It Wasn’t Easy — That’s Why It’s Easy - Manisha Khanna

Our mind has a strange problem: it does not understand the word “don’t.” The moment we say, “I don’t want stress,” the mind says, “Okay, let me think about stress all day.” When we say, “I am not able to do this,” the mind calmly replies, “Alright, I will make sure you never do it.”

The mind is like a stubborn child. Tell it, “Don’t eat the chocolate,” and suddenly, chocolate becomes the purpose of life.

So instead of saying “I can’t do this,” we should say, “How can I do this?”

The moment you change the sentence, the mind changes direction. Earlier, it was looking for excuses; now it starts looking for solutions.

When we say something is not achievable, we should treat it like a challenge, not a full stop. We should train our minds like a strict but funny coach:

“Okay, dear mind, you think this is impossible? Fine. Now sit down, make a plan, learn the skills, try again, fail again, but we are not leaving this ground until we find a way.”

Life is actually a very funny teacher. First, it gives the exam, and then it teaches the lesson. Nothing worth achieving is easy, but the truth is — once we decide that ‘don’t’ is our new goal, the difficult road becomes interesting.

So next time when you say, “It’s not easy,” just add one more line:

“It wasn’t easy, that’s why it will be easy — because I will learn how.”

Manisha Khanna

From limits to possibilities

- Manisha effectively uses AI to learn and grow!

Hope and Friendship - Dynamic DGS

Hope is the oxygen of the heart and soul, and thus the essence of life and our entire planet thrives on it, for it's like a prism through which we see a spectrum of optimism. Positive thoughts may be the possibility of a key to a closed-door or another open door! We, as mentors, are a beacon of hope for our students; a hope that keeps us all positive in a confusing world so full of negativity; a hope of getting better at everything each day. Similarly, mentors too hope that all their efforts put into their students will be recognised and appreciated. 

Hope motivates us to persevere and keep moving forward despite the many obstacles we may face during our journey. "Whispering hope, o how welcome thy voice, making my heart in its sorrow rejoice." Where there is hope, there is a beautiful relationship, and that is friendship. The language of friendship is not words but meanings.

Our friends teach us to be patient with each other, try new hobbies, and a friend gives hope when life is low. That is why it's a great fortune to have a good and understanding friend. Friendship gets a whole new meaning in boarding schools, as the bond, we share with our friends is the purest form of friendship, where we learn to share, care and accept each other for who we are. Hope rekindles the flame of bonding through friendship in boarding schools by accepting our friends as family. In life, I was once told that if you make even one true friend, you are a fortunate person. We cannot choose our family, but we can definitely choose our friends. This gives us the hope to feel comfortable, especially in a boarding school, without our family being present.

So hope and friendship go beautifully hand in hand. Fostering hope in our lives is important for our mental and emotional health.

मन मे आशा दृढ़ है कुछ अच्छा होने की ।

पल पल जीवन की कसौटी पर खरा उतरने  की ।

नये सपनों को पंख लगाये,नभ मे उड़ने की।

उम्मीदों  को पूरा कर, सच्चाई से जुड़ने की।

मन मे आशा दृढ़ है कुछ अच्छा होने की।

आशाओं और उम्मीदों से ही बना है सार्थक जीवन।

नई  रोशनी की आभा से पुलकित होता है मन।

क्या है जीवन की सच्चाई, क्यू हर पल एक चुनौती है?

उम्मीदों से ही है खुशियों का मतलब।

जो जीवन का दामन थामे आगे बढ़ती जाती है।

मन मे आशा दृढ़ है कुछ अच्छा होने की।

पल पल जीवन की कसौटी पर खरा उतरने की।।

Dynamic DGS @ The Doon Girls’ School, Dehradun - Reena Gusain , Reah Sikand, Meenakshi Panwar, Shilpika Pandey, Rachna Bhardwaj & Sumali Devgan

Freedom and Peace - Swabhi Parmar

The word freedom refers to the possibility that every person has to make decisions regarding their own lives, yet with certain limitations. We have the ability to choose from a variety of options but at the same time, we must not jeopardize the freedom of others. Freedom of thought, opinion, creativity and faith are fundamental human rights which are found in the constitutions of numerous acts of international significance. Freedom in this context is not physical, but a spiritual creation, belief, thought and free manifestation. Every child has the right to express their opinions freely on all the questions which concern his/her life. So a child should not be the victim of the pressure of an adult, who would try to force him/her in order to influence them in their opinion or who would prevent them from expressing themselves freely. The freedom of expression for the children also involves their right to be informed. It is the right of the children to know what happens and to access information which interests them.  Freedom leads you to a peaceful and hassle-free life. 

Every individual has the right to express freely and give his or her opinions freely to the community or society. A person has the right to be liberal in choosing whatever he or she wants to choose to make their life more peaceful and happy. Anyone who is content and happy then only they can be very productive and balanced in their workspace or in their learning process. Peace is the state of being emotionally and mentally at calmness in which there is no restlessness or disturbing thoughts, and being in control of your mind, moods and reactions. True inner peace is independent of external conditions and circumstances. It confers tranquillity, inner harmony and balance.

Peace is a very necessary part of humankind because it can give us the capability of good decision making and we are relaxed even when the situations don’t turn up well. A state of inner peace eliminates anxieties, fears and worries. It also removes negative thoughts, stress, lack of satisfaction and unhappiness. It is a state of emotional and mental poise, happiness, confidence and inner strength. Everyone desires inner peace, even if he or she is not aware of this desire. Few realize the importance and benefits of inner peace, and still, fewer know that it is a skill that can be learned. You can continue living where you are, without making external changes in your life, and yet, attain inner peace. Some might progress fast, and others at a slower pace. Some might reach far, and others not so far. However, everyone can gain, at least a certain measure of inner peace, enough to transform their lives. This is why it is necessary to make your heart quiet and peaceful as soon as it becomes troubled by something internal or external. Direct your intentions to the right subject and try to find out how to achieve a state of affairs when every action is done in the peace of state of heart, with pleasure and joy. In brief, preserving the peace of heart should be the constant effort of your whole life, and you must never allow it to be cast into the disorderly disturbance.

Swabhi Parmar

The Fabindia School

spr@fabindiaschools.in