The Joy of Giving

Why the Givers Are the Happiest People in Life

Happiness is often misunderstood. Many people spend years believing that true happiness comes from receiving more—more money, more success, more recognition, or more possessions. Yet history, philosophy, and psychology consistently point toward a different truth: the happiest people are usually those who give rather than those who constantly seek to receive.

The Japanese phrase Ataeru Yorokobi (与える喜び) means "The Joy of Giving." It reflects the belief that genuine fulfillment comes from contributing to the lives of others. This principle has long been respected in Japanese culture, where acts of kindness, generosity, and service are seen as signs of inner strength rather than weakness.

Giving is not limited to money. Anyone can give regardless of wealth or status. A kind word can encourage someone who is struggling. A smile can brighten another person's difficult day. Sharing knowledge can help someone avoid years of mistakes. Offering your time, patience, or compassion may become the greatest gift another person receives.

Ironically, the more people chase happiness for themselves alone, the more distant it often becomes. Self-centered ambition can create endless comparison and dissatisfaction. There is always someone richer, stronger, or more successful. But generosity changes our focus. Instead of asking, "What can I get?" we begin asking, "What can I contribute?" That simple shift transforms our perspective.

Modern scientific research also supports this ancient wisdom. Studies have shown that acts of generosity activate areas of the brain associated with pleasure, trust, and social connection. People who volunteer, donate, mentor, or simply help others often report greater life satisfaction and lower levels of stress and depression. Giving benefits not only the receiver but also the giver.

The image of the elderly samurai feeding hungry puppies perfectly symbolizes this philosophy. Despite his age, weathered appearance, and humble circumstances, he chooses compassion over indifference. His wealth is not measured by coins or possessions but by his willingness to care for lives smaller and weaker than his own. That quiet act reveals the heart of a true warrior.

Bushido, the traditional code of the samurai, emphasized virtues such as compassion (Jin), honor (Meiyo), respect (Rei), and righteousness (Gi). A warrior's greatness was never determined solely by skill with a sword but by the strength of character shown toward others. Power without kindness becomes intimidation. Strength guided by compassion becomes true leadership.

Giving also creates lasting influence. Material possessions eventually wear out, but kindness leaves memories that can endure for generations. Many people cannot remember every gift they received, but they never forget the person who stood beside them during hardship or believed in them when no one else did.

This principle applies to families, friendships, workplaces, and communities. Parents who generously invest time in their children shape future generations. Teachers who freely share knowledge inspire lifelong learning. Friends who offer support during difficult seasons create bonds that cannot be bought. Leaders who serve their people earn loyalty rather than fear.

Importantly, giving does not mean allowing yourself to be exploited or neglecting your own well-being. Healthy generosity comes from wisdom and balance. It means helping others without losing your integrity or enabling harmful behavior. True generosity strengthens both the giver and the receiver.

Every day offers opportunities to practice the joy of giving. You can encourage a discouraged friend, listen without interrupting, forgive a mistake, share your experience, help an animal in need, volunteer in your community, or simply show gratitude to someone whose efforts often go unnoticed. These seemingly small actions ripple outward in ways we may never fully understand.

In the end, life is not measured only by what we accumulate but by what we leave behind in the hearts of others. Titles fade, wealth changes hands, and achievements are eventually forgotten. But compassion, generosity, and kindness become part of the legacy we create.

The happiest people are rarely those who possess the most. They are the ones who have learned that the richest life is built not on receiving, but on giving. When we choose generosity, we discover a deeper kind of happiness—one that cannot be purchased, stolen, or taken away.

Because in the end, the greatest gift we ever receive is often the joy of giving.

WHY TRAVELLING MAKES YOU SMART

Traveling will make you “smarter,” doesn’t imply that you’re all of a sudden going to become a genius. But travelling will certainly make you more worldly, broaden your mind observing different cultures and languages at the same time.

On the other side of the coin, travelling tends to be dangerous sometimes. It invites many mishaps such as accidents that cause injuries. In this manner, the injured has the right to call his injuries lawyer belonged to Kent car accident lawyer firm for legal assistance.

There are a lot of things you can burn through cash on that don’t expand your IQ, yet travel is one savvy investment that pays yearly profits past the enjoyment of boasting to your companions about your latest vacation. Believe it or not, travel really makes you smarter.

Here are five different ways travel makes you broad-minded.

1. Extended Reality

Heading out to new places truly builds up your sense of reality. As you drink in new sights and sounds, you are expanding the scope of your understanding of the world around you and of new cultures that are unique in relation to yours, which can prompt a wide range of decency, incorporating uplifted achievement in your career, as indicated by one study.

2. Boosted Brain Power

Travel fuels your mind to work at a higher level. One investigation demonstrated that retired individuals who travel have 75 % higher paces of mental stimulation, and 82 % have an increased ability to “complete things,” vs. 57 % of the individuals who don’t travel. The study suggests that “business support utilization of vacation time as an approach to improve wellbeing and health in the workplace.” Take note, bosses all over the place!

3. Better Memory

Venturing out to another nation, or even another area in your nation, where various languages or various inflexions or idioms are spoken, helps to enable you to focus and use short term memory. Obviously, there are additional advantages to learning words and expressions in different dialects that are not found in your local tongue, as it outfits you with methods for portraying things that your essential language might need.

4. Increased Creativity

Taking in the tasteful significance of the Eiffel Tower or La Sagrada Familia isn’t simply charming; it really improves your very own imagination. The more time you invest in different nations, the more creative you become. Adapting to new scents, tastes, and sights make new neuropathic paths in your brain, which empower new ways of thinking and expand your flow of creativity.

5. Strength in Vulnerability

If you’ve ever touched base in an outside nation with zero learning of the language, culture, or social norms and need to battle to make sense of how to get to your goal in one piece, then you recognize what vulnerability feels like. It tends to be startling from the start, however, it’s that capacity to think and react quickly and handle a circumstance that causes you to acknowledge exactly how strong and competent you are. To cite the Buddhist instructor Pema Chödrön: “To be completely alive, completely human, and totally alert is to be consistently tossed out of the home.

Conclusion

One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of observing things.

THE MONTH OF PATIENCE

People usually tend to be impatient if they do not use their mind, conscience and will. Usually, people seek to easily get what they want with little effort, solve a problem immediately, overcome a difficulty, and that the troubles would pass quickly. However, as a requirement of the trial on earth, sometimes things are not solved in such a short time. Sometimes, it may be necessary to work towards something for months, even years, and have patience for a very long period of time. For this reason, people should refrain from misconceptions like “It doesn’t work,” “I should give up making an effort.”

As we all know patience means being less strict towards time. Believers know that patience overcomes all the difficulties they will face in the worldly life, and that it will lead them to the right path. For this reason, with great patience they become self-sacrificing, with patience they forgive people, and with patience they become generous. People who love God and believe in God with all their heart will improve themselves in many ways. One of the beauties of the month of Ramadan that we are in is that it enables people to improve themselves in terms of patience, both bodily and spiritually.

Our Prophet (S.A.W) stated that the month of Ramadan is a month of patience in one of his hadiths, which is as follows:

“O People! There comes upon you now a great month, a most blessed month, in which lies a night greater in worth than one thousand months. It is a month in which God has made compulsory that the fasting should be observed by day; and He has made the worship (tarawih) by night a sunnah. This is indeed the month of patience. And the reward for true patience is paradise. Ramadan is the month of sympathy with one’s fellowmen. It is the month wherein a true believer’s sustenance is increased. (Ibn Khuzaymah, Sahih, III, 191-192,) (Thk. M. M. A’zamî)

Patience is a great virtue, as our Prophet (SAW) remarks, and the month of Ramadan is a very valuable period of time where one can direct his will for this purpose without succumbing to the things we like and take for granted every day. The patience shown until the end of Ramadan will bring the comfort of surrendering to God. Ramadan is an opportunity, a way to train ourselves in spirit and body, to show our love and commitment for God.

Just like we know when the time comes for prayer and we perform it, being patient is also a worship. For this reason, a person who does not eat or drink when he is hungry or thirsty because he is fasting is actually fulfilling another beautiful manner of worship by having beautiful patience.

Whenever someone is being patient, he becomes closer to God and his commitment to God is strengthened. When someone shows patience for God’s favor, it also becomes a reason for happiness for him. Tolerance is people doing something to get it over with as soon as possible, to earn other people’s favors, and, indeed, is not the same kind of worship as patience is. A person who is in a state of mind to just tolerate something is not at peace. That is why it is important and valuable to be patient and not just tolerant during Ramadan as well. And this means that a Muslim displays good morals, speaks beautifully and always give priority to others even when he is hungry, thirsty and tired.

THE CONFUSION

Kailani noticed a bunch of bulky figures standing in the doorway. "What the...?" Suddenly, the party music screeched to a halt. There were confused murmurs and somebody's voice rang out. "Cops!" "Everyone, freeze!" one of the figures called out at the same time. Pandemonium ensued. Students shoved toward the doors, nearly knocking Kailani to the ground. Several police officers ran into the gym and grabbed students. Sirens whooped outside, and microphones blared instructions to freeze and stay calm.

She cut through the mass of kids. Girls hobbled towards the door, unsteady in their heels. Guys took shortcuts over the bleachers, stumbling over the risers. A lacrosse player who'd had too much to drink bumped against Kailani. Students poured into a hallway that lead to the parking lot just as a police car screamed up the entrance. Wheeling around, she sprinted in the opposite direction, down an unfamiliar passage.

Then she continued down the hall, the sandals she was wearing was rubbing blisters on her feet. The hallway was dark, and she could barely see in front of her. She thought she could make out a door at the end of the hall, but what if it led to nowhere? Suddenly, there were footsteps behind her. "You!" a voice called. Kailani spun around, to see a police officer holding a club. She couldn't let him get her or find out who she was. She sprinted faster, her lungs screaming. "You there!" the police officer's voice sounded even closer. "Stop!" Kailani's hands reached out and touched something hard just seconds before she crashed into it. She pulled away, seeing a bookshelf lined with old texts. She felt around for a door, but there was none. "Oh my god," she whispered. She'd hit a dead end.

The officer's walkie-talkie squawked. "I've got one," she heard him say. Kailani looked down, then up. Her heart lifted. A small window glowed a few inches above the shelf. Even better, it was slightly ajar. Her fingers grasped a middle row of the bookshelf, and she set her feet on the bottom row and started to climb. The structure swayed back and forth as she shimmied up the shelves. "Stop!" the officer's shape was visible down the hall. He was running at a full sprint, his club raised above his head. Kailani pulled herself up to the top of the bookshelf and cranked the window as wide as she could. The space was just big enough for her to fit.

She turned onto her stomach and stuck her legs through the window. Her fingertips caught the metal grooves of the window frame as she pushed herself though and dropped to the ground. Her knees bent to absorb the impact, and her hands hit the grass hard. Then she took off running. She was free and the police officer didn't know who he almost caught.

MISFORTUNE FALLS

Andrew has always had terrible luck. From minor things such as tripping over his own two feet to even worse luck.... like that one time when he was on the yearbook committee and was taking photos of the spring play when he forgot to turn off the flash on the camera and accidentally blinding Little Suzie, causing her to stumble backwards onto the set, destroying the background and knocking over the majority of the props. Terrible luck.

One morning Andrew was walking to school when he saw an elderly man waiting for the light to change so he could cross. Andrew took a minute out of his day and helped the old man across. The man smiled graciously to Andrew and before he left he whispered something in his ear.
"Your life is shrouded in misfortune,
nevertheless you help others with a good will.
By preforming actions the superstitious would
reject you reverse your fortune."
And with that, the man walked away without another word. Andrew thought that was rather odd but he continued on his way to school.

A few hours later Andrew came home and went into his bathroom to change out of his school clothes. "I wonder what that old man meant." he thought to himself. Suddenly he had an idea.

He grabbed a compact mirror and went to the backyard so his parents and neighbors couldn't question him. Then he threw the mirror sharply on the ground, shattering it at once. While he was cleaning up the mess he made he said to himself, "I wonder if this will really change my luck. Guess I'll find out tomorrow."

The next day Andrew woke up feeling better than ever. He was sure that his day was going to be fantastic. And with that said Andrew went on with his day like never before...

LIFE GETS SOUR

She sat behind the wheel of a tinted Toyota Corolla, as she pulled away from Haille Selasia Avenue and joined Mombasa road where Pamela came face to face with heavy city traffic. She was ecstatic and on high on cloud nine at that particular moment, since she was going to meet her lover James, who was arriving from Lisbon, Portugal.

Poor her, little did she know that James was running away from snowy Europe and not coming for her. To James, Pamela and him are no longer in the same pot of circumstances. What was between them is now a lifetime away according to him.

The drive from Mombasa road to Jomo Kenyatta airport took almost two hours on account of heaviness of the traffic. No sooner had she arrived at the waiting bay did she meet James. He did not signal any negativity towards her. They showed each other all what lovers normally show each other after along absence from the other.

After all that exchange, they made for Outering road ready to make it to Pamela’s home at Karen. Along the way it was Pamela who was talkative but to James, internally there was nothing to celebrate in meeting her.
James spent the first night at the house but on the second and subsequent ones he plotted to stay in a Nairobi hotel. For the two weeks he was in town accessibility to him by Pamela became out of question. She tried everything at all cost to reach him, but the more she tried, the more the word impossibility dawned on her.

After the end of his stay, James flew back without saying “kwaheri” to Pamela. On reaching Lisbon, Portugal, he wrote an email back to her, what seemed more than a bombshell. Pamela went through the email as tears dripped down her cheeks. She was unable to come to terms with what she read. To her, that was profoundly incredible.

The email went something like this….: my dear and lovely Pamela, there is nothing between you and me. Mark you what we shared is now water under the bridge and our love is now a lifetime away.
Pamela, stood on her balcony after the uninspiring news and looked into the sky. At that very time, there was a heavy cloud hanging over the Nairobi skyline. Pamela wished James was never a chapter in her story book life, but that was just a wishful thinking.

The reveries on the balcony took almost two hours and after that, Pamela decided enough is enough. There is nothing good crying on spilled milk. She has to close that chapter of her life. In life there is time for joy and time for sorrow, but we have to move forward. And that is what she plotted or what she called a cut and dry decision.

THINGS THAT MAKE CO-WORKING GREAT

Affordability and convenience
This is one of the main reasons why co-working has grown in popularity. Most professionals especially the young, do not have the capital to rent and furnish a full stack office. Co-working gives them just what they want, the ability to walk in and out at their pleasure while having the ability to access the same privileges known to regular office holders at a small fee and then something more. This type of convenience is quite attractive to most people and even established professionals are beginning to take notice

Flexibility and job control
When you are a freelancer, an independent consultant, or another professional flexibility and job control may be a preference. Circumstances may require you to relocate to another city or you may travel to work with a client in another town for some time. Co-working arrangements give you the ability to tap in such flexible options without worrying about the consequences. Being able to control what, when and where you can work is a massive dose of freedom and control.

A sense of community
One of the key elements that make co-working what they are is the sense of community that grows out of the peer to peer interactions under such circumstances. There is a culture knit behind these divergent communities that creates a sense of synergy. Having a software developer, a lawyer, and engineer, and a marketer under the same roof and within arm’s reach is different from working at a traditional office staffed with only lawyers for example. The sense of belonging to a wider network of professionals offers no mean incentive.

Your network is your net worth
It’s all about people. That’s why the importance of networking ever more relevant with the ever increasing flow of information and connectivity between people, devices and things. Success in the modern working environment requires networks that spurn any one given profession and there is no better place to create networks than at the place where there are other people who also want to expand and share their networks.

Access to divergent talent pool
What you work on is important but more important is who you work with. Finding the right talent can be tasking and expensive, that is why most corporates actually outsource talent acquisition. For small businesses and start-ups for instance, a co-working environment gives access to a wide range of talent to choose from. Furthermore, you have the option to build relationships before hiring or just partnering on one off projects.

Convenience for meetings and events
As an independent consultant or a small business, getting space for meetings and conferences while operating from home can be an inconvenience on time and costs. The interesting thing about co-working is that it is accompanied by ample meeting and conference rooms so you can easily schedule meet ups, conferences and events. In addition, it gives you a flexible address for references. While co-working continues to grow, some savvy older professionals and businesses have begun taking notice and offer their team members opportunities for co-working to avoid being left out.

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE

Many years ago, a friend of mine was diagnosed as “terminally ill”. He was given six months to live. His chance for recovery was 1 in 500. He could see the worry, depression and anger in his life contributed to, and perhaps helped cause, his disease. He wondered, “If illness can be caused by negativity, can wellness be created by positivity?”

He decided to make an experiment of himself. Laughter was one of the most positive activities he knew. He rented all the funny movies he could find – Keaton, Chaplin, Fields, the Marx Brothers. (This was before VCRs, so he had to rent the actual films.) He started to read book, magazines and funny stories. He asked his friends to call him whenever they said, heard or did something funny. His pain was so great he could not sleep. Laughing for 10 solid minutes, he found, relieved the pain for several hours so he could sleep.

He fully recovered from his illness and lived another more years happy, healthy and productive years. He credits visualization, the love of his family and friends, and laughter for his recovery. Some people think laughter is a waste of time. It is a luxury, they say, a frivolity, something to indulge in only every so often.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Laughter is essential to our equilibrium, to our well-being, to our aliveness. If we’re not well, laughter helps us get well; if we are well, laughter helps us stay that way. Since friends’ ground-breaking subjective work, scientific studies have shown that laughter has a curative effect on the body, the mind and the emotions. So, if you like laughter, consider it sound medical advice to indulge in it as often as you can. If you don’t like laughter, then take your medicine – laugh anyway.

Use whatever makes you laugh – movies, sitcoms, Monty Python, records, books, cartoons, jokes, friends. Give yourself permission to laugh – long and loud and out loud – whenever anything strikes you as funny. The people around you may think you’re strange, but sooner or later they’ll join in even if they don’t know what you’re laughing about. Some diseases may be contagious, but none is as contagious as the cure. . . laughter.

MOTIVATION

No one in this world is perfect. At time when chips is down people look up to their role models so as to be motivated. Often when we are on lows of life we seek something or someone who is going to inspire us. Like energy can neither be created nor destroyed, “MOTIVATION” cannot be created or destroyed.

MY BELIEVES ON MOTIVATION

I believe like “LIFE CYCLE” we also have “MOTIVATION CYCLE”. Let me give you an example– From the moment we breathe our first breath to our last breath we are always motivated. We are motivated by doctors at time of birth to cry as its sign of been healthy. After reaching few months we are motivated by parents to utter gibberish words, few months later we are motivated to crawl, and then walk without support. In later stages we are motivated to get educated, to get job, earn and have luxurious lifestyle. We can see here “MOTIVATION CYCLE” is running parallel to our life cycle. 

Motivation like goals can differ from person to person. For student scoring top grades is top priority hence he may channel his energy and get motivated to obtain top rank. For farmer to have good harvest can be key for motivation, similarly motivation differs from person to person and gradually changes by time. Channelizing concentration and energy towards right path and common motive is key to success. 

I believe all religious books are based on concept of motivation. If you don’t believe me, let me throw my Thesis to you (It is your choice to accept my thesis or not). The entire religious book believes in concept of afterlife. This concept is prime drive for people to do good works and it motivates monotheist to observe their respective religion peacefully. Without these motivation and perks of afterlife do you think people would follow old books religiously?

MOTIVATION TIPS

I would like to give tips to readers on how to be motivated. 
1) Be sure of your goals. Clear goals can make it easier to see the paths. Work hard towards goal and get motivated on every step taken while achieving this goal. 
2) Get inspired from role model but do not copy them, We lose our identity when we imitate them. Let these role models be our motivators. Do not mold to be exact replica of your role model.
3) Don’t copy goals, don’t think others  motivation will be your key to success.
4) Even smallest of smallest can inspire us and motivate us. Be humble enough to accept your motivator even if it embraces you.

Finally I would like to conclude that be positive and believe in yourself and give your best. I would like to twist famous comic quote and end here by saying “With great goals comes great Motivation”

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF OPERATING A BUSINESS

1.Loneliness
It’s a rarely mentioned problem of entrepreneurship, and many new business owners aren’t prepared for it until it happens. Being an entrepreneur is lonely . It’s a singular position, so you won’t have teammates to rely on (completely). You’ll be working lots of hours, so you won’t see your family as often. And your employees will be forced to remain at a bit of a distance.

2.Decision-making
Believe it or not, this is probably the most stressful challenge on this list. New entrepreneurs are forced to make hundreds of decisions a day, from big, company-impacting decisions, to tiny, hour-affecting ones. Decision fatigue is a real phenomenon , and most new entrepreneurs will experience it if they aren’t prepared for the new level of stress.

3.Being the Visionary
As the founder of your startup, you’ll be expected to come up with the ideas. When a competitor emerges, it will be your responsibility to come up with a response plan. When your team hits an impenetrable obstacle, your job will be to come up with an alternative plan to move forward. This demands on-the-spot creative thinking -- which should be an oxymoron, but entrepreneurs rarely have the luxury of time. The less experience you have, the more pressure you’ll feel from this, and the harder time you’ll have coming up with acceptable plans.

4.Rule-making
It’s fun to be the boss until you have to enforce something. Sooner or later, you’ll have to come up with the rules your business follows, from how many vacation days your workers get to what the proper protocol is when filing a complaint about a coworker. These details aren’t fun to create, and they aren’t fun to think about, but they are necessary for every business

5.Abandoning Another Career
If you’re going to dedicate yourself to starting and nurturing a business to success, it’s going to be nearly impossible to simultaneously manage another career. Walking away from a promising, steady long-term opportunity for something unpredictable is scary -- especially if you’ve never run a business before. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to address this. Just think through your decision logically, and don’t ignore your instincts.

6.Team Building
This is especially hard if you’ve never run or managed a team before, but even if you have management experience, picking the right team for a startup is stressful and difficult. It’s not enough to find candidates who fill certain roles -- you also need to consider their cost to the business, their culture fit and how they’ll work as part of your overall team. Such considerations are exceptionally hard when you’re under the pressure of filling those positions as soon as possible.

7.Financing
Experienced entrepreneurs don’t have it easy when it comes to funding a new business, but they do have a few advantages over newcomers. They might have a pool of capital from a business they previously sold or a steady stream of revenue they can use to fund a new business’s cash flow. Even if their first business went under, they’ve likely made investment contacts and client connections necessary to give them a leg up in a new enterprise.
As a new entrepreneur, you’ll be starting from scratch, which means you’ll need to start networking like crazy and thinking through all your possible funding options before landing on one.

WHICH KIND OF ANIMAL ARE YOU

Have you ever been told which kind of animal you’re ? Maybe when you broke something in your house, your angry mom compared you to some animal stating even that animal is well-behaved but not you. Or maybe when you scored less in your Math exam, your father compared your brain to that of an animals?

My father keeps telling me I am a Goat. I don’t blame him though. I keep doing such things to justify his saying. Like when I was small, there was this phone call for dad. My dad told me to inform the person that he was not at home. So like a good kid I told the person that my dad has told me to tell you that he is not at home right now. My father having heard this immediately got up and took the call. My mom and sister on the other hand could not control their laughter. My father joined in too and told me jokingly I was a goat. Now, do you blame him for saying me that?

It wasn’t until few days back that I finally came to know what actually GOAT means and that it turns out everybody wants to be a GOAT. It’s pretty awesome. Yeah! You heard me right. Supposedly there is this ongoing debate among the footballers of who the goat is and surprisingly they all want to be the goat. It all happened when Messi from Argentina claimed himself to be the Greatest Of All Time(GOAT). However, there came contradictions when Ronaldo from Portugal played a breathtaking match and sealed the title of goat for himself. Now come on, all my life I have been the goat. Do you think I should just tell them to back off?

I am very possessive with me being the Goat. That’s something I have earned with lot of hard work. I am glad my dad felt I could be the greatest of all time. Let me know if you have ever been called a goat or as a matter of fact any other animal which you take pride in.

WHEN YOU FORGET HOW WE SLEEP

Insomnia is something that I experience from time to time. I don’t know why it happens— even when I try to analyze the problem I don’t really see a clear cause or reason.

A way that I like to describe insomnia is that it is like your body forgot how to sleep. One night you go to bed and all of sudden you can’t fall asleep. It is like you are all prepared to go for a swim and suddenly you are standing in front of the pool and you have forgotten how to swim. You have prepared everything but why can’t you do it? Well, insomnia is just that irrational. A whole day’s of toil should exchange for a well-rested night, but instead all you get is restlessness.

Or sometimes, you are drifting into sleep but for some reason your body decides to twitch or feel the need to wake you up. Waves of sleepiness keep coming and going; for a while you are excited, “This is it! I think I’ll fall asleep”, but after while that wave disappears and you feel restless again. You toss and turn but you can’t seem to stay in one position for too long— no position seems to feels right. It is like the whole world is trying to stop you from falling asleep; neither your bed nor your body seems to want you to have your well-deserved rest. Well, no wonder you feel restless— I mean, this is so frustrating!

If you are lucky, you usually end up falling asleep without knowing how or when you did it. Regarding this I have an interesting story to share. One time when I had insomnia, I fell asleep and woke up a few hours later. As I am a light sleeper, I have the habit of sleeping with ear plugs on. I didn’t know when and how I fell asleep but when I woke up I realized that my ear plugs have fallen off. I searched frantically for them— under my pillow, around me, under my blankets. When I found them they were placed neatly on the side of my bed, which is where I usually have them when I don’t wear them. I don’t know what happened but I must have taken them off subconsciously. I have already fallen asleep but I can still take off my ear plugs. Sleep is weird in the sense that some part of your brain needs it but the rest can still function. I guess that is why we have dreams.

FEAR OR BRAVERY

In the modern society, bravery seems to be defined as the absence of fear. A synonym of fearlessness. That when someone is faced with the choice to run away with terror or run head on with courage, they choose courage. It’s in almost every movie and storybook that allows our minds to escape our dull daily lives.

The story is simple. The superhero starts off ordinary. Then they find out they are anything but ordinary. They have special powers that they decide to use for good. A villain comes around, someone who uses their powers for evil, and starts to wreak havoc on the citizens of the world. The superhero must then decide to run away with fear, or run head on with courage. They ultimately decide to face the villain and they win. The superhero is then considered brave and courageous.

But this definition of bravery being fearlessness is flawed. It is impossible to live through life without any fear. Fear is a constant storm that rages in our minds. It never ceases to exist so we must build a shelter to protect ourselves from its wrath. The shelter we build with our hope and strength, however, it’s only temporary. The storm of fear thrashes against it with raining bullets and thunderous punches. It shatters windows with its piercing screams and rams it with howling winds. It’s the temper tantrum of fear that desecrates the walls that we surround ourselves with. We can either let the fear take over our lives, or decide to be brave. To be brave despite the fright and keep building the shelter to protect us from the storm. The storm that is always there, but doesn’t always have to win.

Being brave is exhausting, it is the constant upkeep of our shelter. When someone is fighting a battle there is physical exhaustion of course, but the mental exhaustion is what gets them in the end. The constant battle against fear with the tireless effort to build up the walls that fear tears down. The terror will never go away, so why does society think that being brave means to be without fear?

Being brave doesn’t mean you don’t fear anything. Being brave means that even though you are entirely and absolutely filled with fear, doubt, uncertainty, and terror, you still decide to act with blind courage because there is something more important to you than those fears.

When you have a terminal illness you fear death, but life is more important. When you face depression you fear life, but happiness is more important. When you charge into battle you fear a brutal death, but protecting your people and values are more important. When you have fear, something is always more important.

I won’t be the last to say it, or the last time you think of it, but it is completely and utterly okay to be afraid. It is okay to fear because bravery is not easy. It is not as simple as one would like to believe. It may come more naturally to some than others, but that doesn’t mean that it is not possible for someone to be brave. Do not think for a second that you are not capable of being brave.

You have the ability to be a superhero, just look a little closer at the story of your life. You are led to believe that you are ordinary, but you are anything but ordinary. You have hidden special powers that you can decide to use for good. You have villains that try to destroy your world. You have the choice to run away in fear, or run head on with courage. You can defeat the villain and save your world. You can be brave and courageous.

We all have the capability to fear and conquer those fears. “It’s all in your head” is what they say about fear, but “it’s all in your heart” is what they should say instead about bravery.  Because bravery is not to be without fear, but to decide what is more important: fear or bravery.

WHO IS HAPPY

Part 1:
She completed her graduation in commerce,well, that was the easiest thing that her parents wanted from her, now they can find a suitable boy for her, for whom she can cook for her entire life, from whatever she had learned in her graduation. She had no choice earlier to chose a different field, she was in no position to chose science,  her grades ensured that fact, though, she was good in English and literature, and she might have taken arts. But, arts is for those who have very poor grades and who have no choice left.

Her parents wanted her to take commerce, as it was the typical degree for the bio-data. And they were right, she finally got married, and not because of the degree, though the degree was needed to tell the relatives that their daughter is educated, but she actually got married because she looked pretty enough for the boy, and also the boy’s family thought that she could serve their family and keep its name for years to come.
Everyone was happy when the marriage was happening, all was good.

A few years after the marriage, her husband was shouting at her badly, she was crying. She accidentally caught him talking to some girl earlier, and hence he was shouting to defend himself, actually there was nothing left to defend. She informed her parents about it and they said it is your own matter, deal with it.

Part 2:
He cleared his college, the marks were not good. Actually he was never really interested in studies. Not even a single subject gathered his interest. But he passed, as he was not so dumb. He knew how to score with the minimum resources.
His parents never really worried, they never bothered about his grades, they had enough money. After a few years, they chose a girl for him, she was nice looking, and within a few months he got married.

He was a good dancer though, but he never really thought of it as a career. After marriage he was finding trouble to open up with his wife, as he still was not sure about his own life, also, her wife also was not bothered.
He never really wanted to marry, but his parents were forcing him, and he never had the courage to go against them.

One day when he went for his dance class, he saw a girl, she was dancing beautifully. The teacher introduced them with each other. They started meeting daily, in and out of the class. And soon, they fell for each other. When he was talking to her on the phone his wife caught him.

Part 3:
They both kept fighting for days, and one day they finally shared the truth with each other. They admitted the fact that both of them never really wanted the marriage.
But then who wanted it?
Of course their parents.
But why?
For their happiness obviously.
But who was happy?
No one.

They thought about it and finally got divorced.
Their parents were not supportive. They had ego issues, because if they wanted their happiness then they would have supported them. But their ego surpassed the love by just a little margin, but that was enough for them to lose their minds.
Both of them went in different directions of their own.

What happened next?
It doesn’t matter, whatever happens, it is life, but further on whatever decision they will take will be their own, that doesn’t mean that they will not consider their parents, but by taking decisions only will they learn and grow. And they will be happy even if they don’t succeed because they will be doing what they want.
And ultimately the parents will be happy seeing their children happy….

WHO AM I

It was 2.30 in the morning when I suddenly woke up. I went to the washroom and as I was about to close the door of the washroom I saw someone looking at me from inside the mirror.

I know it sounds silly, because mirror will show only me and there was no one else but there was someone with whom I have never met before. He looked like me but his face displayed no fear at all. It appeared like he was trying to tell me something but I didn’t know what.

It was the scariest moment of my life. And it was a big realization too. And I was not able to sleep the whole night wondering about who am I? Was I the person looking in the mirror or was I the person who was inside the mirror?

But the more important question was can i ever become that man in the mirror? Can I ever be that fearless?

And finally I was left with just one question..

Can I ever be myself?

WE DO CHANGE

He  was looking disheveled, his body covered in sand, he was bleeding. He went to his room and closed the door.
Everyone in the family got worried, one of his friends told them that he was beaten up by some violent morons.
He was crying without tears, his heart was racing, he was scared. The whole incident kept playing in his mind even after he passed his college and got a job.

Whenever he walked on the street he felt a sense of fear that someone will come and beat him up, it may sound funny for some, but he was really devastated. He was sitting near the beach thinking about his fears. Suddenly he diverted his attention to the sand on the beach, the sand was all ready to meet with the approaching water, though it knew that it will be washed away by the brutal force of water but the sand was waiting fearlessly for the water. Even it got washed away, it fought bravely.

He was just imagining the sand as himself and all of a sudden something from within knocked his heart from inside. He never analyzed what actually happened, but after that moment he walked on the streets without fear and faced everyone with full confidence. That incident which thrashed him earlier in his life had now made him stronger than ever. Nothing in this life is permanent, change will happen and it will take just a moment to get going.

TIPS TO TAKE ACTION

Just do it.
The first step is always the hardest. Your mind will come up with all sorts of scenarios to prevent you from taking that scary first step toward your goal. That does not mean you are a coward, though. It is just your brain’s way of defending yourself. Sometimes, though, you have to listen to what your heart has to say and just do it. Everything else will be a lot easier once you get past the first hurdle – and that is to ignore your brain’s dire warnings and go with your gut instinct.

Doing something is not always a physical thing.
It is understandable if you mistook the need for taking action as doing something literally or physically. Yet you see, there are many other ways for you to take action without even lifting a finger. For that matter, consider the act of planning. It is never wise to try achieving a goal without a plan. If you want to spend the least amount of time and effort in achieving your goal, then you need to come up with a step-by-step plan for accomplishing it. A good plan takes into account all potential consequences as well as all the possible avenues you may take in order to reach your objective.

Breathing helps.
Are you feeling nervous or nauseous? It is normal to feel uneasy about doing anything to reach your goal. Taking action is often synonymous to taking risk. You are nervous because you know that risks can either end with success or failure, and who wants to end up failing? Whenever you feel like there is a panic attack coming in, just take a deep breath. Better yet, take several deep breaths. Studies show how breathing can effectively clear the mind and help calm your nerves. So go ahead and breathe - inhale all the way from your stomach to take full advantage!

Take a page from the most successful books.
You may think that you are the only one suffering a certain kind of problem of a certain magnitude in this world, but you are not. With a little research, you are sure to find something in common with ordinary and extraordinary people. You may not be a U.S. President like Bill Clinton, but you are running for a position and you have limited funds like Clinton for your campaign. What did Clinton do that you can do as well? In the end, it is all about finding the small but essential similarities.

Take baby steps.
Do not push yourself to achieve the same things with the same amount of time and resources the way other people had done. In the end, you have to remind yourself that every person is unique and, consequently, his own set of strengths and weaknesses. Also, it could be that you are just starting out and the other person you are comparing yourself to is years ahead of you in terms of expertise and experience. The other person cannot afford to take baby steps, but you can and you should! If you rush things too much, everything may end up backfiring on you.

Rome wasn’t built in a day.
This is obviously related to the above tip, but it is different in the way that it takes into account what you want to do with your time. It is good to have a plan for everything, but you do not have to accomplish everything in a single day. Even if you have the energy to do so, the people around you and who also have something at stake in reaching your shared goals may not have the time and similar energy to do so. Give them a break. If all of you have truly worked hard, then all you deserve to rest. There is always tomorrow to think about.

Do not pressure yourself.
Pressuring yourself is different from motivating yourself. Motivating yourself will get you to take action while pressuring yourself will only succeed in freezing your limbs and brain cells into a state of inaction. There are sure to be other people and other sources you will receive a lot of flak and pressure about getting things done. Why burden yourself with more pressure when you can give yourself a pep talk instead?

A little competition is good – just do not make a big deal out of it.
Competition can make you take action because the more you delay, the further behind you will be in achieving your goal. Friendly competition is also effective for staying focused and getting you pumped up but be careful! If you let yourself focus too much on the competition, then you may end up forgetting about the bigger picture. In the end, being too competitive may be another source of distraction that you absolutely do not need.

Believe in yourself.
Taking action requires you to have faith in yourself – especially when everyone around you is telling you that you cannot do it. In the end, you have to remember that you know yourself best. You know what you are capable of, and if you believe that the goal you have in mind is well within your reach, then it truly is – no matter what others may say.

Get a companion.
Just because you have someone with you and willing to help you out does not mean you were not strong enough to accomplish your goal. It also does not make your goal any less satisfying. If anything, the goal becomes sweeter because you have someone to share it with! If you feel that you need your wife to be at your side to accomplish a particular goal, then go and make it happen and again – forget about what anyone else has to say. As long as you are not hurting yourself or anyone else, then there is nothing wrong with what you are doing.

TRUE FAILURE OCCURS WHEN ONE GIVES UP

It was just another day for my cousin. The past two years had shown him several such days and it ended only in disappointment. It was the day when final list of yesterday’s interview arrived. Life has always been hard for him and the interviews were his only hope.
The past two years were not kind to him. He had gone through a lot of suffering and harassment. No matter how hard he prepared he just couldn’t get past the interview and secure a job. He had his 25th interview yesterday. People said he had 25 failures, but what kept him going was that he knew it was his 25th lesson.
He woke up late on the very day. After getting dressed up , he skipped the breakfast and dashed through the door. He wore the usual black pant with white shirt. The road was empty. It was a positive sign. Today he was hopefull. Hope was something he always had, even during his worst of times. He never gave in to sadness or any rejection. It was not his style. As he went past the Mall he slowly increased his pace. The office could be seen at a distance. As the road grew shorter he became more nervous. He had a many thought going through his head. All of them circulated around the question “ Is this my lucky day? “.
There were many questions in his head which he needed answer to “ What if I don't get this job?”
“ How much more can I take?” and finally
“ How much longer can I pretend ?”
“ I just thinking too much”
He stood still and took a moment. He was standing in front of the hotel he used to work during his free time. It was good job but the pay was less but was sufficient for a single man.
It wasn’t always like this. A year ago he was living peacefully. He had planned for higher education. A year after his college, and since he was coming from a needy background it wasn't possible for him. Having no income made him insecure. He then dropped his plans for higher studies and started to attend interviews. After failing a numerous interview he joined a hotel and started to work. Socializing and making friends was the easiest part, he befriended a lot of employees . They were from different place but had one thing in common-DREAMS. They all wanted to reach somewhere in this life and was ready to work for it. It was the only perk of job. Nevertheless he continued to attend the interviews.
He started to walk again. The office was now in sight, after taking a course of steps he saw a group of people standing in balcony of third floor. He snapped and sprinted towards the office. At every step his heart skipped a beat. He opened the door. It was a small building. There was a lift at end of the hall, but he went for the stairs, patience was something he didn’t have, especially on that morning. He raced up the stairs, as he reached the second floor, he stopped took a moment to ready his hair and dress. He slowly walked up trying to hide his anxiety .
The others were amused to see him. He slowly made his way towards the notice board. In the last round out of six ,five were selected and only one was rejected.It was him who was rejected! He stood there for a minute not knowing what to do. Yet another failure. He quickly turned around and made his way out the office, in an attempt to hide his tears he looked down and retraced his steps.
Upon reaching home ,he ran to his room and went straight to the bed. A bundle of comic books was there near his bed. He slowly turned his head and picked up one of the books. His teary eye gently scrolled down the pages.This was his routine for the past two years.
These books meant a world to him. They provided an unusual comfort. It was the most luxurious part of his day.
After all it was just an interview he thought. He took a pen made a mark on his calendar. Now there were 25 such marks. Each of them signifying the interviews he lost. He decided start the preparation for his next interview after finishing the book.. It had been his strength all these time. Its enough to win. True failure occurs when one gives up.

PERSISTENCE IS THE KEY

They say life doesn't give you what you deserve but what you fight for.Life has all that we need to live like gold underneath the earth that you need to extract from the mother earth. In extracting it there levels of difficulties which we encounter. As we go deeper the earth there level that are soft and others are rocky and hard which makes one to give up but one thing as an individual on a journey you need to understand that every level needs a different approach or strategy.

Encountering rocky and situations in life doesn't mean you should give up. In the journey of life or moving with your vision, you need to demonstrate perseverance,not giving up easily because you never know that one hit that hardy and rocky situation there is that precious gold,that breakthrough which you desire.I have realized that a lot of people give up on the verge success or breakthrough. Giving up must not an option in ones life.

All people who had achieved their desires possessed a greater hunger for fulfillment than of giving up.Imagine if all inventors of the things that we see in this world lacked perseverance this world would be like the amazon forest. In my life the level of my mistakes and failures can not be compared the insatiable desire to live mark in this world and great foundation for the next generation. I will persevere no matter how long it takes. At the present moment i can qualify for highest qualification in this world in terms of failing but i will not give up. The greatest valleys or gouges were created through persistence.

THE WORLD FULL OF LONELINESS

Today, people of the world are connected to each other like they have never been before. A farmer in Kenya can befriend a fisherman in China, while a young girl from Europe can exchange the latest fashion trends with her peers in Africa. In other words, our world is a very different, much more socially active place than it was a century ago.

Our acquaintances are no longer limited to families, neighbours or colleagues. Limitless options offered by the age of the Internet and communications seem to have brought everyone closer.
But, how is it possible that despite all the connection possibilities offered by the Internet, people feel lonelier than ever? It is clear that our reliance on technology increases every day, but it is also obvious that social technology or virtual communication doesn’t really replace actual, face-to- face interaction. Nevertheless, people continue to turn to false and less rewarding forms of communication.

Many young people today, instead of spending time with friends, choose to get behind a computer monitor where it is safer to be in the presence of virtual friends. It is not unusual for people to have thousands of virtual friends on the Internet, but not even know who lives next door. Similarly, most people don’t feel the need to visit their relatives any more and instead choose to seek solace in the company of their Internet associations or pets.

However, this is a dangerous trend. According to studies, loneliness can increase the risk of mortality by 26 per cent and when it becomes a long term issue, it can be more dangerous than smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Feeling lonely negatively affects mental health and can lead to feelings of depression.
This is not surprising. Scientists discovered that social pain can be just as real as physical pain, because physical pain and loneliness activate the same parts of the brain.

It is clear that this is a problem that we need to tackle urgently. People are not created to be alone; we need to
socialise and interact with others. This is also the only way for young people to develop healthily and properly. Unless the epidemic of loneliness is addressed now, it is not too difficult to imagine the problem becoming more severe within the next couple of decades. Young people who are growing up with this sense of loneliness will soon be running the world and their mental health and stability should not be compromised by feeling of loneliness and isolation, matters that can be easily addressed.

Naturally, loneliness has an even worse effect on the elderly. Millions of seniors around the world struggle with lonely lives because they’ve been abandoned either by their families or society.
Depression and dementia are usually associated with isolation and loneliness, and many suffer these problems only because society and their families fail to show them the required affection and take care of them. However, for every problem there is a solution and loneliness is certainly not an unsolvable one.

First of all, it is important to prevent the constant inculcation of self-centred and materialistic ideas. Instead, people should be encouraged to be more attentive, caring and selfless. They should understand the health benefits of showing affection, care, and having real, physical socialisation. This awareness should be supported with campaigns informing people of the health hazards of loneliness in addition to their future implications for the societies.

Nursing homes could be built on the same premises as universities so that these two groups at the two edges of the age gap can interact. In this way, young people will be able to benefit from the invaluable life experiences of seniors, while senior citizens are saved from the trap of loneliness and can enjoy their later years in the presence of good company.

Britain particularly suffered from the problem and responded by setting up a ministry in charge of tackling isolation and loneliness. Theresa May announced that Tracey Crouch, whose official title is the Minister for Sport and Civil Society, will be working on a national strategy to address loneliness across all ages. It is also reported that the ministry will devise methods to measure loneliness and set up a fund to develop a wider strategy to solve the issue.