FAQ

Answer:

Do you spend a lot of time doing self-inspection and getting ready for a social affair?

Are you more preoccupied with how you will be treated or if you ‘fit in’?

Do you often look into the mirror questioning yourself, “Am I looking fat?”,  “Am I short?”, “Why do I have so many pimples on my face?”

Well all the blame goes to today’s media and fashion that has set up certain standards and most of us want to measure up to those ‘so called’ standards. Unfortunately leading to dissatisfaction with one’s appearance….in many cases.

There is nothing wrong in wanting to look good. Pretty can get quick attention but who you are as a person, your praiseworthy qualities will get you a longer attention. You can actually create a greater impact on people with your warm, welcoming manners and attitude.

Their connection and their experiences with you, is what they will cherish the most.

Here are a few highlighters. Next time you stand in front of the mirror ask yourself,

• 1. What are you good at?
• 2. What are you proud of ?
• 3. What value can you add to those who meet you?

Remember it is who you are on the inside that will make you feel beautiful and confident about yourself. After all, you cannot create an impact on others unless and until you feel pride in what you possess.

Keywords

Answer:

Welcome to NORMAL teenagehood, if you have asked this question many times.

Do your discussions with your parents always end up with yelling and arguments?

There can be some really petty arguments over

• 1. Why are you wearing ripped jeans?
• 2. Not prioritizing homework and screen time.
• 3. Why such less grades?
• 4. Why are you so lazy? Do something productive…
• 5. Curfew timings.

And you may find your parents unreasonable and headstrong at times. But the fact is that they may be more willing to listen to you than you think. It is all about how you present your case. There are ways by which you can come to a common ground, so that everyone is satisfied.

• 1. First, get control of your emotions. Assess the issue and see how it makes you feel, whether you feel hurt, embarrassed or sad. Because if you yell and argue, it will only worsen the case.
• 2. If you remain calm, it proves that you are willing to hear them out and only then they will be willing to listen to you.
• 3. Brainstorm solutions, like how you can tackle their edginess.
• 4. By communicating on a more mature level, you will realize that their opinions may not be as far away from yours.
• 5. Understand, not all differences need to be discussed. You need to let go sometimes, to realize how small the problem was.

Answer:

Passion sounds like a magical word, isn’t it?.

It is a must have quality if you want to live a successful life, and many successful people can vouch for it. Look into the life of any achiever from sports, movies, art or business, the fundamental cause for their success has always been ‘Passion’.

Have you ever wondered about what YOU are passionate about? Generally people keep thinking, hoping and waiting that someday they will find out what they are passionate about in life. They keep hoping that sooner or later it will come knocking at their door and BOOM! There lies the road to success.

Let me share my experience with you. When I was studying abroad, I sorely missed the hot, fresh home cooked food. I had never cooked ever in my life, but I had to, just to feed myself. My first experiments were disastrous. It was either salty, too much chilli or just bland. But I continued because I had no other option. I started experimenting, watching cooking programmes and noting recipes from people. I DEVELOPED myself. I even managed to cook a full 3 course meal for my English friends.

Cooking was never my passion but I turned it into my passion. I stuck to it only to prove to myself that I can do better and the end results were certainly delicious.

That’s the thing about passion, you need to unearth your talent and stick to it until it converts into passion. Many of us begin with new things like tennis, football, learning to play an instrument or dance, but when faced by tough challenges or complications many give up easily without even putting up a fight.

But my dear friends it is very crucial to be persistent and to be patient, only then you can explore the subject deeply.

We have to create our own passions by investing hard work and polishing our skills. This chiseling that you are willing to go through, shows that you ARE passionate.

Do not give up and keep on pursuing until you reach the top.

Answer:

Are your parents scandalized with your academic performance? Do they say you can’t have a good future because of bad grades? Most of the parents and our society has formed a standardized equation that,

Good grades = good job = lot of money = supporting family = great life

Thus everyone strives for A’s. The rise in competition for getting through to good colleges, getting good placements has put immense pressure on many students to score good grades.

Which is why it feels like an end of the world if they don’t perform well or excel in studies.

So, Let’s end this world?

Let me name a few famous personalities that you surely must have heard of, Bill Gates, Johnny Depp, Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Sachin Tendulkar, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor and the list goes on. These are the ones who have achieved unfathomable amounts of wealth and success without succeeding in a classroom.

So, what have they done differently? Even though Sachin Tendulkar did not perform well in the classroom he dedicated sweat and blood to cricket. He would practice for 12 hrs a day, doing it happily and not considering it as a torture.

Kareena Kapoor Khan post pregnancy would workout for 10 hrs a day for her next film.

Bill Gates during his lunch breaks would learn about programming and spend hours in his garage experimenting. This is how he was able to launch his first venture, at the age of 16.

What defines us is not our grades but

• 1. our skills
• 2. The hard work we put in
• 3. Our willingness to learn constantly to improve ourselves.
• 4. Overcoming obstacles
• 5. Adapting and innovating
• 6. And handling rejections

“ Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”

– Winston Churchill.

Answer:

What all parents actually want for their kids is to succeed in life, to achieve their goals and to become exceptional human beings.

But we often misunderstand them because of the kind of restrictions, rules and boundaries  they set for us. According to their point-of-view, it is their way of protecting us from being drifted from the right path and showing that they care for us.

I feel the issue of friendship with the opposite gender is just unnecessarily inflated. Thanks to our media where it’s always depicted that friendship with the opposite gender always ends up into a romantic relationship. It is this kind of distraction that some parents do not want their children to have in their early years.

But there is always a way to get things done. If you could prove to your parents that you can be responsible when it comes to friendships, studies and your goals, then the trust factor can be built easily.

Create a good support system within your family. Make it a point to share about your friends, your emotions or your whereabouts with at least one person in your family. Be it your mother, father, aunt or your elder sibling. There has to be some parts of your life shared with the people you trust the most.

Arguing will only lead to power struggles but trying to reason with them will show your maturity.

Answer:

What is the meaning of self-image?

It means how we look at ourselves and think of ourselves, both internally and externally.

These self-impressions affect how we feel about ourselves and how we relate to the world. We form an identity of ourselves based on our childhood experiences with our parents, siblings, friends or teachers. These impressions can be positive or negative.

A positive self-image is when our focus is on our strengths, while a negative self-image is when our focus is only on our weaknesses and faults. By choosing to believe in either of these images, we develop our identity and character.

How to develop a healthy self-image?

• 1. Learn to love yourself for who you are. It is not others’ job to like us, but it is OURS. Remind yourself you are unique. Have you ever seen anyone just like you???
• 2. If you are looking for a person that will change your life, take a look in the mirror. Learn to play by your strengths.
• 3. Comparisons need not be negative and crushing. But there can be healthy comparisons too. If your comparisons lead to low energy levels and negative emotions, like sadness, anger, insecurity, then it is wrong. But if your comparisons lead to high energy levels, like excitement or motivation to do better, then it is beneficial.

Answer:

It’s not about the number of friends you can COUNT. It’s all about how many friends you can COUNT ON. It is not about the quantity but the quality of friends you have that matters.

Think of someone who is really close to you, whom you consider as your best friend. Now think,

• 1. Has this person been with you even in your worst of times?
• 2. Has this friend always been honest with you to tell where you are WRONG?
• 3. Have they always covered up your lie or have they NOT supported you in your lie?
• 4. Have they always been available to you whenever you needed them?

If it is a yes to all the above, then you are totally blessed with a great friend in life.

A good friend not only sticks with you through thick and thin but also becomes your source of positivity.

Someone who helps you to grow and develop life skills.

Someone who can tell you the truth, not what you like to hear but also things that you need to hear.

A friend should be able to inspire you and encourage you in the right direction.

When you look for these qualities in your best friend, know that someone else too is searching for the same in you.

So, do you have a friend like this in your life? Or are you this kind of a friend to someone else?

Answer:

The only meaningless relationship these days everybody cherishes is with their Wifi, because there is a CONNECTION….

Well, the Cyber addicts never die out of addiction but they definitely go “offline”….or “offtrack.”

What do I mean by this?

• 1. Checking Facebook or insta or twitter after every few hours.
• 2. Posting selfies or stories on social media and to keep checking for the likes and comments.
• 3. While studying you hear a text tone and immediately you get distracted and start checking your messages.
• 4. Procrastinating because you were busy browsing.

These habits can be a major distraction in life. Having said this, the truth also is that using these facilities is not wrong, the internet can also be very helpful to us in many ways but the obsession is something that we have to be aware of. If it starts hampering our daily life, then that’s an issue that needs to be addressed asap. Otherwise it may have some adverse impacts like…

• 1. Suffering from mood swings, loneliness or feeling irritated all the time.
• 2. Not feeling excited or energetic to do your routine tasks. You may find everything boring.
• 3. It affects academic performance.
• 4. It causes physical impairments, such as dry eyes, headaches and lack of sleep.
• 5. You will lose track of time. You won’t be able to prioritize your life and stick to your schedules.
• 6. And using the internet may become your only hobby.

Many times we see a group of people sitting together but their heads are buried in the phone. Rather than having a delightful conversation or a hearty laugh. If you feel you are one of them or turning into one, here are a few bullets for you.

• 1. Schedule a specific time of the day when you can leisurely browse or play games.
• 2. Having certain ground rules at home can help tremendously. Like creating no tech zone areas, for example, in the dining area while having a meal or at night in the bedroom. Dedicate some time to your family and it will do wonders.
• 3. No internet usage at least 1 hour before going to bed.
• 4. If going for a jog, walk in the park or a gym, leave your phone in the bag/pocket during exercise.
• 5. Recreational activities can be very refreshing. Like listening to music, dancing, reading, baking, board games with family members etc.

Answer:

My 7 year old son and I like to play a cute game every night before we go to bed. We call it a “Thankful game” in which we share about whatever we feel thankful for that has happened in the entire day.

I tend to begin sharing simple things like “I had fun today at the mall with you” Or “Grateful that God gave me another day, another chance to do something better with my life”.

My son would tell me “ Thank you for the Lego gift that I got” or “Thank you for cooking my favorite meal for me today” or “Thank you for taking me to the park today”.

And like this everyday there will be something new and different to share.

But he will always end his prayers with “Thank you for giving me such loving Mum and Dad and little sister. I love hugging you and kissing you goodnight” or “I love my family”.

It moves me, when this small fellow feels and shows so much gratitude towards having a lovely family. I have realized one thing for sure, these prayers just show that, It’s not about the materialistic things we have that makes us happy but it’s the love and the acts of caring that really matter at the end of the day. In fact, it makes my day.

It is a beautiful way for us to realize, that no matter how deep in trouble we are right now, if we are being ill treated or things are not going in our favor. But at least we have something to be grateful for….like

• 1. Good health
• 2. Loved ones to support us
• 3. Another day to make things right
• 4. A decent house to live in
• 5. Monetary support

and many more things that are available to us in the form of blessings. No wonder they say “Count your blessings”.

Happiness can be found in the most humblest of things in life.

It overwhelms me and encourages me to live a life with gratitude. To be grateful to the smallest of blessings in my life.

What are you “Thankful” for today?

Answer:

Does it happen with you that you don’t always get what you have been expecting?

Do you lament over it? Asking…

Why? How is this possible? I gave in my 100%!!!

Do you ever wonder how you slog and slog yet you don’t produce desired results. You must have sacrificed your fun time with friends, your screen time, your hobby classes, your sleep etc…

Probably you end up feeling frustrated that you sacrificed so much for the sake of your studies and yet could not produce a great outcome.

Some may even think of giving up saying, “What’s the point?” and next time you may not push yourself off the limits.

But dear friends, are you wholly and solely 100% involved in what you want to do?

Say for example you are studying Physics and it is tough. You get frustrated and bored. Screaming out loud you say “I need a break, when is this going to get overrrr.”

Maybe you start thinking of your favorite holiday destination, good food, relaxing and lots of shopping”. So, how is it that you have given 100% into Physics?

Giving 100% does not apply only to studies, but to everything that we do everyday. If you are handed some chores to complete, is your entire focus on the work or are you doing it half-heartedly, mechanically and your thoughts are somewhere else?

Give yourself completely in what you are doing. If you are traveling in a vehicle observe the scenes around you. If you are playing a sport, be in that game, without thinking of the future and past occurrences.

If you are sitting with your parents and they are trying to make conversation but you are lost in your thoughts. So, learn to BE in the MOMENT. This means to give 100%.

With this practice you will realize that your distractions will diminish and your results will be surprisingly better.