My teenaged niece Elizabeth was nervous as she took the wheel for her first driving lesson. As she was pulling out of the parking lot, the instructor said, "Turn left here, and don't forget to let the people behind you know what you're doing."
Elizabeth turned to the students sitting in the backseat and announced, "I'm going left."
You may also enjoy -
During a test I was administering, I noticed that one of my married students, who was quite pregnant, kept rubbing her side. After class, before she left, I asked her, "Are you okay?" I noticed you were holding onto your side."
"Oh, I'm fine," she answered. "It's just that my baby was pushing his foot up and down my ribs, and it hurt a little."
"Well, that's good," I said, feeling relieved.
One evening an avid bird watcher stood in his backyard and heard an owl hoot. So he thought he'd give a hoot back. To his surprise and delight the bird hooted again. The next night the same scenario occurred.
All Summer, the man and his feathered friend hooted back and forth. He even kept a log of the "conversations."
Just as he thought he was on the verge of a breakthrough in inter species communication, his wife, had a chat with her next door neighbor.
"My husband spends his nights calling to owls," the wife commented.
"That's odd," the neighbor replied. "So does my husband."
Then it dawned on them...
You may also enjoy -
It was a sports stadium.
Eight Children were standing on the track to participate in a running event.
* Ready! * Steady! * Bang !!!
With the sound of Toy pistol,
All eight girls started running. Hardly had they covered ten to fifteen steps, when one of the smaller girls slipped and fell down, Due to bruises and pain she started crying.
When the other seven girls heard the little girl cry they stopped running, stood for a while and turned back.
Seeing the girl on the track they all ran to help. One among them bent down, picked her up and kissed her gently And enquired as to how she was. They then lifted the fallen girl pacifying her.
Two of them held her firmly while all seven joined hands together and walked together towards the winning post...
There was pin drop silence at the spectator's stand.
Officials were shocked.
Slow claps multiplied to thousands as the spectators stood up in appreciation. Many eyes were filled with tears
YES. This happened in Hyderabad [INDIA], recently!
The sport was conducted by National Institute of Mental Health.
All these special girls had come to participate in this event They were spastic children.
Yes, they were Mentally Challenged.
What did they teach the WORLD?
Teamwork?
Humanity?
Equality among all??
We can't do this ever because we consider ourselves normal and intelligent!
Once, there was this guy, who was in love with a gal. She wasn't the most beautiful and gorgeous but for him, she was everything.
He used to dream about her, about spending the rest of life with her. His friends told him, "why do you dream so much about her, when you don't even know if she loves you or not
First tell her your feelings, and get to know if she likes you or not".
He felt that was the right way. The girl knew from the beginning, that this guy loves her.
One day when he proposed, she rejected him.
His friends thought he would be not able to take the rejection and would turn to alcohol; drugs etc. and ruin his life.
To their surprise, he was normal and not depressed as they feared.
When they asked him how was it that he is not sad, he replied...
"Why should I feel bad, I lost one who never loved me & she lost the one who really loved and cared for her."
| Not many of us know that yoga is very beneficial for those who want to get the perfect six pack abs. Here's how...  Padottanasana is helpful to tone your abdominal muscles. Lie down on your back and place your hands next to your body.
Breathe in as you lift your legs up.  Breathe out and bring your legs down. Repeat at least seven-eight rounds. Relax
Once your are comfortable doing this asana it is important to make the postures more intense. To do so breathe out and raise your legs up.
Inhale as you come down. Do seven-eight rounds and relax your body. In case you experience any kind of pain in your back keep your hands behind your back.
The next asana puts direct pressure on your abdomen. Lie down on your back, place your hands behind your neck. Lift your legs up as you exhale. Feel the contraction in your stomach.
Naukasana is also very helpful to burn out the excess fat from your abs. Lie down on your back. Place your hands on your thighs.
Inhale and lift your legs up and try touching your knees
Exhale and open your legs and hands wide.
|
| Most of while working out ignore stretching out many parts of our body for example the groin. Men specially must make their groin region flexible as it will help them curb many old age diseases. These exercises are also very helpful for pregnant women. The most important affect of the following asanas is that they will help you avoid stomach cramp. Titli Asana: Join your feet and bring it closer to your groin. Be very gentle while doing this.  Place your hands on your knees and gently push them downwards. This asana relieves the inner thighs of muscle tension.  Bhadrasana: Stay in the same posture just bring your feet a little bit forwards and hold them.
Bring your head down and try to touch your feet with your head. This asana expands the tissues, nerves and arteries of the pelvic region.
Ashvasanchalan Asana: Bring one leg forward and one leg back and both the hands to one side.
Lift the back knee and drop your forehead and try to touch the ground. Make sure you keep your leg straight. Repeat the asana on the other side
Lie down on your side in a very relaxed position and keep your head supported by your hand.
Bring up the top leg and hold the toes and straighten up your leg. In case your find it difficult to do so while holding the toes, hold the ankle and straighten it up.
|
| Throughout our life there's a constant emphasis on keeping the shoulders straight. We stoop because our shoulder muscles are not strong enough. Women tend to have weaker biceps and triceps than men because they don't use them in daily life. It is very important to have strong shoulders to have a good posture. You feel more confident if your keep your shoulders straight. Here are some postures to strengthen our shoulder muscles  Shashank Bhujangasana: Sit in Vajrasana and place your hands stretched out in the front.  Drag your chin in front and slowly come up. Repeat this 10 to 15 times. This is dynamic posture which not only works on your shoulder, but it also works on your whole spine. It ensures proper functioning of the liver and kidneys as well.  Setu asana: Sit in the way shown in picture and place your hands facing backwards.
Slowly raise your body up till your toes touch the ground. Hold the posture for some time and slowly come back to your original position. This asana rejuvenates the body while reducing stress and tension.
Sit in the position shown in the picture. Make sure your hand is placed at a 90 degree angle under your shoulder.
Raise up one leg as high as you can. Bend down and bring your chin almost one inch above the ground. Hold this posture for some time and then come back to original position.
|
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow."
-Khalil Gibran.
Gold on the Teeth.
Stones in the Kidneys
Sugar in the Blood.
Lead on the Feet.
Iron in the Arteries.
And an inexhaustible supply of Natural Gas..
We never thought we'd accumulated such wealth!
The birds fly in the sky but they don´t leave any footmarks.
That´s what Buddha says, that the man who is awakened lives in such a way that he leaves no footmarks.
He is without wounds and without scars; he never looks back — there is no point. He has lived that moment so totally that
there is no need of looking back again and again?
He never looks ahead, he never looks back, he lives in the moment.
Recently there was an essay competition held in schools for children, where my daughter was given the topic of Give Love Get Love. They also had to say how peace and friendship in society would benefit an individual.
Below is the thinking of my daughter. Of course I have helped her a bit here and there in rephrasing the words wherever felt necessary.
Give Love Get Love
How does peace and friendship in society benefit the individual.
First and the foremost to understand and to take this essay forward we need to have clarity on the definition of the word Love.
Love is a word which has a very vast meaning; it is more of an experience and a feeling than a thing that can be physically taken and given by force. The meaning of love thus might differ from a person to person. It is something which cannot be forced upon neither to be given nor to be taken.
In general love is the feeling of warmth, affection, worship, peace, serenity etc which ultimately makes you feel happy and fulfilled.
It gives you a feeling of completeness in everything within and around you.
Love is an expression of all that is good and balanced within an individual, and contradictory differences vanish in its healing embrace.
"The giving of love is therefore the gaining of love." This proverb says that we must give love to others and by doing this we will get their love in return. It stresses the importance that we should be kind and helpful toward others. When we are good to others, they will also be good towards us and will not do us any harm.
In today's world you can never expect anything to be one-sided similarly, as an individual if your want love, peace, respect and happiness the first step is to start giving it.
It is always better to spread love and be good towards others.
Citing a generic example of a student in a class; if she is good to other students and is polite and kind, others will also behave in a similar manner. If he or she is arrogant and selfish nobody will help her and she will only make more enemies.
It is very important for us not to make unnecessary enemies. Man is a social animal. We need each others help. Giving love and respect to others will ensure that we get the same in return.
Nobody gains from hatred. It is not good to have enemies.
There are situations which can be easily resolved by talking but often it takes an ugly turn when people fight and gets hurt.
This hatred does not benefit anyone.
We must realize that we have just one life and if our precious time is spent in fighting and hatred nothing would be gained. Some people even go to the extent of killing the other person due to the hatred.
People who spend their life in hating others and making enemies ruin their own life in the long run. Such people may also need some psychiatric help in the end.
In order to receive, we first must give. Look at those certain people in your life who you feel are not very accepting towards you, and make it your project to accept them--exactly the way they are! When they feel this love and acceptance, they won't be able to hold onto their unforgiveness much longer.
Trying to understand this concept in a deeper sense in light of human philosophy; first and the foremost we need to shed out all the negative feelings that we have for a individual and it might very well start from the thought that the other person does not like, love or have an interest in you, this would automatically make you start liking that person and bring in happiness within you when you think that he/she love and likes me. Automatically your expression, behavior and feeling would change positively towards that person and send out positive vibes.
The opposite person would definitely receive these positive vibes and there is no reason for him not to reciprocate and thus there is a feeling of Peace, Friendship & Happiness.
With the same principle being applied by everyone in the society definitely results in mutual benefit to individuals in society and thus benefiting the society at large.
Hence give love and get love. This would automatically generate Peace, brotherhood, friendship, Happiness and ultimately success of an individual.
Giving love to others will not only benefit us and make our life successful, happy and peaceful but would improve the society at large.
Thus Giving Love & Getting Love.
This will ultimately bring in peace and happiness in your life
And in the society at large… J
Read and think - You may find one in your midst
There was once a washer man who had a donkey and a dog. One night when the whole world was sleeping, a thief broke into the house, the washer man was fast asleep too but the donkey and the dog were awake. The dog decided not to bark since the master did not take good care of him and wanted to teach him a lesson.
The donkey got worried and said to the dog that if he doesn't bark, the donkey will have to do something himself. The dog did not change his mind and the donkey started braying loudly.
Hearing the donkey bray, the thief ran away, the master woke up and started beating the donkey for braying in the middle of the night for no reason.
Moral of the story " One must not engage in duties other than his own"
Now take a new look at the same story...
The washer man was a well educated man from a premier management institute. He had the fundas of looking at the bigger picture and thinking out of the box. He was convinced that there must be some reason for the donkey to bray in the night.. He walked outside a little and did some fact finding, applied a bottom up approach, figured out from the ground realities that there was a thief who broke in and the donkey only wanted to alert him about it. Looking at the donkey's extra initiative and going beyond the call of the duty, he rewarded him with lot of hay and other perks and became his favorite pet.
The dog's life didn't change much, except that now the donkey was more motivated in doing the dog's duties as well. In the annual appraisal the dog managed "ME" (Met Expectations) .
Soon the dog realized that the donkey is taking care of his duties and he can enjoy his life sleeping and lazing around.
The donkey was rated as "STAR PERFORMER". The donkey had to live up to his already high performance standards.
Soon he was over burdened with work and always under pressure and now is looking for a NEW JOB ...
Disclaimer: All characters in the story are not at all imaginary. Any resemblance to person living or dying of work is purely intentional
You may also like to read –
Take control of your behavior.
In one of my recent books, The Success Principles, I taught 64 lessons that help people achieve what they want out of life. From taking nothing less than 100 percent responsibility for your life to empowering others, these are the fundamentals to success - and to great leadership.
When people ask me for the single most important principle, I share a simple formula. For years, I've been teaching top leaders and thinkers in our world this formula that helps guide their decision making and pathway to success. I don't know any successful leader who doesn't keep this in mind daily:
E + R = O (Events + Responses = Outcome)
The basic idea is that every outcome you experience in life - whether it's success or failure, wealth or poverty, wellness or illness, intimacy or estrangement, joy or frustration - is the result of how you have responded to earlier or events in your life. Great leaders don't just know this instinctively, but they make it a habit to respond in ways that generate the outcomes they want, even during extremely tough experiences or events seemingly beyond their control.
If you don't like the outcomes you are experiencing, there are two basic choices you can make:
Choice No. 1: You can blame the event (E) for your lack of results (O)..
in other words, you can blame the economy, lack of money, support or education, racism, gender bias, your wife or husband, your board's attitude or your employees and colleagues.
There's no doubt all these factors exist, but if they were the deciding factors, nobody would ever succeed - and we'd have leaders without direction, focus and solutions.
For every reason it's not possible, there are hundreds of people who have faced the same circumstances and have made it.
Choice No. 2: You can instead change your responses (R) to the events (E) until you get the outcomes (O) you want.
You can change your thinking, change your communication, change the pictures you hold in your head and you can change your behavior. That's all you really have any control over anyway.
Unfortunately, most of us are so engrained in our habits that we never change our behavior. We get stuck in our conditioned responses to our spouses and children, our colleagues and employees at work, our customers and clients, our students and the world at-large.
You have to gain control of your thoughts, images, dreams and daydreams, and your behavior. Then you will realize measurable results that you want.
If you don't like your outcomes, change your responses.
Make It a Habit to Ask for Feedback
Leaders cannot work in a vacuum. They may take on larger, seemingly more important roles in an organization, but this does not exclude them from asking for and using feedback. In fact, a leader arguably needs feedback more so than anyone else. It's what helps a leader respond appropriately to events in pursuit of successful outcomes.
If you want to have a wonderful, supportive relationship with your team at work but they are angry with you for neglecting their needs as loyal employees, what do you do? Get mad at them for being upset? You can either see it as an opportunity to improve yourself and correct your behavior, or you can see it as the world ganging up on you and insulting you.
Your goal of having a supportive relationship is telling you that you may have gone off course. To get back on course, listen and take the appropriate action. Open up lines of communication and act like a true leader.
So how can you become successful in dealing with feedback? The answer is to ask for it in a safe space. Don't be vague about what kind of information you want. Ask for it in specific terms. Ask how you are limiting yourself, how you can improve and what it will take to get back on course. Trust your gut feeling about things, listen to what others are saying and look at the results of your actions. Once you know the truth, you can set about taking action to improve. Everyone will be better for it.
[About the Author: Jack Canfield is co-founder of the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand and an authority on peak performance.]
