THE ART OF SUCCESS PART 3

OPPORTUNITIES ARE KNOCKING ALL THE TIME – GET UP AND OPEN THE DOOR:- Opportunities are never served on a platter. They are there all the time. You have to spot them and use them for your success. Initiative is essential to get you there first. Be ready to take calculated risks if necessary. Many unspotted opportunities are like those flowers that are born to blush and wither unseen. Opportunities afford a chance to display your leadership skills. Developing the qualities necessary for success is not difficult if you will it. You have to commit yourself to your goal. You need to convince yourself that you can do it. You have to be committed to take up the challenge of rising to the top.

BE THE BEST EDITION OF YOURSELF:-

Shakespeare said that nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so. All joys, pleasures and miseries have their origin in the mind. It is for each one of us to decide whether we wire ourselves for happiness or misery. Happiness certainly does not dwell in a bottle of whisky or in a wad of currency notes. Happiness is an approach to life founded upon certain basic values and plan of living. It is a condition of the mind. It has its roots in human conduct. Generally speaking, a clean life and adherence to ideals of excellence in human conduct produce happiness. This condition in turn is responsible for good health and general well-being. It is the source of cheerfulness and glow in you. Riches cannot feed on luxury goods. Affection does not thrive on luxuries. Human nature is such that if you make up your mind you can be happy anywhere. Half-naked, underfed and undernourished labourers, working on construction projects, men and women carrying loads are happy singing songs.

The real joy of life lies in you work and performance. Never rob yourselves of happiness by postponing it. Happiness is not a destination to arrive at. It is a journey. Any opportunity is a good reason to enjoy the blessings of life. The secret is to live in and for the present. You do not need astrologers, palmists soothsayers and pseudo-saints to tell you all this. Such people simply ‘rob’ you of your will-power and direction by suggesting charms, recitations or some other method of warding off bad luck. They are interested in your wads of crisp currency notes so that they can sell ‘hope’ to you. You have to condition yourself to purposeful living by substituting good habits for bad habits. Create positive patterns of behavior. Find out what is holding you back and what is pushing you into distress and disappointment. Then discard the negative thoughts and situations. This can be done only by changing your thinking and concentrating on the noble and positive aspects of life. This is the only way in which you can transform yourself into a new person. Be objective in examining   your behavior patterns which have been for a long time in your life. Unhappiness is as much a habit as happiness is. Worry needs to be blown out of your life. It can and should be done. You have only to will it. Irritations and tensions blur happiness. They are the results of long held repugnant thought patterns. Understand why you are doing what you are doing. Analyze what is coming in the way of your success. This is the first step in transforming yourself.

There are a number of reasons for ‘fits’ of unhappiness. These include blues, helplessness, timidity and hostile people who would like to pull you down. If you are successful in pinning down the causes, then half the battle in shedding gloom and despair is already won.

‘‘Unhappiness is as much a habit as happiness is.’’

You have the power to encash your abilities. You should do it by all means at your command. Plenty of money, a palatial house, a fleet of cars and a beautiful wife do not guarantee happiness. There is no amulet which can materialize happiness. Happiness is closely allied with and depends upon our actions. A life of inactivity leads to a life of decay and putrefaction. Action is the only glorious principle of life. It is the only one that saves us from stagnation and unhappiness. Dedicating yourself to a noble cause reveals the highest levels of character in human beings. The grand edifice of civilization is an eloquent testimony to what noble endeavours can achieve. Monuments of civilization have been erected and built by character and hard work. Never be idle. Idleness is the refuge of the weak and the feeble. It leads to misery. Idleness cannot give that feeling of well-being which springs from active participation in life’s activities. Action in life is as essential as time-keeping is to a watch. Action is invigorating. It is a tonic. There is no happiness greater than that which stems from the use of your physical, mental and intellectual faculties. Health and happiness have numerous foes. Worry is in the frontline to destroy happiness. It stimulates morbid and miserable feelings. The solution to this problem does not lie in pushing worry under the carpet. You should enjoy life and not suffer it.

The following suggestions will help in overcoming stress and worries. Review your past to pinpoint the misery areas. Do your best to get rid of them. It is not difficult to throw them out of your life. However, the most difficult part is their identification. Tension and worries are threats signals. Learn to spot them so that when they come you can tell yourself that they are a temporary and a momentary phenomenon. The moment they disappear, unhappiness also disappears. Never give way to moodiness and depression. Depression is the expression of self-dislike  or self-disrespect. In this condition it is not others who are bothering you. It is only your own self wallowing in misery. Address your inner self and you will get amazing results. There is greater happiness in giving than in receiving. We have to face a certain amount of stress in our lives. The trick lies in taking it easy. Life in the fast lane has its own hazards. A major one is stress. Stress and unhappiness always emerge out of what we have done or are doing. They can lead to listlessness and disinterest in life. There can be strange reactions because of stress including overeating and screaming at others. A stressful situation is like a pressure cooker which is about to burst. A job switch may help but not always even thought the new job may be less demanding.

Stress can be and is generally job related. It can also be travel related. But an interesting and exciting work and approach to life can mitigate it. Each one of  us has his or her own level of tolerance vis-à-vis stress. Working in high-pressured jobs, trying to live up to the expectations of your superiors, increasing competition and always living under the threat of being sacked for not performing well is bound to add to the stress. Feeling dissatisfied with one’s work, getting unnecessarily nervous, anxious, angry, unhappy and annoyed at even the most trivial matters are indications of stress. Stress manifests itself from your own self and radiates to those around you.

‘‘Each one of us has the capacity and capability to convert stress into a positive factor to achieve more than what we have done so far.”

Maintaining performance and achievement levels can also be the cause of success. Stress can graduate from nail biting, grinding teeth and tapping  feet to serious illnesses like a heart attack, ulcers, diabetes, depression, asthama, alcoholism etc. when the mind is not able to control itself the stress follows. It has nothing to do with external situations. It is important not to look for stress in the wrong places. In today’s fast paced and dog-eat-dog world, stress levels can assume alarming proportions. A stress- free approach and environment boosts morale, increases productivity and facilities positive lifestyle changes. Stress is a non-specific response of the body to any abnormal demand made upon it. It puts life out of balance. It leads to disequilibrium. It is a physiological phenomenon. It is  also a reflection of  challenges exceeding a person’s ability to cope. It is left to each one of us to determine not to allow circumstances and stress to get the better of us or overwhelm us. Each one of us has the capacity and capability to convert stress into a positive factor to achieve more than what we have done so far. However, each one of us needs to devise his own stress management program to convert the minus into a plus.