We started walking intuitively and probably from seeing our parents and other adults doing it; we imitated them. We fell and we picked ourselves up repetitively and fearlessly. Pretty soon we were walking steadily and the daring ones were already running. Through sheer hard work and encouragement, we had not only mastered the art of walking but also doing it with ease. Had we ever questioned the hard work we put into learning to walk?

Are there something which you are hoping to do well? I have an interesting news for you. With hard work and I mean a lot of hard work, you can achieve excellent in what you hope to do well. And not just hard work, “But work of a particular type that’s demanding and painful,” according to a report by CNN on the Secret of Greatness.

“I do not have the innate gifts to be successful.” From the above mentioned report, British-based researchers Michael J. Howe, Jane W. Davidson and John A. Sluboda conclude in an extensive study, “The evidence we have surveyed … does not support the [notion that] excelling is a consequence of possessing innate gifts.” The first major conclusion is that nobody is great without work.

A lot of people are working hard and yet not many are achieving excellent results. Where did it go wrong? The biggest challenge is that most people are just blindly charging ahead. A friend of mine shared his Cycle of Excellence with me a few years back. It is a simple feedback system he uses for his students so that they can constantly monitor their own results through feedbacks. Through the system, the students can pin-point what produces positive results and do more of that.

Besides monitoring which of our hard work produces positive result, a paper published by professor K. Anders Ericsson of Florida State University and two colleagues in 1993 notes, “Elite performers in many diverse domains have been found to practice, on the average, roughly the same amount every day, including weekends.” Thus, we also need to put in consistent hard work.

Many would have spent the weekend otherwise. Not many are willing to go the extra miles and that is why not many can achieve greatness. At least we know now that achieving greatness is not only for the privilege few but available for you and I.

That is one question which I cannot answer for you? I believe that everything happened for a reason. For what reason you may ask. Sometimes you would know the reason immediately and other times you would not. Whatever reason it may be, there is always an opportunity to learn from what happened and to grow.

Just as a toddler falling, many times, from learning to walk, the toddler didn’t question why he/she was falling; the toddler just kept on trying.

As for me, it didn’t always get better for me in letting go and moving forward also, but it had not gotten any worst too. In fact, whatever I had thought not possible, proved me wrong again and again. There are times I was broken and thought that I could never love another as deeply again?

And eventually when I met the person with the ‘right’ chemistry, sparks flew and my heart beating once again at the speed of light. Yes, I exaggerated. But I believe you get my idea that eventually we will find the ‘right’ person again – provided we are willing to let go and move on with an open heart again.

Letting go and moving on is not always easy. But it can also be as easy as deciding that we want to move on. Lessons in the past we need to learn but forward we must move on … for that is where our future lies.

I wish for you the strength and courage to take on any challenge that you may be facing in your life now.

This was a quote which I came across yesterday while I was compiling some love quotes by Barbara de Angelis. I knew it instantly that this is one quote which I want to share with you. This quote is in line with the ‘Rewriting Life with Different Choices‘ post, which I did a about two weeks ago.

One of the things which upsets me, is seeing people using their phone (without a hands-free) while they are driving. Now they are even checking their text messages and texting while driving.

Then there are always the inconsiderate few who decide that they prefer to throw trashes on the floor when the bin is less than a feet away.

It really doesn’t make any sense in letting these people upset me. Can we really be in control of our happiness? I believe we can. As the saying goes, “It is not what happened but what we do or how we react to what happened that is most important.” There are people or things in life that are constantly upsetting us … but only if we allow them to.

There is something which I believe we all know; Whenever we let someone or something upset us, we are letting the person or the thing control our happiness. Why should we be allowing others to decide if we should be happy? Since being happy is essential for the well-being of one – be it mentally, physically or spiritually, shouldn’t we be in control of our happiness?

What was the reaction of the father when he got to the hospital and saw the dead child? Don’t let the cat out of the bag if you have read this before. For those who had not read this before, did you think that the father would fly into a rage and would reprimand his wife for not capping the bottle? Were you blaming the wife as well? But shouldn’t the husband just take time to put the bottle away? So who was to be blamed actually?

The father wasn’t angry at his wife at all. He looked at his wife and uttered just four words. What do you think were the four words?

The husband just said, “I love you, darling.”

The wisdom he displayed was truly an inspiration. The child was already dead and no way he could be brought back to life. What good would it do him to be angry with his wife? He responded by taking responsibility for his action; not taking time to put the bottle away.

He understood that his wife had lost her only child too. What she needed most was consolation and sympathy from him. That is what he gave her.

From the first time I read this story, I have been using it to remind myself to have the wisdom like the man. I must be less haste to find fault and to always take a more proactive perspective. I am not always successful yet. But practice makes better.

Blaming others for the mistakes seemed to be the natural thing to do whenever something bad happened. As the saying goes, “it is always easier to find fault with others than with ourselves.” Dr. Robert Anthony said, “When you blame others, you give up your power to change.” Let us take ownership and be in control.