Stop

Stop

Part 3 of the 3 part series on Timing

Let's recap, we've talked about starting well, planning and moving in at the right timing. Then we talked on being consistent, getting the right timing every time. Now, we'll move on to the dirty bit ;) yeah...the bit that's realistic to most of us. When do we GIVE UP?

I seldom use those two words together "Give" and "Up". It's so demoralizing! So let's just use the word STOP. When do we stop?

Some times we try and try again and just keep trying and pushing on over the same thing. And the result is the same, we fail. I'm not telling you that you should give up on your goals! No no. Your goals stay the same. Just give up on the method that you've been doing.

Albert Einstein once said the definition of Insanity is "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Doesn't that sound like some of us? We already know that doing homework at the last minute is going to get us bad grades, but time and again, we find ourselves doing homework at the last minute, hoping to do well. Okay maybe not all of us wants to do well, but you get the point. CHANGE YOUR METHODS. But stay in the game. 

As an athlete, I don't just watch my own sport. I like watching other athletes do their sports too, whatever it may be, swimming, running, basketball, etc. By watching sportsmen do their thing, we can see a common trait among the best athletes. They never give up on their goals. One of my favourite shooters once said, "Fallen, stepped back, bowed down. But not giving up". He defines what most sportsmen do. Not every competition is a full success, there'll usually if not always, be something to work on. So what are you going to do? Bow down and take a step back and then push on? Or Give up on your dreams totally?    

Never give up on your ultimate goal. Till the day you pass on, keep working on it, finding new ways and methods to reach that goal. Never Give Up. When everything seems to be going wrong, STOP. Take a step back, rethink a NEW plan and try again :)

There's this song by Pink, "try" and I'll end off with a quote from the song:

"Where there is desire

There is gonna be a flame

Where there is a flame

Someone's bound to get burned

But just because it burns

Doesn't mean you're gonna die

You've gotta get up and try, and try, and try

Gotta get up and try, and try, and try

You gotta get up and try, and try, and try"

Thanks for reading! I hope this 3 part series on Timing helps you better work towards your goals! Always Lifting You Higher!

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Consistent Timing

Getting the right timing

(Part 2 of a 3 part series)

It seems difficult to get the right timings doesn't it? What's even harder, is getting it right consistently. Today, I'll be speaking on both of these areas and hopefully it'll help you get things done well! :)

In Shooting there's a point in time where we learn to start triggering before we actually reach the ten area (the tiny black dot where everything is aligned and when you trigger off you get a ten). Why do we start triggering early? If you wait till you reach the target then you start triggering, sometimes, it may lead to you triggering late! Which is definitely not ideal. Consistency is very important in shooting and even in life.  

AND IT'S THE SAME logic as we aim to achieve our goals. We don't start thinking or trying to push ourselves to success when we are nearing it. We start pushing ourselves from a very early stage of the process. From there we keep on maintaining, staying steady, being consistent.  

Remember what I mentioned the last time? "Begin with the end in mind". Do not allow yourself to go onto a path without having a clear strategy of achieving what you want! Careful planning and structuring will form the backbone to your success. Whether you meet this goals or not is a different issue which we'll talk about another time. There's no point trying to achieve goals if you do not know how to keep yourself going after getting started! 

So how do you get it right every time? Simply put, plan in advance. Just like shooting, do not wait till it's too late before you trigger off! Start early, don't rush. Give yourself the time to calmly trigger yourself to success! Do this every time, and you'd have achieved consistency. With the right planning and the right attitude towards everything that you do, I'm positive that YOU will be heading in the right direction, towards your ultimate goal (or goals) :)

*Note*

Sometimes while practicing what I said above, you might face unexpected difficulties! DO NOT WORRY! That's when you must remember to have faith and keep trying :)

In the next post, I'll be talking about the ending and "when to give up". Till then, stay motivated, stay consistent! Always Lifting You Higher :)

Leave a comment beow!

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twitter: @toranseth

Instagram: @sethtoran

Timing

Timing

In a world obsessed with numbers, scores, timings, who beats who, who's better, who's worse... Face it, we live in a world that compares. I'm not saying all these are bad. Honestly speaking, some form of pressure or comparison is needed in life to drive you out of complacency. But here's a topic I want to focus on this week, when is it the right time? And when it is the right time, what do we do?

Laying the foundations

On the part about staying on your toes and not being complacent. Just today, I  received back one of my literature assignments. I may appear lazy or laid back I am in class or in my usual work (This isn't good, please don't follow me on this part, I'M WORKING ON IT :) ) BUT when I bother doing something seriously, I'll expect at least a Grade 6 (70%) but  this time I got 12/20! That's pretty bad! I was just 2 marks away from failing! I know I say failure is part of the process to success, so I'll heed my own advice and just work harder. When these kind of things happen, you gotta stop and think. What happened? How do I improve from here? Remember, Always stay sharp and steady, never let yourself slack when you're still in the process to success.

I found this exercise advert on staying consistent.
Yes, STAY CONSISTENT IF YOU WANT TO SEE RESULTS! 

So how do we know if we are starting on the right path? If we don't get the beginning part right, how are we going to make the right progress! In some cases, we might be going in the totally opposite direction! 

Firstly, you have to plan. Answer this fundamental question: "Where do I want to be?" Set Your end goal. Begin with the end in mind.

Secondly, when you're sure on what you want to do, learn about it, see the different approaches taken by people, learn from them and make your own path! No two people take the EXACT same path. Different people face different challenges. Here's an example: Some people can start motivational blogs without a problem. They just start it, tell a few people and BOOM, next day they have a couple of thousand viewers/followers. For me, it wasn't so easy at the start, I didn't have a lot of readers on average in the beginning. (Ok, yes i did get 250 views in the first night, but that was just the first night :P) So always prepare yourself for challenges! Focus on bringing out the best rather than just pressing the 'panic button' every time! 

Life throws different difficulties at us.
PREPARE yourself for these challenges!

Thirdly, set forth! GO! Do something! Don't hold back out of fear. Fears are usually just you worrying. And worrying is something psychological. If that's the case, then it's usually self-made. Don't let YOU stop yourself from success. Today on instagram I posted a picture saying: "Success is not a destination, It is a journey" Yes, follow that! Experience the journey in order to reach that success! 

So now that we've got the fundamentals right, START PLANNING! I'll be moving on to staying consistent and getting the right timings in all that you do!

 

Isn't that amazing? Getting the perfect timing EVERY TIME! But honestly, it isn't very difficult! I'll share that in my next post! ;) Don't worry readers! I won't keep you waiting too long, will probably post it tomorrow :)

Also, In the post after that I'll be talking on, "When's the right time to give up". Yes, there is a time to throw in the towel. But when and how do we know? Isn't it too early to give up? Or is it already too late? Don't make these mistakes! Stay tuned to the next post! Till then, stay motivated readers! You guys are awesome :)

Always Lifting You Higher

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Clothes?

Clothes?

Here's a story I heard some time ago... 

Once there were 2 tribes. Tribe A and Tribe B. (Sorry for my lack of creativity :P ) Anyways, Tribe A and Tribe B were supposed to meet to have a formal gathering. Everything seemed fine except for one thing. You see, Tribe A is into this habit of going to formal gatherings...well...naked. That's right NAKED. No clothes. No thread. Nothing. It's their culture and way of life. And with Tribe B, you have the total opposite. Tribe B is more urbanized and everyone wears formal clothes (coat and tie) during a formal gathering. So imagine the planning needed when these two meet.

Think about it.

If you were Tribe B, and you were going to have a formal gathering, and all your guests come NAKED. For those sneaky kids who are reading this, no not everyone in the tribe is hot, so no eye candy there ;) BUT seriously, how would you feel? Awkward? Offended? 

And what about if you were Tribe A? Why change your customs and practices just for someone else? Shouldn't you be comfortable in whatever you're in? Have confidence in yourself?

Well, this isn't a matter of confidence. No, that's a topic for another day. This is a topic on respect, Respecting Others. 

Have you ever talked to an older person before? Do you realize, that sometimes you just have to have that little bit more patience when talking to them? It's not that they need your pity of anything. It's just that different people have different ways of doing things. Old people may speak slower, Parents may be long-winded or like what most youths would say 'naggy'. But you can't go around snapping or getting mad at them, basic respect to listen and wait :) I'm young too. I'm 17 this year! Not 71...so I know how fast-paced and stressful life can get! But sometimes we need to remember to respect those around us and have some consideration towards them.

Here's how the tribe story continues...

Tribe A decides to respect their hosts and dress up for the occasion. They wore the suits, the ties, the dresses, the high heels! They wore Everything needed for a formal occasion. Even I thought wearing only socks would be an improvement for them! Anyways, they head to Tribe B's village and when they met the Tribe's people, both Tribes stood in awe of each other...for infront of the now smartly dressed Tribe A...

Were the stark naked Tribe B.

Hope you can see the respect and consideration shown by the 2 Tribes towards each other! Tribe A respected how Tribe B dressed formally. While Tribe B, on their own initiative, respected Tribe A's customs and did not want the situation to be awkward.

Respect the people around you today! :)

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I'll follow back :) and if you have any requests or have something to share, do share it with me! Always Lifting You Higher! :) 

Candy Crush

Candy Crush

Feels weird writing a motivational post with the title of a game...
For those who don't know, Candy Crush is one of those iphone games. It's fun, challenging, annoying, intense, exciting, tiring, addictive...but yes, as always, there's a point to this.

Recently, I was reading an article in the papers about how some kid spent FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS on this game. Four thousand dollars....ohoh and the worst part was that his dad didn't even earn that much in a month! That's insane...some of us might even say "Kids these days..."

But let's think a little deeper, why did the boy play the game till such intensity?

Peer Pressure.

He didn't want to be left behind as his friends progressed further into the game and achieved higher levels. But here comes another question. Do you think his friends paid $4000 to reach their levels?

No they did not, that's why they're not in the papers. In fact, some of them probably didn't pay a cent. I play this game too, I'm at a decent level (124) and I haven't paid anything. So why didn't the boy stop spending after let's say, a hundred dollars? ok if that's little to you then...a thousand? why did he keep going all the way to four thousand dollars? He spent that much money to gain what? That's right, a couple of pixels. What we need to understand here is how peer pressure can reach such an extent where we lose controls of ourselves...

Peer Pressure

Looming in the corner, at the next turn, on the other side of the door, It just comes at you. Peer pressure is everywhere, as long as there are friends, there's bound to be peer pressure. No, the solution is not to get rid of all your friends, we all need friends.(Check out the previous post for more on friendship and Cliques) What you need to do is face this peer pressure. Face it. But how are you going to face something if you aren't prepared or strong enough? Prepare yourself first by building a strong self belief. One way of doing this is by: Maintaining your identity.

Maintaining your identity

YOU are special/weird/unique/different/extraordinary. No matter which term is used by motivators, used by me, used by your parents, used by your teachers or even used by your friends, it just means YOU should be who YOU are.
Yes, I know I've mentioned before about changing for the better and working to be a better person because we all aren't perfect. BUT you still need to maintain your own personality! Just tweak certain things, work on your flaws!
Personally, I don't think peer pressure is TOTALLY bad, if it's for the right cause. Sometimes these pressures may push you to do better, to be a better person. So don't shy away from it, face it. Think. Is this good for me?


Don't let what people say or do get at you! YOU are more important than that! The next time someone's negativity comes flying at you, just brush it off :) Have a positive outlook towards life, have a positive outlook towards yourself!

So...I hope today's post helps! I'm gonna go off for now, maybe for a games of Candy Crush ;)
On a side note, the previous post managed to life someone higher! (That means it helped someone!) Isn't that great? :) We should always look foward to making someone's day better!

Leave a comment below,
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Always open to reader request. Always Lifting You Higher :)

Cliques

Cliques

I recieved another request today! At first I wanted to talk about gaming and how it affects lives...etc. BUT a reader's request is always more important to me :) Sooooo let's talk about Cliques. (NOTE: If you are lazy to read EVERYTHING, just read the words highlighted in PINK all the way below)

Having a sense of belonging is something that even the most self-secure people want. No man (or woman) can live lonely forever, knowing that everyone around them is having a good time with each other. So having a close set of friends or a 'Clique' is important...maybe even nessasary

So First thing I was asked: "What's it like to be in a clique?"

Ok everyone, I'm gonna just say it out, I'm NOT in a clique. Yes, I have a close set of friends who you may see me with very often but that's more like being bros more than really a clique. I was once in a clique...like 4 years back? I think it was from tuition or church (honestly, I don't really remember) BUT being in a clique on the external basis: You guys will hang out a fair bit, talk and interact alot, Have lots of fun and maybe some down moments. Basically, It's like having a group of besties. It's very hard to specifically state the definition of a clique (though i can get google's definition). Why is it difficult? Every clique is different, these group of people share a common interest or  view towards something...and that brings me to the next question...

"How do you enter a clique?"

Well...you don't force yourself into one, that's for sure. Honestly, I thought cliques formed naturally, like how friends get to know each other better and become best friends. But if you really want to enter this Can (I mean Cique...I've been gaming today,sorry :P ) Maybe you should first see if you know any of the people in this clique? If you do, ask yourself, WHY do you want to join this clique? Is it just because they're popular? Isit because you like someone in that group of people? Or do you really share the same views as them? The reader who sent me this request falls in another category which I will share in the next part, but IF you fall in any of the categories above, here's a piece of advice: DO NOT join a group just because the people there are popular, you'll have a horrible and possibly BORING time. JOIN a group or form a clique, with people that share the same interest or maybe share some similarities. (That'll reduce the awkwardness)

and if you want the really easy way (it's ...a way...but personally I find it kinda like a cheap method and won't use it, BUT it works*) : Try to target one of the core members in the clique and then stick to him/her. Then become good friends with that person and as things happen one after another, you'd eventually get into the clique.

*please note that I get my information not just from myself but from people with cliques or several cliques. This makes the info more well rounded and brings in more perspectives :)


But here's the reader's question, which left me stumped (I'll write out the scenerio):
Your best friend, is in a clique. YOU are not in that clique. You don't get to spend as much time with your best friend or even your friends. Why? They are all in cliques.

You'd feel quite left out right? I had a best friend (If you didn't know, please read the earlier posts :) ), honestly speaking, we didn't spend THAT much time together. The core of the relationship, was the interactions we had with one another and cherishing each moment. For the reader's question here, I can understand what it's like to be seperated from your bestie because they have something else to do (in the case of the question, the bestie has his/her own clique)
What I didn't understand was why you wouldn't be in the clique that your bestie is in? If it's a gender clique, i can understand. Like your bestie is in a girl clique, and you're a guy, PLEASE DO NOT TRY JOINING THE CLIQUE. Really don't, your bestie still loves you (in the best friend way), but don't push it.
But in any other scenerios of cliques, if your bestie is in a clique, you should be in it too. Cos besties are usually quite alike (or similar in a way).
If you're truly having trouble getting into the clique your bestie is in, this next part is a sneaky way (another cheap method) : When the clique has an outing, pretend that you don't know they have an outing and ask your bestie what he/she is up to that day. Then your bestie naturally talks about the outing (If he/she doesn't then i'll recommend you double check your friendship status yeah :/ ).  After that, just ask if you can come along since you're free. Why can you be so brave? Hello, you guys are besties! And...also try to get into their whatsapp group (They most likely have one, even clique-less people like me have almost 10 whatsapp groups already)

Personally, My view is that you should never feel excluded even if you're not in a clique. Keep some close friends who you can turn to. Not spending enough time with friends who are in a clique is normal. You should not particularly hate a clique or cliques because you seemed to have lost a friend due to one. people change. That's what I learnt from my bestie. I changed, she changed, both of us changed. That's why I never blame her or myself for whatever happened. What you need to do is let go. Move on. Remember, best friends should bring the best out of each other, if it is one way, you guys aren't besties. Some things you just can't control, let it be God's will. (I'm not being lazy by leaving it to God. I'm being realistic.) In the end, you never know, one day you guys may be great friends again. Also, Just because one clique may treat you badly because your best friend starts to prefer them to you (yes some cliques are childish), don't stereotype cliques. Some cliques really aren't that bad. As I said earlier, just let go. Let it be, MOVE ON. (The quote below has an expletive, but I trust all my readers are mature enough to get the meaning from the quote :) )

OKAY...I've talked alot today. Hope it helps the reader who asked. For those who are still wondering, the pink part at the end was me answering the reader directly, about my personal feelings towards cliques.

Thanks Readers! Always Lifting You Higher :)

Leave a comment below! OR follow me on twitter: @toranseth OR instagram: @sethtoran

Manners

Manners

HI READERS!
For those who saw one of my tweets, you could've sorta guessed the topic of this post! :) For those who don't follow me on twitter, the latest post was:
"I realized that I'm quite rude...people say "hi Toran" and I only reply "hi". I gotta start addressing people by their names. #resolution"

If you have the same problem as me, then let's work together to become better people ^^

Having manners or basic etiquette and courtesy is essential to mainatining relationships. Be it friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, whatever. Relationships in general has many factors that keep people together, today I'll be writing on Manners.

Don't you hate it when you're talking to someone halfway and they just suddenly lose interest and start doing something else? OR are you the one who listens halfway and just start doing your own thing, ignoring the speaker?

Which category have I been in? Both. and I'm sure most of us have done both too. But the posts on this blog doesn't work on changing your past. Instead, lets talk about how YOU are gonna become a better person for the future.

 

1) Listen fully

When someone talks,you listen. (YES I'VE SAID THIS MANY TIMES) but i've never talked about listening ALL THE WAY. The other day I was having lunch with one of my sports friends and I realised what a good listener he was. Someone annoying came to talk to us and my friend listened to him attentively, all the way. Acknowledging at intervals and giving positive affirmation is also one of the best ways to hint that the conversation shoud end, instead of telling the person to get lost. That's what I learnt, maybe you guys can try it? So instead of telling someone annoying to stop whining, you can try:

 

2) Be clean

Guys especially, please...PLEASE...clear your body odour after you run. I rather sit in a class which smells like the deodorant smell, than in a class smelling like stale sweat. I'm so grateful that my class smells good. I remember walking into one of the classes recently and...yeah... XP

 



 

This is just a joke, but on a more serious note, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO SMELL DECENT. No smell is better than stink, and smelling good is definitely a bonus. It's not being vain, it's showing consideration to those around you, not everyone can take the stink. (of course if you JUST finished exercising then it's ok to stink for awhile, I don't think we can sweat perfume yet :P )

3) Behave

This is rather self explanatory. Behave appropriately. Don't give yourself excuses like this one:

 

 I had a friend who talked about indecent stuff to this girl he just met...things didn't go great for him... But on a lighter note, if you really want to get to know someone really well, you shouldn't be all uptight either! I'll probably write another post on this. BUT for now, just remmeber to behave appropriately! :) 

 

Thanks for reading!

Practice good manners today! Always Lifting You Higher

Leave a comment below OR follow me on twitter @toranseth OR on instagram: @sethtoran

Purpose

Purpose

It's good to know that the previous post helped the reader with his life. But it also helped me think about this next topic, Purpose. What is our purpose in life? Recently, I was listening to a devotion and the pastor said something really interesting:

Are you here to be the best IN the world? 

OR

Are you here to be the best FOR the world?

Gosh...This seemed like one of those moral questions. You know those kinds that make you feel guilty? 

But the more I thought about it, I wondered "Why not both?"

Why can't being the best in the world be the best for the world? 

Here's an example: Whenever I write a post, I hope that it is the best there is, showing viewers (you) new views and insights to a particular topic. BUT as I do it, I also hope that whatever I write is the best, FOR you. 

Incorporating both can be challenging. Personally, I feel that if you can be the best in what you do, and it doesn't harm others, then go for it. 

Being the best for the world is a little tricky. I mean, look how big the world is! What can make the difference? Well...the little things do. If everyone just does their small part and make the world a little better, imagine how big the impact would be! 

So what is YOUR purpose? 

Students! Study and get all the As? That's being the best IN what you do, how can you be the best FOR others? Maybe teach those who lack understanding? Or maybe invent something to brighten people's lives! 

Athletes! Be world number 1? How's that going to help others? Are you going to promote a good cause with your fame? Teach others to be as good (or maybe better) than you? 

Employees! What's your goal? Employee of the month? A promotion? How about helping your fellow worker? Show them some support!

Come on everyone. I'm sure YOU can help someone today. Ask yourself what YOUR purpose is, if you get lost along the way, refer to the words above that are in pink! Let them be your guiding questions! Lift Someone Higher Today! :)

Leave a comment below OR follow me on twitter: @toranseth and DM me OR instagram: @sethtoran 

Always Lifting You Higher

Stuck

Stuck

Before I get into today's post just a couple of things to note about this blog:

1) I admit it! I can't blog as often as before :( but I'll still keep posting regularly so stay tuned! If I'm gone for too long (more than a week) then do drop me a tweet or a comment to see how i'm pulling through with life! Getting busier by the day yeah :/

2) Yes I do plan my posts. if you've been reading faithfully (i know most of you have), then you'd most likely have seeen how this blog moves from self help to helping others and this cycle repeats itself. But for TODAY I shall break out of the series that I had plan and move on to a reader's request.

Today, I'll be answering a reader's request. Ohoh and if any of you guys have a request, or want me to write about something, do drop a comment below or DM on twitter or you can text me (if you know my number).

STUCK...in that situation again (i'm gonna write in a guys perspective, girls just swap the male and female parts)

There she is across the room. She's probably just any other girl you've met before. You go up to her, a conversation starts (so far so good) You follow what you've been reading from a blog (this one ;) ) and everything goes as smoothly as expected. She tells you she likes talking to you, you secretly feel the same. Being smooth with the ladies, you do everything right, everything perfect...
 Now here's the problem that I was asked to write about "She's stuck in my head, how do I get her out?"

Personally, I used to have someone stuck in my head too! (metaphorically of course) Ya, this girl, I really liked her. Talked to her everyday. That's an achievement since I usually have problems maintaining long conversations with people. (yes I have my flaws, I like keeping my conversations short) So how did I get her out? I'm gonna give a set of very realistic answers, life ain't a fairy tale, there's no easy way out. BUT there's definitely a way.

1) Focus

At any point in time, we can be having many thoughts racing throgh our head. If we put our thoughts on a canvas, we'd get something more abstract than abstract art. Have you seen the painting Guernica? Yeah, more abstract than that. But the strange thing is, we can only focus on one thing at a time. And I find this absolutely amazing! Let's say you want to do your work, and you keep missing someone, you won't be able to do your work. Not one bit. But let's see it from another perspective. What if you keep thinking about someone, but you keep having work and things to preoccupy yourself? You won't have as much time to think about that person.

Imagine your mind being messier than this! (btw this is a pic of Guernica)

2) You don't

You don't have to totally remove someone from your thoughts just because it's distracting you. In my previous point, I mentioned on focus, now I'd like to talk about how you can still think about that special someone. As I always say, Time Management. You've got to organise your time. Leave a period of time (half an hour?) at the end of each day to think about that special someone. Doing this will not only help you stay sane, but it'll also help improve the quality of thoughts. If you keep thinking about someone, eventually, it's gonna start leaving you irritated and you can't focus on the things you plan to do. Whereas, if you leave some time at the end of each day to think, the thoughts you have will be more special. You can spend time to think through clearly. You can enjoy the thoughts. And that's what you'd rather have right? So don't push these thoughts away! Keep them for that special time of the day :)

3) Time

Time does wonders. You'd eventually run out of things to think about. Let's face it, if you follow the scenerio I gave at the start and everything outside your head is going fine and you and the girl like each other. Then eventually, worrying or wondering or imagining about the person would be useless. Since you'd already know that person very well. They become like family, They're always there in your mind, somewhere, but they don't affect you from your daily routine. (In fact, they may even become pary of your routine! ;) )

So don't stress out kay? If you're in this situation, like what the reader who asked me to write this post is in, I hope this post gives you an idea on what to do! Stay Focus and don't get Stuck! "Life has its many challenges, that's what makes it worth living."

Drop me a comment below! OR follow me on twitter: @toranseth and DM me :) Always Lifting You Higher

 

Hardwork

Hardwork

All work and no play makes Jack a ?

Yup, most of us would have heard this phrase before. It makes Jack a dull boy :( and some of us, knowing this phrase very well, will go out and use it whenever we want to have fun...even if we've already had a fair bit of "play time".

What are your aims in life? To be successful in something? It can be anything, doctor, sweeper, lawyer, athlete, teacher, cleaner. For those who look down on people who say they want to grow up to be cleaners or secretaries, well I was once told this really short story:

"My friend said he wanted to be a cleaner when he grew up. We all laughed at him. Well...he got his job. Now he's the CEO of the biggest cleaning agency in the country."

Not bad eh...

Why did I bring that up? Let's link back to the topic. It doesn't matter what your aim is, what you want to be, what you want to do, everything requires a certain amount of effort. Even if your aim in life is to be lazy and achieve nothing (You'd be surprised how hard it can be just to do nothing. But we'll discuss this in anothe post :) ).
So, we've already established that hardwork and effort is needed to achieve anything and everything! (Yay :) ) Now let's go on to talk about hardwork.

Let's talk about the two things which stop alot of us from working hard, Luck and Talent.

Luck

As an athlete I hear these phrases alot "I was lucky" or "Today's my lucky day", especially after someone hits a new personal best. I'm sure, even as a non-sports person, most readers would've heard these phrases some time or another in your lives. But honestly, do you think someone can achieve their maximum potential based on luck? and what in the world is luck in the first place?

"The harder you work, the luckier you get" This phrase suggests that luck in fact is related to hardwork! and this is true. Luck my friends, is only gained when your potential has been raised, due to your hardwork. If you study economics, it's like your PPC curve. You can only achieve so much until you increase your potential, then you can achieve more. And when you achieve more, most of us will say we were 'lucky'. But the root cause of this 'luck', is in fact our hardwork, which raised our potential to new heights! :)

Talent

I believe that EVERYONE is born talented in something. It's how you use your talents that makes the difference. If you're a Christian you've probably heard the parable of the talents before right? (I heard it quite a while ago, so if I say anything wrongly, do feel free to correct me :) )
There was once a master who was leaving the country for a period of time, and he assigned some talents (money?) to his 3 servants.The first one was given 10 talents, the second one 5 talents and the last one 1 talent. The first servant invested his talents and ended up with 20 talents. The second one did the same and ended with 10 talents. The last one however, decided to bury his talent in the ground. Now the master came back after his long journey and asked his servants what has become of their talents. After finding out, he told the first two servants "Well done my good and faithful servant, you shall be rewarded". (these aren't the exact words, just the meaning of what was said) However, what do you think happened to the last servant? The one who buried the talent? "You lazy servant" (something like that, plus more harsh stuff)
What's the point of having a talent and hiding it? You should invest in it, work on it, make it grow and become something amazing :)
BUT some may say that the story above was unfair! I mean, the third guy was only given ONE talent.

Personally, whenever I train or compete, I have never, NEVER, felt that I was talented. Whether I win or lose, it's all due to hardwork. What is hardwork? Well, i'll describe it: It's time consuming, clocking in the hours. Giving your all during those hours. All for that one main goal which you hope to achieve.
For those who don't know me, or just got to know me, yes I have won a few competitions here and there and yes hardwork does pay. Of course, there'd be times when hardwork ended up fruitless, but that's all part and parcel of the experience. If you see the big picture, gaining that experience of failure is part of the path to a bigger success! :)

Ok readers! Make your choice! Make yourself lucky today by working hard on your talents! Yes, work hard today! Remember, if you want to have the most satisfaction during that final success of yours, it's all about going the extra mile along the way, working that bit harder than everyone else :)


All the best readers! Always Lifting You Higher.
Leave a comment below if you have any feedback! :)
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Retirement

Retirement

No, I am not retiring, I just heard this pretty strange story about a man's journey after retirement and I thought it'll be good to share it with you guys :) Also, there are parts of the story which I found weird, so I'll comment about them along the way as I tell it. AND YES IT IS A MORAL STORY :)

There was once this man who after 20 years of work went up to his boss and said he wanted to retire and go back to his family. (Yes, back in the day, people may leave their families for long periods of time and only go back after retirement) His boss, grateful for this man's service, asks him: "Sure you can go. But before you do I have 2 options for you: 1) You can collect your 20 years of salary or 2) I can give you 3 phrases of wisdom". The man decided to go and sleep over it and told his boss he'll choose the next day.

*Here's the first part which I found strange. Why in the world would you wait after 20 years of hard work to collect your first pay check? Shouldn't it be more of a bonus or something? and secondly, why does he need to think? Take your hard earned money and just read this blog for words of wisdom! :P Just kidding, but in all honesty, he should just take the money*

The next day, he goes back to his boss and says: "I'll take the 3 phrases of wisdom" (I personally don't know what this guy is thinking)

These are the three phrases the boss told him:

1) Life isn't easy, there are no cheap routes through life. Only through hard work and walking along the path can you reach success.

2) Do not be curious over things that you know are negative and unpleasant, it'll only bring you trouble.

3) Think before you act! Don't do something now which you may regret for the rest of your life.

After receiving his 3 phrases of wisdom (So not worth it), he thanked his boss and left for home. Before he left, the boss gave him 3 loafs of bread and some money. "Only eat the last bread when you reach home."

On his journey back he encountered a fork in the road. He asked a pair of passer-bys about which route to take.

Passer-by A: "The first route is very long BUT extremely safe"

Passer-by B: "The other route is the shortest possible route BUT it is full of mountain bandits"

Now if I was gonna write an adventure story, he'll definitely choose the second route! right? Haha but since this is a moral story and he is a good man who listens to his boss (remember the first phrase of wisdom?) he takes the longer and safer route.

As night approaches, he heads towards a nearby traveller's inn for a good nights rest. (and here the intense stuff starts to happen) He hears a girl wailing and crying in the corridor. Every now and then this cry will turn into sobs for help and then the wailing begins again. The man was unable to sleep and wanted to go out to see what was happening.

Now here's another part which I don't agree with. Personally, I would just hide under the covers and shiver in fear. But being a good man, he reaches for the door....and he doesn't open it.

He remembered the second phrase that his boss told him and decided to go back to bed (I found this part quite interesting...I mean don't you wanna know what happened to the girl? and no this isn't a ghost story)

Curiosity killed the cat. The be over curious in life (especially when it's about negative things)

The next morning, he woke up and when the owner of the inn saw him he was shocked! "You're alive?! It's a miracle!"
"err yeah. Shouldn't I be?"
"Last night, my mentally ill daughter got into one of her tendencies whereby she would start crying in the corridor to lure people out of their rooms and kill them!"
"oh...er...I should be going now" and the traveller rushes off.


*HOLD UP everyone. When I was told this story I was so stunned that I took awhile just to process what I just heard. This guy, keeps a daughter with homicidal tendencies, in his inn, where there'll be guest frequently...andand he is surprised when people actually come out alive O.O This is the part where the story starts to become strange. But yeah, the boss was right! Listening to his advice actually saved the man's life!* Let's carry on with the story...

Now he walks the last bit of the journey and reaches his home village, by now he has finished the first 2 loafs of bread and can't wait to share the third, last and BIGGEST loaf of bread with his family. But just as he was about to enter his home he hears a man's voice in his house! OHMYGOSH! and he hears his wife's voice too! DOUBLEOHMYGOSH! Is she cheating on him? I mean after 20 years I'm sure the lady would've gotten lonely... The man finds an axe (it's the olden days, there are axes everywhere to chop wood) and just as he is about to open the door....he doesn't.

What is with this guy? Well, he listened to his bosses 3rd advice, don't act rashly. So he calms down and just sits outside for the whole night thinking about what to do. (What a waste of time, he should've just gone in and see what's happening! But this guy's the 'hero' of the story so...I'll just let him be)

The next morning he enters his house and his wife is overjoyed to see him! 20 years of waiting is over and she's all hyper and crazy and happy and stuff! but he just gives her the stone face and asks: "Who's that guy?"
"The guy is our son! It's been 20 years! look how he's grown"

Good thing the guy didn't use the axe yeah? :)


Ok now that's the end of the story. Hoped you liked it! Now on to the moral part.
Apart from the laughter, the strangeness, the horror and the love but, Sit back and think through about what the story has actually taught you?

In life, we often think we know a lot and refuse to listen to advice. How many of you go through moments when you just refuse to listen to your parents? or teachers? yeah quite a number of us. 
But if we think through what they tell us, is there actually any harm in listening patiently to their advice? 
This story mentioned 3 morals. The first was about hard work. The second was on minding your own business (when it comes to negative things). and the third was on thinking before you act.
I'll elaborate more on these 3 points in my next few posts :) But for today's post, just take some time to think through and reflect over the advice and experiences that you've encountered this week. 


Hope you had a great week! Do share with your friends and loved ones if you find the posts good! Thanks viewers! Always Lifting You Higher :)

Shameless

Shameless

As usual, I've chosen a title which doesn't really sound very motivating. I mean, "Shameless", you usually use that to scold people! But sometimes, being 'Shameless' isn't all that bad.

Ok so I really want to tell a story right now, but I need to give some background info first! (It's gonna be a little dry, just bear with it for awhile :) ) In math class, we are placed in groups of 4 or 5. I am in a group of 5 (yay?) and in every group, there are supposed to be 2 smart people and 2 stupid people. At first, my good friend (let's call him...Harry) and I thought we were the dumb ones. I'm serious guys, my math SUCKS. I can't lie about that one :P But then here's the interesting part, the 2 other guys in the group...had lower marks than us!

So is this a good thing?

Not really...now the group has 4 dummies...BUT fortunately, there's the fifth member, a girl who scored As for math. Seems good doesn't it?

When the group can't find the answer

Now on to the story! The other day in math class, we chanced upon a question that none of us could understand! It was sooooo hard!!!.......to us and only us. In truth, it was a SUPER EASY question. But we couldn't do it.

So now, in this situation what should we do? Stress out and keep trying the question? OR Enjoy the rest of the lesson sitting back and relaxing?

We chose neither.
We knew the question was supposed to be an easy one, we knew the teacher will think we're dumb or something and we knew that we should put in much more brain power to solving it...BUT why make life difficult?

If you haven't noticed from the previous posts on the blog yet, I try to make life much more easier to live. Cos life is meant to be LIVED. Not spending the whole day just stressing about things or even worse, just stressing over one thing.

And this is what happened next, Harry and I just raised our hands, asked the teacher over and asked him the question. (After the teacher explained the question, Harry and I proceeded to laughing at ur original stupidity :P )

Now here's the thing. Sure, we asked a 'stupid' question. Sure, we aren't the brightest people out there. But here's something you should take note of, we have become brighter now, than we were before asking. (Think about it)

Have no shame

Why should you feel shameful for not knowing things? Why should you feel shameful for asking? In my post 'Ask' (Which has been surprisingly popular), I mentioned that we should alll work towards asking more in order to improve ourselves. Yes, keep asking, don't feel shameful for asking. There's a quote:

"He who asks is a fool only for that moment. He who chooses to remain silent remains a fool forever"

Face it guys, we're not perfect, we're all going to be fools one time or another. So how long do you want to be a fool? Save your face now and live in eternal dumbness? Or get the stares now for being dumb and at least knowing that you're gonna be smarter in the next few minutes than you were a few minutes before?

Your choice.

There are 2 classes which I go for which I know I'm quite (ok quite is an understatement, VERY) dumb in. One is Math, the other Literature.
I've promised myself to practice what I've said in my posts. In these classes, if I don't know something, I am going to admit it, face it, and ask. Shameless.

As I always say, if I can do it, you DEFINITELY can. So help yourself today! Don't hold yourself back from becoming an improved person!


Any feedback? Leave a comment below, OR follow me on twitter: @toranseth and DM me :) Always Lifting You Higher