The Search for Happiness
Once upon a time, a seminar on personal development drew a crowd of 100 people.
The speaker comes to a halt in the middle of their presentation and decides to lead an impromptu group exercise. He gives each guest a balloon and instructs them to write their name on it.
After that, the balloons are collected and placed in a nearby room.
The speaker then urges the 100 guests to enter the room and locate the balloon with their name on it within 5 minutes.
As they rush in, pushing and crashing with one another in their desperate search for their name, chaos ensues.
After 5 minutes, no one has succeeded.
The speaker then instructs everyone to select any random balloon and present it to the individual whose name is inscribed on it. Everyone gets their balloon back within a few minutes.
"What happened with those balloons is exactly what happens in our desire for happiness," he continued. We anxiously search all over for it, unsure of where it is."
"However, our pleasure is dependent on the happiness of others." You acquire your satisfaction by making them happy."
The moral of the story is that happiness and fulfilment nearly always come from doing good things for others, rather than selfish pursuits. We benefit ourselves by helping others.
Four Burning Candles
Four candles were blazing in a room. You could hear them conversing because the ambience was so soft.
"I am PEACE," the first replied, "but no one can keep me lit." "I think I'll go out."
Its flame quickly fades and then extinguishes.
"I am FAITH," says the second. Most importantly, I am no longer indispensable, thus it makes no sense for me to stay lit."
When it finished speaking, a little breeze blew on it, extinguishing it.
Regrettably, the third candle was the last to speak. “I am LOVE. I'm not sure if I'll be able to stay lit. People overlook me and do not recognize my significance. They even forget to love their nearest and dearest." And after a long wait, it finally gets out.
When a child entered the room, he noticed three candles that were not lit. "Why aren't you burning? You're supposed to keep burning till the end."
The toddler began to cry as he said this. "Don't be scared," the fourth candle whispered, "while I am still burning, we may relight the other candles; I am HOPE."
The child took the candle of Hope and lit the other candles with bright eyes.
Hope should never die in our lives, and everyone of us should be able to retain HOPE, FAITH, PEACE, and LOVE.
The Wise General
Thousands of years ago, there was a well-known Chinese general who was known for being a wise and clever commander.
This general opted to stop in a stronghold with a small battalion of soldiers at the end of a long war, sending his main fighting force ahead to rest somewhere.
Meanwhile, one of his adversaries hears about it and decides to march his army of hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the general's defenceless position.
One of the general's men wakes him up in the middle of the night with the news that the enemy is approaching. They'll arrive before dawn, and the stronghold's small contingent of soldiers will be no match for their numbers.
The general pauses and stops when they hear this.
He recognises his dilemma and orders his men to stand down, open the gates, remove the banners from the walls, and flee.
The general then takes off his armour, dons a cloak, and sits on the battlements, mandolin in hand, watching the approaching army.
The enemy's supreme commander arrives shortly. He quickly knows the general.
And he orders his men to come to a halt.
He pauses to consider something. He knows everything there is to know about this general, including his reputation for deception and constructing fatal traps. He continues to wait.
The presence of this infamous commander, who sits there so casually, makes him doubt himself. Is it possible that the information he received was incorrect? Is he being led into a trap by the general?
Is it a double bluff, or is it a single bluff?
Is this a ruse to make him doubt himself, and the general is as helpless as he appears?
He waits a little longer...
Then he tells his troops to retreat.
The moral of the story is that
First and foremost, your reputation is quite important and can lead to a variety of favourable results.
Second, there's usually a smarter, more strategic way to accomplish your objectives. Never presume that sweat, blood, and tears are required. Find a way to achieve the same results with fewer effort.
Stay Motivated
