Success is a beautiful feeling. Nothing comes close to the sense of accomplishment of your goals. It is a statement of your victory, a testament to your efforts and the glory in achieving them. Failure however is not fun, but its not the worst thing in the world!
Many times, particularly when things feel hard, we tend to blame the circumstances or people around us. Although a part of it might be true, we must ask the question so what? And this is the answer you’ll get for the so what question. Most often, the question – why does this happen to me feels us with sympathy, helplessness and blame. None of these help you find the solution. There’s only one person who can help you with this and that’s yourself.
Dreams transform into thoughts: This is such a beautiful quote about dreams by Abdul Kalam. Ever since I read his book, Wings of Fire, I’ve fallen in love with his thoughts about dreams. These quotes are usually followed by their powerful companions – perseverance and hard work. As we talk about Kalam’s quote on dreams transforming into thoughts and actions, let’s try and explore the meaning of this quote and its relevance in today’s world.
Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today, meaning: This quote is all about regrets and moving forward in life. Although we’re aware of quotes that say live life without regrets, I believe regrets are valuable. Yesterday is a beautiful reality that keeps telling us something. It is feedback to use for our future and move ahead with life. Yes, we shouldn’t dwell in the past. By that, I mean don’t worry about what has happened – worry about how to move forward from it.
Either you run the day or the day runs you: Take control, lead the day. This is in short what the quote is telling us to do. However, we all know how hard sometimes things are. We just have to follow the motions and get through the day. Although we may never be able to follow this quote to the letter, I like the principle of this quote. The main point for me is that when the day runs us, we get busy and lose track of things. This is exactly how the most important things in our life take a backseat. Because we are so busy responding to the demands of the day, we don’t have time to do what’s important for us.
Champions are different. They are different because they do something beyond what others will. It is not just the physical aspect of doing something. What’s more powerful is the internal aspect – the mind which travels well beyond what others do. Everyone goes to the gym – but the champions are those who do this, but also something beyond that takes them to the next level.
If you refused to be afraid: This is such a powerful quote by Mahatma Gandhi. It talks about the power of control we exert on our fears. When we are so scared, it feels like we have no choice and the immediate response is to hide. But the response to fear also is a choice – if we stand tall against this fear, there’s a different response that our minds will create. It will bring up the other aspects of our personality such as resilience, fighting spirit, desire to move beyond fear etc. It doesn’t suggest us to deny fear, but act on it with diligence and from a position of power.
Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment: Success and failure is all about the results – this is what most of us are taught to believe. I can see the logic in this because success comes with results and accolades that help us recognise a victory. This quote by Mahatma Gandhi talks about the effort involved in achieving success. Some of our successes can sometimes be fluke events. Although they give us the results, the satisfaction derived from them is small and in some cases disappointing. This quote brings the focus back to the effort involved and the satisfaction derived from this effort.
What you’re thinking is what you’re becoming: We are never a finished product – instead, we’re in the constant process of becoming. These thoughts however are extremely powerful. If we ignore them, easily poisonous thoughts such as doubts, lies and disbelief will start pestering us. The best thing we can do is to be aware of these thoughts, what they are trying to tell us and think of the best ways to indulge in them.
Suffering is the essence of success: I’m conflicted about this quote. Although I appreciate what Abdul Kalam says about suffering i.e. hard work, perseverance and facing disappointments, I’m also against suffering as a precondition for success. Our journey should be fun because it isn’t the results that matter in the end. It is about the journey we take and how we feel about it in the long run. Let’s read on more to talk about this inspirational quote from Abdul Kalam