606.A Simple formula to live life

We are seeing happy people. Sad people. People who make a joke of everything and keep laughing. People who feel that others are unfair and constantly complaining. Those who smile even in the face of problems. Those who break down at the slightest problem they face. People who take things lightly. People who become very tense if they miss a traffic light.

What is the difference?

The fact is, life is a mixture. It is full of happy moments and disappointments. When you look around you, you can see beautiful things and dirty things. Good people and bad people. Good and bad behaviours from the same persons at different times because, nobody is perfect.

The Simple Formula: See and React only to things you like. Ignore and Be Blind to other things.

While we cannot control what things are, we can control our reactions. With some training, we can chose which ones to react, and which ones to ignore. If somebody provokes us, ignore them totally, treat them as if they do not exist. Brush it off with a smile, overcome the urge to give it back strongly. Remember, your Life Minutes are valuable, and you cannot afford to waste them dealing with unpleasant people.

1316. Contentment is not good

Being content is to be avoided, whether it is money, materials or knowledge. The very purpose of human life is seeking. Unless your mind starts weakening, don’t look for contentment. Be unsatisfied with what you have achieved, and you will get greater bliss. The only time you should become relaxed and happy with what you have, is when your mind is unable to take any more stress. But don’t be lazy. If you want pleasure and meaning in life, keep looking for more.

But if you want to relax and simply enjoy life, become content. Be happy for the level what you have achieved, and don’t feel envy at others who have achieved more than you. Remember that they have either paid the price or will have to pay a much higher price later.

579. Don’t refuse to see value because of easy availability

Throw some Gold coins and rare diamonds to a child, and it will play with it just for a short time. Let the child grow in an environment where these things are ordinarily present, and the child, even when grown up, will never understand the true value of these. Such a person will not appreciate the value or rarity of the gold or the diamonds. Because they have always been freely and abundantly available to him.

When such a person enters the normal world, he will get confused and surprised. He will get shocked seeing the extent to which people can go to get access to these same things. He will miscalculate peoples’ intentions, motives and actions and constantly face hurdles and surprises in his endeavors. He will often get attacked by friends who have suddenly turned enemies, apparently for no reason.

This concept also works when we give gifts to people. It is important for people to know the real value of a gift before they appreciate it.

Let us say a busy person, who fights for time is visited by a friend, after many long years. He gives value to the friend and meets him immediately without making the friend wait. To achieve this, he has to upset his work, cancel some of his appointments and upset some people. In spite of all this, the friend does not appreciate this gesture because the friend was not given an opportunity to understand how valuable this man’s time is. It is like gifting diamonds to a child.

This is the same reason that people do not appreciate the lucky things that they are blessed with. Just because they are easily available to them, they fail to see value. When these things disappear in due course, they start appreciating what they have lost. But by then, it is too late.

1243. Villains and snakes

Pursue anything, a goal, a career. Villains are sure to appear. They will actively wish your failure. The motives are too many, sometimes unconceivable. They may be sadists, driven by jealousy, or simply be victims of habit.

This happens so often, that you may take it for granted that the path to your goal will not be smooth, it will be barred by these people. Added to the normal setbacks which also are sure to appear, the situation at times dampens our enthusiasm. Many sensitive people have dropped pursuing their goals altogether, because of these.

But think again. Will a snake-and-ladder game be as interesting if it had only ladders and no snakes? Each time you cross a snake unscathed, you experience a flow of joy. This joy is effectively provided by the snake, whether you like to agree or not.

1237. Liking and disliking people

If you are looking to find fault, wanting to feel bad about a person, you can always find a mistake done by each person you know. Then you can use this as an excuse to dislike or hate that person.

Many people routinely use this technique, to secretly hate everyone around them. Everyone they come in touch with.

This works because every person you know would have committed a mistake, which you would have ignored when it happened. You would have brushed it away thinking that it was not of consequence. But now, it will appear big enough, to start hating them.

More than a meaningful exercise, this looks like a mental game.

The same principle holds good when you try to think in the other, positive way. That is, if you are looking for a good thing they have done, in order to like that person, you will always find one. Or more.