Stories from #MondayMotivation: Set 1

For more than three years #MondayMotivation feature has got a very positive feedback. Many friends following the Blog and Page had expressed desire for a compilation of these stories. So here is the first set of 10 stories arranged chronologically.

In this first set of the stories we have elephants who have forgotten their strength and a small boy who has the best way to evaluate himself. There is a giant sharing his secret of success and a fisherman teaching a life lesson to a businessman. A Principal gives a valuable advice about judgements and a foreigner is amused seeing dedication of a sculptor. We also have lessons taught by ripples in a lake, and by rocks, pebbles and sand in a jar. Finally we meet a miser and a builder who realize their mistakes. Enjoy the stories and share with your friends!

 

#1 “Elephant and the Rope”

As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”
The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?
Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.

(Posted on 12/06/2017)

 

#2 “Two Words”

There is a story of a young reporter who was commissioned to interview an old and successful businessman.

`Sir,’ he asked politely, `what has been the secret of your success?’

The older man leaned back on his leather swivel chair, behind his shining mahogany desk, and replied, `Two words, son, two words: right decisions.’

The reporter wrote it down. Then he asked another question. `And how do you learn how to make right decisions, sir?’ he asked.

The successful business man leaned back further and replied, `One word, son, one word: experience.’

The reporter wrote this down, too, and then asked, `Well, sir, how do you acquire experience?’

The older man leaned forward over his desk and whispered conspiratorially, `Two words, son, two words: Wrong decisions!’

The only real failure is failing to learn from failure.

(Posted on 19/06/2017)

 

#3 “The Boy on Phone”

A little boy went into a phone booth and dialled number. The booth-owner observed and listened to the conversation.

“Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?”

(At the other end of the phone line), “I already have someone to cut my lawn.”

“Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now.”

“I’m very satisfied with the person who is presently cutting my lawn.”

(With more perseverance), “Lady, I’ll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of Palm beach , Florida.”

“No, thank you.”

With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver. The store-owner, who was listening to all this, walked over to the boy.

Store Owner, “Son… I like your attitude, I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job.”

Boy, “No thanks.”

Store Owner, “But you were really pleading for one.”

Boy, “No Sir, I was just checking my performance at the Job I already have. I am the one who is working for that lady I was talking to!”

This is what we call ‘Self Appraisal’. Every time if we don’t get ahead of others, we blame others for it. We should look to our self and compare, find own weaknesses and work hard to throw away weaknesses. Always work hard, honest and with full dedication. It will always pay up.

(Posted on 26/06/2017)

 

#4 “What do you think I’m doing right now?”

Once a fisherman was sitting near seashore, under the shadow of a tree. Suddenly a rich businessman passing by approached him and enquired as to why he was sitting under a tree smoking and not working. To this the poor fisherman replied that he had caught enough fishes for the day.
Hearing this the rich man got angry and said: Why don’t you catch more fishes instead of sitting in shadow wasting your time?
Fisherman asked: What would I do by catching more fishes?
Businessman: You could catch more fishes, sell them and earn more money, and buy a bigger boat.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could go fishing in deep waters and catch even more fishes and earn even more money.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could buy many boats and employ many people to work for you and earn even more money.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could become a rich businessman like me.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could then enjoy your life peacefully.
Fisherman: What do you think I’m doing right now?

Moral: Wordly pleasures are secondary. It’s peace of mind which matters.

(Posted on 03/07/2017)

 

#5 “Good School Bad School”

A boy went to the Principal and said “Madam, I won’t be coming to School anymore.”
The Principal responded “But why?”
The boy said “Ah! I saw a teacher speaking bad of another teacher; You have a Sir who can’t read well; the staff is not good; Students look down upon their fellow students and there are so many other wrong things happening in the Schooĺ”
The Principal replied “OK. But before you go, do me a favor: Take a glass full of water and walk three times around the School without spilling a drop on the floor. Afterwards, leave the School if you desire.”
The boy thought : Now that’s too easy!
And he walked three times around as the Principal had asked. When he finished, he told the Principal he was ready.
The Principal asked “When you were walking around the School , did you see a Teacher speaking bad about another Teacher?”
The youth replied “no.”
“Did you see any Student looking at other students in wrong way ?”
“No”
“You know why?”
“No”
“You were focused on the glass, to make sure you didn’t tilt it and spill any water. It’s the same with our life. When our focus is on our priorities , we don’t have time to see the mistakes of others.”

Moral of the story:
Concentrate on your priorities and not on others mistakes.

(Posted on 10/07/2017)

 

#6 “Who will know it?”

A foreigner once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, “Do you need two statues of the same idol?” “No,” said the sculptor without looking up, “We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage.”
The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. “Where is the damage?” he asked. “There is a scratch on the nose of the idol.” said the sculptor, still busy with his work. “Where are you going to install the idol?” he asked again.
The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. “If the idol is that far who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?” the gentleman asked. The sculptor stopped work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said,
“I will know it…”
Moral: The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not. “Excellence” is a drive from inside, not outside. Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency.
Don’t Climb a Mountain with an Intention that the World Should See You. Climb the Mountain with the Intention to See the World!!

(Posted on 17/07/2017)

 

#7 “The Ripples”

A man was sitting by a lake. He was throwing small pebbles into it from time to time. A young boy happened to cross by. He was intrigued to see that after every few minutes or so, the man would toss a pebble into the lake. The boy went up to the man and said, “Good pastime, this stone throwing, he?” “Hmmm,” said the man. He seemed to be deep in thought and obviously did not wish to be disturbed.

Sometime later, the man said softly, “Look at the water, it is absolutely still.” The boy said, “Yeah, it is.” The man tossed a pebble into the water and continued, “Only till I toss a pebble into it now do you see the ripples?” “Yeah,” said the boy, “they spread further and further.” “And soon, the water is still again,” offered the man. The boy said, “Sure, it becomes quiet, after a while.”

The man continued, “What if we want to stop the ripples? The root cause of the ripples is the stone. Lets take the stone out. Go ahead and look for it.” The boy put his hand into the water and tried to take the stone out. But he only succeeded in making more ripples. He was able to take the stone out, but the number of ripples that were made in the process were a lot more than before.

The wise man said, “It is not possible to stop the movement of the water once a pebble has been thrown into it. But if we can stop ourselves from throwing the pebble in the first place, the ripples can be avoided altogether! So too, it is with our minds. If a thought enters into it, it creates ripples. The only way to save the mind from getting disturbed is to block and ban the entry of every superfluous thought that could be a potential cause for disturbance. If a disturbance has entered into the mind, it will take its own time to die down. Too many conflicting thoughts just cause more and more disturbances. Once the disturbance has been caused it takes time to ebb out. Even trying to forcibly remove the thought may further increase the turmoil in the mind. Time surely is a great healer, but prevention is always better than cure.”

MORAL: Before you allow a thought or a piece of information to enter your mind, put it through the triple filter test of authenticity, goodness and value.

(Posted on 24/07/2017)

 

#8 “Rocks, pebbles and sand”

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up the remaining open areas of the jar.
He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”
“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter – like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff.”
“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party, or fix the disposal.”
“Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

(Posted on 31/07/2017)

 

#9 “Gold and Stones”

There was a very rich old man in town, but you could easily mistake him for a beggar. It was his theory that since there were so many people out to rob a rich man, it was safe to pretend to be poor. And so he did.
But he really didn’t have to pretend. Stingy to the core he found it very easy to be poor. So what if people sniggered and children called out, “Kanjoos! Kanjoos!” (miser, miser), whenever he passed by in his worn-out clothes. The old man became more and more content with his growing pile of money as the years went by.
One day, he bought a huge lump of gold with all the money he had amassed. He dug a hole in the ground near an unused well and buried the gold there. He was sure that no thief would be able to find that place. With this happy thought, The old man checked on his treasure daily.
But can you really keep a hiding place hidden if you looked at it every day? Before long, the town was whispering about The old man’s mysterious visits to the unused well in the night. It wasn’t long before a curious soul discovered the gold, let out a yell of joy and ran away with the miser’s treasure.
Naturally, on his next visit, The old man found the hole empty. He began howling with grief and soon a crowd had assembled. They watched him grieve the way people mourn the loss of a dear one.
Finally, a neighbour came forward and asked him to stop it. “You want your gold? Just pick up a heavy stone and drop it in the hole. Pretend it is the gold you lost.”
“How can you make fun of me at a time like this,” wailed the stricken man.
“I’m not making fun of you, friend!” said the wise neighbour. “How did you use the gold while it was here, except gaze at it every day? You could do the same with a stone.”
The old man was silenced.

(Posted on 07/08/2017)

 

#10 “The Builder”

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the pay exchequer, but he needed to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career. When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.” What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized, we would have done it differently.
Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.

(Posted on 14/08/2017)

Disclaimer: All these stories are sourced from Internet. The blogger does not claim any right on them. They are compiled and shared only as an attempt to cheer up our otherwise stressed lives. Please feel free to share this compilation of positivity!