Leisure Time Stories

# Psychological 

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there...to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are or who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be but, when you lock eyes with them, you know that every moment, they will affect your life in some profound way. And sometimes things happen to you at the time that may seem horrible, painful and unfair but, upon reflection, you realize that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, will power or heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of good luck. Illness, Injury, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere. Safe and comfortable but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet affect your life. The successes and downfalls that you experience can create who you are, and the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones.
If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart, forgive them because they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart to. If someone loves you, love them back, unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because they are teaching you to love and open your heart and eyes to little things.

Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high.

Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you.

#Things Change - Don't give up -- Alex W. Miller  

For most people, graduation is an exciting day - the culmination of years of hard work. My graduation day... was not.  I remember that weekend two years ago. Family and friends had flown in from across the country to watch our class walk across that stage. But like everyone else in my graduating class, I had watched the economy turn from bad to worse my senior year. We graduates had degrees, but very limited prospects. Numerous applications had not panned out and I knew that the next day, when my lease ended, I would no longer have a place to call home.
The weeks ahead weren't easy. I gathered up everything I couldn't carry and put it into storage. Then, because I knew my small university town couldn't offer me any opportunities, I packed up my car and drove to Southern California to find work. But what I thought would take a week dragged into two, and then four, and 100 job applications later, I found myself in the exact same spot as I was before. And the due date to begin paying back my student loans was creeping ever closer.
You know that feeling when you wake up and you are just consumed with dread? Dread about something you can't control - that sense of impending failure that lingers over you as you hope that everything that happened to you thus far was just a bad dream? That feeling became a constant in my life.  Days felt like weeks, weeks like months, and those many months felt like an unending eternity of destitution. And the most frustrating part was no matter how much I tried, I just couldn't seem to make any progress.
So what did I do to maintain my sanity? I wrote. Something about putting words on a page made everything seem a little clearer - a little brighter. Something about writing gave me hope. And if you want something badly enough... sometimes a little hope is all you need!
I channeled my frustration into a children's book. Beyond the River was the story of an unlikely hero featuring a little fish who simply refused to give up on his dream.
And then one day, without any sort of writing degree or contacts in the writing world - just a lot of hard work and perseverance - I was offered a publishing contract for my first book! After that, things slowly began to fall into place. I was offered a second book deal. Then, a few months later, I got an interview with The Walt Disney Company and was hired shortly after.
The moral of this story is... don't give up. Even if things look bleak now, don't give up. Two years ago I was huddled in my car drinking cold soup right out of the can. Things change.
If you work hard, give it time, and don't give up, things will always get better. Oftentimes our dreams lie in wait just a little further upstream... all we need is the courage to push beyond the river.

#All Alone

One of my fondest memories as a child is going by the river and sitting idly on the bank. There I would enjoy the peace and quiet, watch the water rush downstream, and listen to the chirps of birds and the rustling of leaves in the trees.
I would also watch the bamboo trees bend under pressure from the wind and watch them return gracefully to their upright or original position after the wind had died down. When I think about the bamboo tree’s ability to bounce back or return to its original position, the word resilience comes to mind. When used in reference to a person this word means the ability to readily recover from shock, depression or any other situation that stretches the limits of a person’s emotions.
Have you ever felt like you are about to snap? Have you ever felt like you are at your breaking point? Thankfully, you have survived the experience to live to talk about it.
During the experience you probably felt a mix of emotions that threatened your health. You felt emotionally drained, mentally exhausted and you most likely endured unpleasant physical symptoms.
Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, happy moments and unhappy moments. The next time you are experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy moments that take you close to your breaking point, bend but don’t break. Try your best not to let the situation get the best of you.
A measure of hope will take you through the unpleasant ordeal. With hope for a better tomorrow or a better situation, things may not be as bad as they seem to be. The unpleasant ordeal may be easier to deal with if the end result is worth having.
If the going gets tough and you are at your breaking point, show resilience. Like the bamboo tree, bend, but don’t break!

#Visualize your Goals:

The Catalina Island is twenty-one miles away from the coast of California, and many people have taken the challenge to swim across it. 
On July 4th 1952, Florence Chadwick stepped into the water off Catalina Island to swim across to the California coast. She started well and on course, but later fatigue set in, and the weather became cold. 
She persisted, but fifteen hours later, numb and cold, she asked to be taken out of the water. After she recovered, she was told that she had been pulled out only half a mile away from the coast. She commented that she could have made it, if the fog had not affected her vision and she would have just seen the land. 
She promised that this would be the only time that she would ever quit.
She went back to her rigorous training. And two months later she swam that same channel. The same thing happened. The fatigue set in, and the fog obscured her view, but this time she swam with faith and vision of the land in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind the fog was land.
She succeeded and became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel. She even broke the men's record by two hours.
SUCCESS PRINCIPLES
When you set your goal, keep pressing on even when you are tired, physically and mentally, and even though there are many challenges ahead. 
Keep the vision of your goal crystal clear before you and never, never, never… give up!
See the reaching, commit to it, and you will surely see your goal realized. 

#Enjoy your coffee:

A Group of friends, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups…..And then began envying each other’s cups.
Now consider this: “Life is the COFFEE; the jobs, money and position in the society are the CUPS. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee
NOTE: The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

#Winning is not everything....Finish together.... --Darren Edwards

In old times, fable retells the story of the young athletic boy hungry for success, for whom winning was everything and success was measured by such a result.
One day, the boy was preparing himself for a running competition in his small native village, himself and two other young boys to compete. A large crowd had congregated to witness the sporting spectacle and a wise old man, upon hearing of the little boy, had travelled far to bear witness also.
The race commenced, looking like a level heat at the finishing line, but sure enough the boy dug deep and called on his determination, strength and power .. he took the winning line and was first. The crowd was ecstatic and cheered and waved at the boy. The wise man remained still and calm, expressing no sentiment. The little boy, however. felt proud and important.
A second race was called, and two new young, fit, challengers came forward, to run with the little boy. The race was started and sure enough the little boy came through and finished first once again. The crowd was ecstatic again and cheered and waved at the boy. The wise man remained still and calm, again expressing no sentiment. The little boy, however, felt proud and important.
"Another race, another race!" pleaded the little boy. The wise old man stepped forward and presented the little boy with two new challengers, an elderly frail lady and a blind man. "What is this?", quizzed the little boy. "This is no race" he exclaimed. "Race!", said the wise man. The race was started and the boy was the only finisher, the other two challengers left standing at the starting line. The little boy was ecstatic, he raised his arms in delight. The crowd, however, was silent showing no sentiment toward the little boy.
"What has happened? Why not do the people join in my success?" he asked the wise old man. "Race again", replied the wise man, "...this time, finish together, all three of you, finish together" continued the wise man. The little boy thought a little, stood in the middle of the blind man and the frail old lady, and then took the two challengers by the hand. The race began and the little boy walked slowly, ever so slowly, to the finishing line and crossed it. The crowd were ecstatic and cheered and waved at the boy. The wise man smiled, gently nodding his head. The little boy felt proud and important.

"Old man, I understand not! Who are the crowd cheering for? Which one of us three?", asked the little boy. The wise old man looked into the little boy's eyes, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders, and replied softly .. "Little boy, for this race you have won much more than in any race you have ever ran before, and for this race the crowd cheer not for any winner!"

SO WHAT: Did you know the most powerful teams are shaped by cultures where “WE” takes precedent over “ME.”Ask yourself each morning this week how might you put the success of the Team ahead of your personal winning?

#The Wonders of Motivation

A man was lost while driving through the countryside. As he tried to reach for the map, he accidentally drove off the road into a ditch. Though he wasn't injured, his car was stuck deep in the mud. So the man walked to a nearby farm to ask for help. 
"Warwick can get you out of that ditch," said the farmer, pointing to a Person standing in a field. 
The man looked at the Person and looked at the farmer who just stood there repeating, "Yep, old Warwick can do the job." 
The man figured he had nothing to lose. The two men and the Person made their way back to the ditch. The farmer hitched the Person to the car. With a snap of the reins, he shouted, "Pull, Fred! Pull, Jack! Pull, Ted! Pull, Warwick!" 
Go ahead. And the Person pulled that car right out of the ditch. The man was amazed. He thanked the farmer, patted the mule, and asked, "Why did you call out all of those names before you called Warwick?" 
The farmer grinned and said, "Old Warwick is blind. As long as he believes he's part of a team, he doesn't mind pulling." 
You see all it matters is encouragement and a sense of care to say "You can do it". 
If so, you would witness incredible job

#Be a Creative

Have you ever thought what motivates you to work better? Some say its success, others say love for money. But what many people do not know is that your emotions are the basis of your motivation of the work you do. It's hard to believe. Isn’t it? Let’s look at some examples. When you are sad no matter what you do you feel like something is wrong even simple things like listening to music can make you grumpy. But when you are happy even the toughest and meanest jobs are not a problem for you. This is because human emotions are the key to motivation in our life.
Of the various conditions present that affects your success rate three points need special care. Those are the things you cannot work without. They are autonomy, mastery and the purpose of the work at hand. Now what are these? Autonomy is your desire to be the master of your own work, means you will do it according to your moods and whims. The second point is mastery. It is your interest to be better in your field of work. Be the master of your own work with a high level of performance. The last point is the purpose of your work. If you think that you are making a difference to the work you are doing however small, you will be motivated to work harder, no matter what others tell you. If these key points are executed well then you will be happy with whatever work you do, big or small.
Your perceptions of your emotions and the motivation when intermingled with your zeal of work provide you the best results in your life. Creative people like thinkers, problem solvers, artists are not motivated by money but by their passion for the work. In fact money is a very trivial thing when you consider your whole life, the various fields of your interest.
So now the basic question how does your brain deal with emotions and make a practical use of them to motivate you in real life? Positive emotions like happiness, joy etc. help you to broaden your mind but negative emotions like sadness, jealousy narrows your chain of thinking and makes your life more tiresome. You can’t be creative, motivated when you have negative emotions in your mind. In fact it will have a negative impact on the work you do and you will be unable to yield your best results.
Now you might ask “how can I enhance my perceptions in order to yield best result?” There are various processes to enhance them. Try exercising. When you exercise endorphins are released into your blood. They make you feel better. As being healthy is the key to succeed in your life. This helps you to boost your own self confidence and motivates you to succeed. Last of all at the end of the day spend some time with your inner self. This will help you to understand your own self in a better way. 

#Ignore Negativity 

There was a hunter who came into the possession of a special bird dog. The dog was the only one of its kind, because it can walk on water. One day he invited a friend to go hunting with him so that he could show off his prized possession. After some time, they shot a few ducks, which fell into the river. The man ordered his dog to run and fetch the birds. The dog ran on water to fetch the birds. The man was expecting a compliment about the amazing dog, but did not receive it. Being curious, he asked his friend if the friend had noticed anything unusual about the dog. The friend replied, “Yes, I did see something unusual about your dog. Your dog can’t swim!”
More than 90% of the people that we face everyday are negative. They choose to look at the hole in the middle rather than the doughnut. Do not expect compliments or encouragement from them. These are the people who cannot pull you out of your present situation. They can only push you down. So be aware of them, spend less time with them, and do not let them steal your dreams away from you.

Journey of my mind - 12 Hours

That day I reached to Banaglore railway station around 4:45 PM, to catch the Kachiguda express which travels between SBC– KCG.  I know I had a reservation in S2-35 coach, still I am verifying the check list which is stacked on that compartment, not actually verifying mine but I am searching for the names with gender ‘f’ and berth near to mine, I have completed searching down to the list from my name and found age bar ladies, and started searching the first half and hmm, I found one near to my berth number,  Sravani –  f – 23 – 37 (name – gender – age – berth num) and just above that I also find Ragavaiah – m – 55 – 3. While thinking, whether he might be relative to her or not, I reached to my berth. I found none at my place yet, perhaps they are on their way to reach station.  Meanwhile, I thought of to get some eatable items and drinking water bottle from the nearer stall. Luckily, the stall is near to my coach, then I got down and walked near to stall and placed an order a Good day and a water bottle. Suddenly, the fragrance from my behind reached my nose, my heart increased its beats, a half smile placed on my lips and eyes increased blushes and wide opened and my body turned back. OOPs, here she is a gay and smiling at me to get money then I have given some amount to make her out of my place and thinking in my mind by stepping towards my place, why so expectation on someone, won’t I continue my journey if Sravani doesn’t comes, yes expectations hurts. I was disappointed anyway a little bit, and started listening music to change my mood but after a couple of songs played I am still not able to live in present, then while taking out my novel from bag, I noticed a person sitting on the side berth near to me, I smiled to him, he too smiled and I asked him till where his journey is he said to Hyderabad, then I asked his name, he replied as Giri and we stay quiet, seems he is reserved guy. His arrivals makes me to think of Sravani again but this time not with that expectations, unfortunately surprises in life teaches us  good or bad but we won’t forgot surprises. Then I opened my novel and completed reading a page and while turning the second one, a voice said, ‘excuse-me’, with a hard voice like an aged person, yes I think he is the one Ragavaiah asked me to make a way to get between berths as he is holding a quite heavy luggage bag, and by the time I am thinking about the girl, I find her just behind him, then I think he might be the father to her. Perhaps, since no other girl around me, she is looking pretty to me at this time.  By keeping my eyes into the book, my thoughts started revolving to make her impress. :P

                I thought to start talking to her when the train moves, and then another person came and sits on the seat where Giri reserved and till that time the person whom I thought reserved guy opened his mouth and asked his name, the person replied as Ramesh. Now, there started a quarrel between Ramesh and Giri not because of his name but, Giri, was screaming on Ramesh that he is the one who reserved that berth to make a comfort journey but not allowing others to sit and make him congested. Ramesh replied, “Sir, I have RAC ticket and I am actually waiting for ticket collector to arrive till then I thought to adjust here to sit not to occupy your berth”. Giri, doesn’t compromised, he is yelling more,  “you are looking like an educated and why don’t you understand what I am saying”, Ramesh replied, “Of course it may be you reserved but I just want to sit till TC comes, anyway I will move at that time, right. Why you are simply screaming at me as if you own berth for life time”. Giri angry rose to the peak and stood up like he is ready to slap him, but as the others passers are passing between them by making a way, Giri controlled himself and raised only his voice. Sravani interfere and asked Ramesh to sit on to her berth until TC comes and she never mind that. As a brunette interfere their discussion it resolved so soon. I thought for a while, most of them says that a women actually create the problems among men, but how come she solved, yes if a women wants she can actually solves the problem, but unfortunately most of them are reason behind the problems knowingly or unknowingly.  Again, I also thought how kind hearted she is, so if started a conversation she never minds me so oh yes will start when train leaves this station. And it’s around 5:15 PM and waiting for more five minutes for trains departure from Yeshwanthapur.

                Finally, the train started but how can I start a conversation no clue. L. Thinking but yet no idea and a small deter in deep inside somewhere. A kid around 11 yrs without a shirt and wore a tore lower garment, cleaning under the berths and begging came to our place and cleaned all the dirty under our bertha and stretched his hand for money. Ramesh is about to give some change I objected him saying, “why are you donating to such people, I mean don’t encourage them they may habituated to earn money like this and spoil their entire life”. He doesn’t replied, by his past experience from Giri might be not allowed to open his mouth and then Sravani, looked me as if I objected that is something causing the entire world from being good. No, I am not sure what actually she means, whether she might stared be with some other means, or don’t know. One cannot predict girl eyes expression, or in other words no one can actually judge girl. Whatever, Ramesh didn’t put my words to his ears he gave some change to that poor kid and as usual I refused to donate when kid stretched towards me for money. This time, Giri opened his mouth and agreed with me and said, “You are correct, we should to give people like this or at-least we can donate those who believe themselves and do some job to earn money like minimum of a job like shoe polishing” . What’s the heck Giri did; he supported me ahead of the girl whom I am thinking to impress. Now, she might also think that my nature is as similar as like Giri, the one who is short temper, not even take time for others at-least for a while, miser in nature.  Whatever so, he supported me, the words one spoke can’t be taken back by anyone. It’s around 6:15 pm almost one hour finished yet, I am dreaming to talk to the girl. Ticket collector came and verified our tickets and taken away Ramesh to find and allocate a berth to him. Another boy around 17 yrs coming along with his portable shop, I mean he has a tool box which includes shoe polisher and other things that related to repair shoes, when that boy asked Giri to get polish he denied then I asked him, what sir you said like we can encourage people who do self employment but you are not even giving a chance to him to grow up. Giri replied, “He is looking like matured, why can’t he do some good job like one who do for daily wages at constructions rather than holding everyone legs to clean their shoes” this time I was dumb for his way of thinking and irrespective of his way of thinking I donated a little amount actually, this time Sravani smiled to me, and actually not to impress her but I thought of to give by seeing the person situation. I realized that doing well always left some happiness to us but I know that the amount I donated actually not give him a piece of bread yet, some satisfaction of being good, my math mind calculated then like, 100 corer people India, if give 1 rupee each it makes 100 corer and I don’t understand why still poverty and people struggling to fulfill their basic needs like food, shelter and cloth. Also, the society is like that to skip the situations they may talk anything that apt to them like Giri. Ramesh was still behind ticket collector while return after finishing finding a berth, it seems TC didn’t find one to allocate Ramesh, finally TC shows Giri’s birth to adjust for sometime till he finds a berth to him. This time, Giri was calm and I guess that god always gives a chance to see how people react when they get what they don’t want and also I didn’t understood how come where Giri’s voice hide this time to shout at TC, it’s up to one self how to behave, if they want to compromise then they can else they can also yell, btw, who don’t have dirty thoughts to fight?

                It’s around, 9:00 PM the bewilderment from being how to start conversation with that girl is not yet cleared to me. This time I dared and said ‘Hi..’ to her but with a very little voice, I am not sure she may heard to me but she turned to me but didn’t responded anything I am not sure why she turned, is that because of my call if so then she doesn’t replied anything, is she not interested to talk with strangers, or she turned as usual. Again bit cowardice personality in me doesn’t allowed me to say ‘Hi..’ again, though my ego not accepted my cowardice in me  so I decided to talk her anyway but after having dinner. In general I don’t like food we get in trains, so I came off from my place to the compartment door and waiting train to stop at railway station so that I can get food for my dinner. At  Penukonda railway station I got down to take my dinner and by the time I reached my place, Sravani and his father already settled in their placed and ready to sleep. OOPs, I missed to talk her and nothing to do now, so I arranged my berth too to sleep and while reading novel I felt doziness yet continuing with novel, and all of the sudden the train skips and running off the tracks, alas we got accident and fall down before hitting to the ground, my mind was revised for a while, everything is gone, my life is going to an end. Sravani is going to come with me now or even a girl, either parents or friends and no one indeed, except my good/bad deeds. I spent my life so far for no use. What even if I get a chance to live but no way now, after all I am going to die at some point of time but I don’t expect it will be this soon.  <blash> train hits the ground, every one screaming out.. I am able to hear them.  Giri: is about to die, and Ramesh was fine and the very first boy 11yrs old are left safe with minor injuries, yet they are trying to save Ramesh from his last battle of life by forgetting all the mistakes made by Giri, yes Giri was fought with Ramesh for that berth now who wants that berth, one can replace the berth but Giri’s life.. No matter what we think, Giri is died now. Now-a- days people love which is temporary and not valued than which have value though they know that things can be replaced but not humans and their relationships. No matters how much a person is miser or cruel, when it’s on grave yard everyone is equal, helps each other no doubt how much they have to take revenge, but the doubt I have here why can’t we behave like this good when we blessed with all amenities, I agree that the circumstances may be changed his way of thinking but I also believe there might be little effort of ours also lied to change ourselves to be being good, after all life is short like a water bubble.  I am also in a difficult situation, I am unable to open my eyes, but I am sensing that I got blocked in something like in between broken grills and unable to move / get up from my place and Ramesh is coming towards me to pull me out from that broken grills.. I am shaking someone pulling my legs, shouting at my ears to hear something from me like ‘Hellloooo…’ with aloud voice. Then, all of the sudden I opened my eyes and sat in my berth and hearing to the person, he is saying “Hello, get up we arrived Kachiguda station” 10 mins ago and he left off. Thank god I am safe yet. I thank god for giving me such a beautiful life. It’s up to me now, how to make mold my life for my brighter present, no not future because we can’t guarantee our life.