Don't let anyone dull your sparkle

I know how you feel, lost in the middle with no end in mind. It's almost as if the roller-coaster we call life is getting a bit too overwhelming. Everything is spiraling out of control and you can do absolutely nothing about it. It feels like you're disappointing everyone you love and that people look down upon you. The very fact that life confronts you with challenges you haven't been expecting is quite intimidating. You know what, I think we've all felt and will feel that way at some point in our lives. Life IS scary, I'm not claiming it isn't. And we are often brought to our knees by the tests we are put in but we need to realize that it is all up to US, it's up to us to refuse to give up on ourselves, to get back up when life knocks us down, to be ambitious, determined and persistent. It's all in our hands if we believe in our abilities and strength. See, life is so simple yet so complicated, complete irrationality. It gives you the bad and expects you to be the good. It is the ones who are confident of their ability to excel and outshine the sun that will reach their potential. The ones whose solidity comes from within. It's the craziest of dreams and the most absurd of ideas that are realized successfully. Dream, dream big. Never lose hope in your aspirations. Believe that you'll be able to get to where you want to be. Dare to implement your thoughts.
 Believe that you will prove everyone wrong. But most importantly, the part that will make all the difference is your belief in your own self .



I BELIEVE IN YOU



P.S.: This topic has been discussed and written about by many great philosophers and has beautiful quotes on it. I still felt the need to shed some light upon the fact that believing in oneself has a power beyond what you'd expect it to.

Students will relate

Dear student,

So it was that dreaded week again. The week of suffering that everyone despises. Full of stress, tension and the constant inner debate of whether or not you’ll make it through. I know you might not believe me when I say this but you will. You will be able to overcome every obstacle along the way. If it’s not clear what I am talking about yet, it’s final’s week. I think we’ve all been through the feeling of drowning in all the papers and homework we haven’t started.  I know the tension can get overwhelming when you’re in the exam room with millions of questions flying through your head. Have I studied enough? Am I smart enough? Thinking about your score and transcript. Will my grades be sufficient to get me to where I’ve always wanted to be?  You feel the tension and fear creeping in. You compare your answers to those of your friends’ after the exam and it only makes you more nervous. This just doesn’t add up!

And then comes the day when you find out your results. Have you passed? Did the hours of focused studying pay off? You take a deep breath and approach the scoring list, look for your name and then find the corresponding grade. Have you reached the goals you’ve anticipated? Did you work hard enough? I want you to remember while looking at the scoring board that whatever grade you’ve gotten is one that you deserve. Depending on your grade you can either use it as a soothing reward, in that case please consider the feelings of those who have gotten worse grades or you can use it as a wakeup call to focus on your future and put more effort into your studies. Either way you need to keep in mind that your grades do not define you, they say nothing about your sense of humor or your ability to make others happy. They state nothing of your personality. They just show you your academic level in a certain subject or field at a certain time, that’s all.

We never take note of one particular fact though. That is that we are blessed, blessed to know about our exams and the specified topics and to have teachers who explain the topics to us prior to our testing. That is because life is a series of confrontations but the difference is that the challenges of life are given randomly at any time in any field and it’s often so, that we only learn the lesson after the test. Sounds quite hard, don’t it?

I’d like school without the exams just as much as I’d like life without the challenges but unfortunately that’s not the case.

I’m writing this after one of the most stressful weeks out there telling you that you can do it and will continue to do it, even if you don’t believe so yourself, I BELIEVE IN YOU

Let's get real

"Look at the full half of the cup" how many times have you heard that sentence? And yet it doesn't seem to make you shift your perspective on the problems of our complex lives. Well, have you ever asked yourself why we can't adjust to such simple guidelines? The answer is simply the fact that they're not realistic. Let's face it, no one's life is full of flowers and rainbows, we all have our ups and downs, it's part of reality. And while being optimistic opens the doors of success and power,  it's important to keep a view of life through the lens of both optimism and realism. This week I want to give you some tools to help you lead a realistically optimistic life..

Firstly, you need to know your capabilities and understand your potential. Focus on what you can do, it's so often that people fail due to their focus on the wrong aspects of their personality. Look for that one characteristic that differentiates between you and everyone else.

It's crucial to remember that everyone has limitations. If you hit a wall, back up, you can't keep banging your head against it. Accept your limitations and live with them.

After determining your potential and limit, challenge yourself. Look at your long term goals and set yourself small realistic aims accordingly. Pride yourself upon completing them one by one. You'll not only be closer to your dreams and aspirations but you'll plan your life effectively rather than hoping for a good outcome without actually having drawn your own blueprint for it.

Seize the moment, being realistic doesn't mean overanalyzing every single detail. It means hoping for the best within a reasonable range. It means knowing the facts while adding a positive twist on your opinions and thoughts. Don't expect a miracle for that is irrational.


Accept life with all its flaws. You can't live life without the bad parts for it wouldn't be worthwhile. It's a package deal. Just like a melody with high and low keys, both of them shape the melody to perfection

So is the cup half full after all?

Let's take a closer look at life

I strongly believe that morality is a God- granted talent of being wise enough to recognize the right decisions to make. It is usually so, that the elderly are the guardians of the world’s wisdom but I believe that one, regardless of age, needs to be at peace with himself to be able to think with clarity and draw the correct conclusions. The world in which we live has a very fast pace; prompt reactions are required. We often get lost in the confrontations of everyday life that we forget to pause and really consider whether our decisions are based upon well thought of reasons and argumentations. Furthermore, cultural and religious aspects play a big role in the way we perceive our problems, thus influence our decision making. 

Morality is merely a perception. It’s the way you regard life. For me, right and wrong are two colors with no shades in between. One always has a decision to make, it’s the nature of our everyday lives, but nevertheless if you are a person whose values are well instilled, no matter how hard the decision may be, you'll be able to find your way. 

 

Life is a complex maze. It’s a puzzle. Sometimes, we avoid that, what we believe will harm us only to find out later on, that it influenced our future positively. We need to understand that “sometimes God has other plans” – Paolo Coelho, The Winner Stands Alone.

And although we are aware that we are eventually going to die the sad truth is that we rarely believe it, because if we did we would do things much differently (Tuesdays with Morrie). We act as if we were to live infinitely which leads us to make wrong decisions at times and live meaningless lives thinking that we are chasing the right things, money, power and fame when in the essence we use them to avoid the very fact that one day all that we are, will be nothing but history. The remainder of what we once were will be the good and bad we did in the world. The relationships we left behind. How our decisions affected others and the impact they left on the world. Morality not only affects our present but it also affects our future. It leaves a mark on the world even after we are long gone. 

Consider the consequences of each decision before making it and keep your focus on what matters most. You only have limited time in this world, make sure you leave a fingerprint.