Perceptions
Ramesh was shocked when he was told by his soul-mate Latha that her parents fixed an alliance with a doctor. After a brief conversation she told him how her parents forced her to accept the alliance and all he could mutter was “Congratulations”.
She raged in anger and frustration, “I never expected this from you. I thought you would hold my hand and say, ‘Nobody on earth can separate us'. I hate myself for being in love with a coward like you” and went away crying.
After a few years he fell in love with another woman and one day she told him that her elders fixed her marriage with an I.A.S officer. He pulled her towards him and yelled, “Nobody can separate us in this world. Let heavens fall, we will marry”.
She looked at him with disgust. “When my life is going to be rich and beautiful, are you jealous of it?” she said with hatred, “I am sorry for loving such a selfish person like you.”
After three years, Latha met him with new born baby in her hands. She apologised, “My married life is happy with the doctor. I am sorry for having hurt you. If you had forced me to marry you on that day, the story would have been different. Thank you for your decision.”
Few months later, his second woman came to him. “My husband is a drunkard, gambler and had already married, but he kept this as a secret. I did a blunder in my life. When you asked me to marry you, I misunderstood you.”
The philosophy:
“There are no good or bad values in this world. Our actions are judged by other people with their own beliefs, ‘benefits' and customs and by the norms fixed by the society, religion etc. You need not do anything for others unless it gives you happiness and satisfaction. You are at liberty to do whatever that pleases you other than those acts that harm you at present (e.g. gambling etc) or in future (smoking etc), and those deeds that harm others (like cheating, theft etc)” writes Ayn Rand, who lived by the said philosophy.
Last week's riddle: The snail cannot attain an average speed of 0.02 mph even if it travels by light's speed. The winners are intimated by mail. They may send their postal address to receive the prizes.
SUCCESS VS FAILURE
As the dispute between two groups of students whether “Athadu” is a better film or “Pokiri” reached a climax, the room vibrated with heated arguments. Blood pressures raised and their top of the voice shouts continued till the lecturer stepped in. They later tried to concentrate but failed.
For this reason psychologists advise students not to involve in fierce arguments before examinations and also “not to talk” one hour before exams.
Argument is a waste of time. Normal people argue, whereas successful people discuss. If you are arguing, you are finding “who” is wrong. If you are discussing, you are finding “what” is wrong.
No student plans to be a failure. He simply fails to plan to be successful. Ordinary people derive pleasure from watching movies and chatting at tea-stalls, whereas winning students get it in creative hobbies like playing chess, music and reading books.
Enjoying a hobby is not wrong but one should realise whether it would help in the future or hinder. Realising that “enjoyment is the same in both types of hobbies” is the first step to success. Some students have a notion that successful people work hard, never smile, spend sleepless nights, wear thick glasses, have no thrill in lives etc. Take the example of Abdul Kalam, Mother Theresa, Manmohan Singh, Sachin etc to realise that this perception is wrong.
A work becomes hard when you are not capable of doing it physically, or not interested to do it mentally. Is studying a hard work? If so, is it physical or mental? A work becomes mentally hard for two reasons. You might not have understood the basics of the subject in the initial stages and developed aversion towards a particular subject or there is a luring interest by your side (such as TV or Cricket) when you are studying.
Our brain can store about one million concepts called bonds. It is up to us to prioritise between the bonds. It can be Arti Agarwal and Mahesh Babu or Archimedes Principle and Mercantile Law.
The Snail’s riddle:
There were two interesting answers to the question “A snail travelled at 0.01 mph while going. At what speed it should crawl back to attain an average speed of 0.02 mph?” The best answer was: It can attain the said speed, if it takes an alternative route that is longer than the original one. The funniest answer was: A snail cannot crawl backwards.