Random Thought I Think You’d Like #2

As a student, I’m still learning to be passionate about something while disagreeing with it

Trophies

‘Talent is plants that sprout from seeds of passion.’ 🙂

 

Hey guys!

Yesterday, was an important day for me. You could say it was an emotional one, but it’s a special kind of emotion. The kind of emotion you have when you move to a different house. That feeling of wanting to stay, when you shut that door for the last time.

Am I moving to a new place?

Nope.

I mean, yeah. Kind of.

When I was about 6 years old, I prayed a very heartfelt prayer, sitting in an old auditorium in my school. It was a beautiful evening, but it was an evening I would remember not because it was beautiful, but because of the emotion that passed through me as I sat there.

I sat there, my head down, as all my friends went to collect their trophies. Their feet on the floor echoed in the auditorium, putting me into a sleep, sedating me. I was stuck in time, as everything around me moved. I was happy for my friends, I really was. But I was sad because I did not have a trophy to carry back home.

And on that day, I prayed a heartfelt prayer,

‘God, please help me achieve at least one prize, one trophy, before I leave this school.’

I’ve always thought I was made for something special. It’s not like I’m prideful or anything. I think every person should live like that. My parents always made me feel special and encouraged me and told me I was meant for something great. So from a very young age, I started thinking about my future.

I’ve always dreamed of being great, just like every person on this planet. But I don’t want to be known for just one thing. I want to be an all-rounder. A man of many talents. And I’ve always tried to work towards that. Every two to three years, I add something to my life and I try to see how far I can go. I’ve always loved the change, colour and satisfaction it brought into my life. This blog, is a great example for that. 🙂

As time passed by, I learned to draw, play instruments, speak, write and create. I proved to myself that I could study well too. I didn’t take part in many competitions until high school. When I got into high school, I decided to challenge myself. We have an arts festival every year at school. 3 days filled with competition, excitement and challenge. Those who come up top in the competitions qualify for the regionals. I decided to do something crazy. I went up there and gave my name for nearly everything up on the board that day. If I could scrape through it, I believed I should try it. Those three days, I was running from venue to venue, doing stuff that I’d never done before. But I felt good.

Everything I learnt, I learnt on my own. So they were never professional or perfect. They were the result of the many hobbies I had taken up along the years.

The day the results came, I saw everyone looking at me. Overnight, my name had appeared in a lot of places. I went down there and I saw them and my heart started beating fast. My dreams were coming true.

In the years that came, I achieved things that I never thought I could achieve. I always tried my best to make sure it never went to my head. God had heard my prayer. That was how I looked at it. Giving everything up to him, helped me to focus on the future and not base it on the past. I would enjoy the moments of glory on stage and leave it at that.

My grades really suffered because of the many hobbies I had. Added to that was my dislike of the subjects I had to learn. But I scraped through somehow.

I kept some of my trophies by my bed. They reminded me that I was worth it and also reminded me to thank God for everything good in my life. They always inspired me and helped me to push myself harder.

Now I am out of school. And I know there is something great for me out there. I believe there are many more things to achieve. And I should make room for them. I have to prepare the fields for the rain.

So, yesterday, I did something to signify a new page in my life. I took around thirty trophies and packed them in an Amazon box and sealed it. It somehow felt like moving into a new house. But it was exciting. For me it was a sign of accepting new challenges.

 

Guys, I believe talent is plants that sprout from seeds of passion. And I want you to remember that you are special. And when you believe that your eyes will be opened to a whole new world of possibilities. You start really believing in your dreams when you realise and accept that. For you to have passion for something, you have to believe you can do it.

You can have a talent for anything in the world. It can be anything. Anything from making a good coffee to being an amazing singer. That is why it can change your life. People will see passion in your eyes every time they talk to you. But for that to happen you have to believe you are meant for something great.

Believing that you are special and that you can create a difference is like that moment of inspiration in movies where the hero is knocked out and the villain is laughing. But suddenly the hero rises again, inspired, by something. Sometimes it’s a person, sometimes it’s a memory and sometimes it’s a voice in their head of someone they love, telling them, ‘you are special’. That one moment of inspiration, wakes up the muscles that were sleeping, it floods the entire body like a wave of energy.

That wave of energy in your life, will recruit parts of your brain and your mind that were fast asleep. That’s when talent is born.

God made you to be great. It is a fact. Believe it. It will change your life.

God bless! 🙂

 

What do you think about this? Comment. Share. Be a part of the movement! 🙂

 

 

 

Beat The System

‘The world will only be it’s best when the people do what they do best.’

Experience.

It’s amazing what that word in it’s reality can do to your life. It lies at the foundations of adventure and lurks behind the word ‘change’. It is a knowledge no money can buy. Experience, in its application in daily life, offers a sense of security of sorts. You face your fears and gain experience to overcome it. If you’re an astronaut, before you shoot off into space, they give you a taste of what it’s going to be like. Just so that you don’t freak out!

We need experience to live the way we live today.

Imagine you’ve never even seen or experienced winter or snow. Imagine the world has always been warm and sunny. Then one day, you feel this cold that you’ve never felt before. All of a sudden, this white stuff starts falling from the sky. And as the days go by, it starts to pile up stopping traffic and shutting down schools. And then, everybody starts going bonkers. The Governments bring up all these possible reasons, scientists start showing up on reality shows and theatres start showing movies of the sky falling down in 3D. Total Chaos.

Why isn’t this happening in our world today?

Because we know. We know about seasonal changes. We know winter. We’ve experienced it. From an age when all we cared about was milk, we’ve felt it. And so when the seasons change and when it gets rough, we remind ourselves it’s going to change, like it always has. We save ourselves from unnecessary shock by going back to ‘experience’.

But there’s a catch.

Experience works only when there is a certain level of consistency in our lives. Experience becomes useful only when we live in a system.

What does that mean?

If each morning I wake up, I am in a different country, my experience from yesterday is not going to help, is it? The systems have changed. Being part of a system you know, helps you to use your experience from the past to avoid unnecessary shock and fear. And an environment like that is where development happens.

We need systems to develop because systems help us to use our experiences from the past.

Now, I’m a teenager who just got out of school. I am in an education system. We are all part of a long list of systems. Now in the light of what I just said,

Why do we need an education system?

We need an education system to avoid the uncertainty of how our lives are going to turn out. We need it to avoid possible future shocks. We need it to insure our future. Now it’s easy. Like a simple equation of x + y = z. You put in the effort and the grades and you get a good life. There’s order here. Now it’s no longer like seeing winter for the first time. You know the system, you know the future.

Or do you?

Today, many kids my age, put a gun to their heads because they think they’ve figured it all out. They look at the system, the system they know and are taught from day 1. They put in their grades and out come the result: ‘you loose’. So they come to the conclusion that their life is done.

We need systems, yes. But sometimes, they may be wrong. Our systems have been known to kick out many people. Can you sing? Big deal. This guy just put a rocket in space. You’re an artist? Big deal. This guy just made an engine.

Our systems are flawed and they’ll never be perfect. Knowing that is important . Why?

Because that might just save you. Grades are not everything. The score is not everything. You don’t have to crawl up in a corner and stamp SOS on yourself just because you didn’t pass your exam. Beat the system. Show them you exist and that there are people like you who deserve to be in the system and be a part of progress.

The God who made us knows the real system, the system that brings together every person on the world. Listen to him.

There are things in life that you need to change, but there are also things in life that you should never lose. Don’t lose them and beat the system. Keep them and beat it.

Like I said,

‘The world will only be it’s best when the people do what they do best.’

So, if you are out there and you are listening to me. Maybe you’re having a hard time. Maybe your talent deserves more than you get. Don’t settle for less and leave it behind. Keep it. Don’t let any system cut it out from you. Your talent is a gift only you can throw away. And when they tell you you’re a loser because you didn’t make straight As, don’t crawl up and cry. Stand up and throw away those labels. And then, beat the system.

What do you think about this?

Comment. Share. Be a part of the movement.

Thank you for being a part of the 4D family. 🙂

God bless!

Sleeping In Your Art.

Hello there!

Thanks for dropping by. For the next few minutes, I am going to take you into my perspective on life. You guys have been so supportive and I am very grateful for every like and every comment. Let’s live life beautiful!

I was helping out at church today along with some of my friends on a programme for kids. After some time we decided to take a break.

When you are old, the games you played when you were ridiculously young suddenly become so amusing and entertaining in many ways. Not like I am old or anything. I mean I’m just 17! But you know………..

So we took some colouring books lying there and decided we were going to colour them. We set out on this venture armed with mini crayons and sketch pens. I was actually thinking of doing something else so I was not as enthusiastic as the other guys in our group but I thought I’d do it anyway.

So we sat down and started colouring in between jokes and loud laughs. But as time passed on, the place became extremely quiet. I was surprised at how concentrated I was on getting the curves of the flower just right. It was just amazing. In a split second, I had been snatched away from reality and embedded into a reality that once existed in my past, in my childhood.

You guys know I love art. But as of late, I’ve been more into just pencils and sketching and that sort of thing. I am not professional or anything. I just love doing it. I’ve not added any colour to my art in years. So, when I held those mini crayons it was like an small wave of electricity passed through me.

And I absolutely truly loved it.

As a kid, I used to completely ‘sleep’ in my art, as I like to call it. I would lose what little attachment I had to what was going on around me.

I felt that today.

And it was magical.

I believe as kids, we all ‘sleep’ in our art. As parents, you might have used crayons and colouring books to make that toddler settle down or calm down your baby. You see this phenomena at it’s best in babies. Give a crying baby anything new and she will stop crying instantly. It’s what I like to call ‘baby love at first sight’. A true passion for curiosity and learning. I believe we sleep in our colouring because every time we put the brush to the paper, we learn something new.

Why do I ‘sleep in my playing’ when I learn a new song on the guitar?

Because I am learning something ‘new’.

But as time passes by, we stop doing that. We have trouble concentrating. We have trouble resting while working.

Why?

Why do we find it hard to fall asleep in what we study at school? ( Ironically)

Is it because we have stopped adding colour to our art?

Is it because we have kept creativity waiting at the door too long?

What do you think?

It’s high time we thought about the way we learn things. Look at nature. God has created this universe in a way that even the scientist who has been glued to his telescope for a significant part of his life, falls asleep in what he sees.

Why is it that kids hate what they learn at school?

Why is it that we are fed up with work?

Why do you think we find refuge and peace in hobbies like blogging?

Creativity is an important part of learning because it uses resources that are the very basic languages of human cognizance like colour, sound and movement. Incorporating them into every activity we engage in, everything we learn and everything we teach is an important part of making the process enjoyable and comfortable.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post. What is your perspective?

Comment. Share. Be a part of the movement.

God bless!

 

A Productive System

I just pulled off an all nighter!  I am a bit dizzy but I think I can do this. I am a night time kinda guy. I don’t know if there is any particular word to describe people who like to work at night.

Nocturnal, maybe?

Nah…that’s not it.

Anyway, with my strange humor sense out of the bag, let’s get into this post.

Today, I am going to tell you something important. I know that’s a cliché line but I really mean it. Not that it’s going to change the world or anything, but it will help you when you do a team project or, if you want to think extremes, when you start a new company.

People taking business advice from 17 year olds!!!???

What has the world come to!?

I know. But let’s move on.

We have all gone to a get-together programme at some point in our lives. If it’s a family get-together, there is a good chance that there will be some games in the end. How many times have you ended up in a get-together were you didn’t know jack squat about any of the games. Remember that feeling when you got so embarrassed you just wanted the thing to be over. You don’t ? Am I the only one? No of course not! That would be weird. We have all felt that feeling at some point in our lives. That feeling when you felt like you didn’t fit into the group.

If I ask you why you felt like you didn’t fit in, one obvious answer would be:

‘It’s not my thing, bro’

Did I guess that right? Okay, good!

You see the reason why you didn’t have a good time at that party was because the games asked you to be somebody you’re not.

This is where the title of this post comes into play

‘Productive Systems’

Technical term. I know.

Take that situation at that get-together as a system of which you were a part. Now lets give you a quality. Let’s say you are an introvert. Which simply means high exposure stuff like say, jumping rope in front of your family in the living room as part of the ‘game’ will never be your thing. Bingo is our lifesaver.

An introvert is shy and might not be able to make many friends but they make great public speakers.

What!!!??

I know that makes no sense at all. The thing is public speaking, in my opinion, creates a secure space where an introvert feels like it is okay to be outgoing and strong. I believe one of the questions that introverts always ask themselves is : is this vibe right for this situation? The touch of formality to such cases, therefore has a huge impact. Whereas in the informal day to day life, an introvert is shy. This is my theory on it and it could be ridiculously wrong. So, I apologize in advance to all the psychologists reading this post.

What we just saw was the same quality producing contrasting results in two different situations. Introverts are often misjudged to be not that productive. They can be productive, when they are in an environment they feel comfortable in. But the problem is our workplaces, our educational systems all are shaped very similar to the family get-together games environment. This is based on the belief that extroversion is better or maybe because of the larger number of extroverts. But the truth is no quality is greater than another in this case. Productivity here is very much based on the environment.

Introversion and extroversion is just one pair of qualities I used to explain this effect. There are a lot of quality pairs you can think up yourself that can affect the outcome of a group in terms of productivity. There is nothing wrong in having to work with people who have absolutely different ways of functioning as long as you recognize and take the appropriate measures.

Your group or your team can attain the maximum productivity if you give importance to how everyone in the group is wired. Let us take a point, X and another point, Y. Let Y symbolize maximum productivity and let X be anything below the maximum productivity. Everyday we travel from X to Y( work hard to attain maximum productivity). Now all I am saying is instead of everybody taking the same path, leave the option open for the use of another path given that it also ends in Y. In other words, our systems have to be modified in a way that a group can work as a group even when the approach of the members within the group shows difference.

So, next time you’re having  Friday night games with your family, bring a chessboard for the introvert or try bingo for a change. What’s the harm? If you have an extrovert too in the house, try that jump rope thing I made up. Who knows it could turn into a trend or something.

Anyway, thanks for dropping in. Write a comment. Be a part. I would love to hear from you. God bless and see you guys in a few days.