awfully burnt sandwiches in front of him and his dad. The child was waiting eagerly to see if his dad noticed the burnt toast. But his dad just ate his sandwiches and asked his son about his day at school. The boy didn’t remember much what his mom told daddy last night but he did hear his mom apologizing to his dad for the burnt sandwiches. But the boy would never forget what his dad said to his mom “ Dear, I love burnt sandwiches”. Later, that night when he went to wish daddy a good night, he wasn’t able to control his curiosity and questioned his dad that whether he really liked the burnt sandwiches! Hearing those words from the little boy’s mouth and seeing his curiosity the dad wrapped his kid in his arms and told that “ Your momma puts in a long hard day at work and she too feels exhausted as your daddy, and besides a burnt toast never hurts anyone but harsh words do!” He also explained his son that life is full of imperfect things… and imperfect people… no one is perfect in all ways… but what is important is to accept each other’s faults and choose to celebrate relationship.

After listening to the explanation given by his dad, the boy ran up to his mom and hugged her tightly and said a thank you! Just like how the boy realized the importance of his mom and the difference between expectation and the reality, the same way I too became conscious of the fact that “ OUR LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO WASTE ON GRUDGES, OR WAKE UP WITH REGRETS. WE SHOULD ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF OUR LIFE, WE SHOULD LAUGH WHEN WE CAN AND APOLOGIZE WHEN WE SHOULD AND LET GO OF WHAT WE CAN’T CHANGE” From that day onward, I saw people with a different perspective. A one small story changed my entire view towards living and I always felt thankful for whatever god had given me. We regret for small things in our life but never feel thankful for what our parents have given to us with their hard-work and care.                                              

Just like we need food for our body, we also need food for our spirit and our mind which comes from motivational stories or some good moral stories. They give us power and make us feel better. Reading this book I started believing in myself because the book taught me that “ BELIEVING IN YOUR OWN SELF IS THE FIRST STEP TO SUCCESS.” And this is how I could improve in my studies so as to pass with flying colors and achieve what I want to be in my life!