Reading Inspirational Stories: Motivational Series

1. Once upon a time a psychology professor walked around on a stage while teaching stress management principles to an auditorium filled with students. 2. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the typical “glass half empty or glass half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, the professor asked, “How heavy is this glass of water I’m holding?” 3. Students shouted out answers ranging from eight ounces to a couple of pounds. 4. She replied, “From my perspective, the absolute weight of this glass doesn’t matter. It all depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute or two, it’s fairly light. If I hold it for an hour straight, its weight might make my arm ache a little. If I hold it for a day straight, my arm will likely cramp up and feel completely numb and paralyzed, forcing me to drop the glass to the floor. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it feels to me.” 5. As the class shook their heads in agreement, she continued, “Your stresses and worries in life are very much like this glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and you begin to ache a little. Think about them all day long, and you will feel completely numb and paralyzed – incapable of doing anything else until you drop them.”

1. At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady. 2. She started screaming out of fear. 3. With a panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. 4. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky. 5. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but… it landed on another lady in the group. 6. Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama. 7. The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. 8. The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant. 9. Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior? 10. If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos. 11. It is not the cockroach, but the inability of those people to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach, that disturbed the ladies. 12. I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it’s my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me. 13. It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me. 14. More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.

Trying To Erase One's Mistake 1. A kid when started using a pen in middle school made a mistake while writing. So, before submitting, he tried to erase it. 2. The kid tried to use a chalk, but after a while his mistake was visible again. So, he began to use his saliva to rub out his mistake. It worked but only to leave holes on his paper. 3. The kid submitted his work as it is. Because of this, his notes got dirty and the teacher scolded him because of the dirty work. 4. One day, another teacher saw the same thing in the kid's notebook. 5. She asked him, "Why did you try to erase your mistake so much that it made holes in your paper?" 6. The kid said, "Because I don't want people to see my mistakes." 7. The teacher laughed and said, "Anytime you make a mistake, just cross it out and move on. Trying to erase your mistakes would only damage your notebook.

1. A crow used to live in a forest. He had no trouble and was completely satisfied with his life. One day while flying he reached the bank of a lake. There he saw a bright white swan swimming. Seeing her, he thought - "How fortunate is this swan, which is so white and beautiful. Look at me here, how dark and ugly I am. This swan must be the happiest bird in the world. 2. He went to the swan and told him what was in his mind. Hearing him, the swan laughed, "No friend! not actually. Earlier I also used to think that I am the most beautiful bird in this world. But one day I saw a parrot, which has a unique shade of two colors. Since then I am sure that he is the most beautiful and happiest bird in the world. 3. After listening to the swan, the crow went to the parrot and asked him if he was the happiest bird in the world. The parrot replied, "I was leading a very happy life until I saw the peacock. But now I feel that no one can be more beautiful than a peacock. That's why he is the happiest bird in the world. 4. After this, the crow went out in search of the peacock. While flying, he reached a zoo. There he saw that the peacock locked in a cage and many people gathered to see him. Everyone was very appreciative of the peacock. After everyone left, the crow went to the peacock and said to him, "How fortunate you are! Every day thousands of people come to see you because of your beauty. You are the happiest bird in the world, aren't you?" 5. The peacock became sad after listening to the crow. 6. He said, "Friend! I too was proud of my beauty. I used to think that I am the most beautiful bird in this world. But this beauty of mine has become my enemy and I am locked in this zoo. After coming here, after thoroughly inspecting the entire zoo, I have come to the conclusion that you, the crow is the only bird that is not imprisoned here. You can roam freely and be the happiest bird in the world.

1. A doctor entered the hospital in hurry after being called in for an urgent surgery. He answered the call asap, changed his clothes and went directly to the surgery block. He found the boy’s father pacing in the hall waiting for the doctor. 2. On seeing him, the father yelled, “Why did you take all this time to come? Don’t you know that my son’s life is in danger? Don’t you have any sense of responsibility?” 3. The doctor smiled and said, “I am sorry, I wasn’t in the hospital and I came as fast as I could after receiving the call and now, I wish you’d calm down so that I can do my work”. 4. “Calm down?! What if your son was in this room right now, would you calm down? If your own son dies while waiting for doctor than what will you do??” said the father angrily. The doctor smiled again and replied, “We will do our best by God’s grace and you should also pray for your son’s healthy life”. 5. “Giving advices when we’re not concerned is so easy” Murmured the father. 6. The surgery took some hours after which the doctor went out happy, “Thank goodness! your son is saved!” And without waiting for the father’s reply he carried on his way running by saying, “If you have any questions, ask the nurse”. 7. “Why is he so arrogant? He couldn’t wait some minutes so that I ask about my son’s state” Commented the father when seeing the nurse minutes after the doctor left. The nurse answered, tears coming down her face, “His son died yesterday in a road accident, he was at the burial when we called him for your son’s surgery. And now that he saved your son’s life, he left running to finish his son’s burial.”

Questions About Bullying 1. Have you ever been bullied? 2. Do you know someone who has been bullied? 3. Why do you think some people bully others? 4. What do you think is the best way to deal with bullies? 5. Why do you think cyber-bullying is rampant these days?

There once was a little boy who had a very bad temper. His father decided to hand him a bag of nails and said that every time the boy lost his temper, he had to hammer a nail into the fence. On the first day, the boy hammered 37 nails into that fence. The boy gradually began to control his temper over the next few weeks, and the number of nails he was hammering into the fence slowly decreased. He discovered it was easier to control his temper than to hammer those nails into the fence. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father the news and the father suggested that the boy should now pull out a nail every day he kept his temper under control. The days passed, and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there.”

Questions About Temper 1. What are you like when you're having a bad temper? 2. What's the angriest you've been? 3. Someone once said: “For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” Do you agree? 4. How do you loosen up after a bad temper? 5. Do you think it's okay to get angry at people and just say sorry after?

Once there was a girl who was complaining to her dad that her life was so hard and that she didn’t know how she would get through all of her struggles. She was tired, and she felt like as soon as one problem was solved, another would arise. Being a chef, the girl’s father took her into his kitchen. He boiled three pots of water that were equal in size. He placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in another, and ground coffee beans in the final pot. He let the pots sit and boil for a while, not saying anything to his daughter. He turned the burners off after twenty minutes and removed the potatoes from the pot and put them in a bowl. He did the same with the boiled eggs. He then used a ladle to scoop out the boiled coffee and poured it in a mug. He asked his daughter, “What do you see?” She responded, “Potatoes, eggs, and coffee.” Her father told her to take a closer look and touch the potatoes. After doing so, she noticed they were soft. Her father then told her to break open an egg. She acknowledged the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he told her to take a sip of the coffee. It was rich and delicious. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - After asking her father what all of this meant, he explained that each of the three food items had just undergone the exact same hardship–twenty minutes inside of boiling water. However, each item had a different reaction. The potato went into the water as a strong, hard item, but after being boiled, it turned soft and weak. The egg was fragile when it entered the water, with a thin outer shell protecting a liquid interior. However, after it was left to boil, the inside of the egg became firm and strong. Finally, the ground coffee beans were different. Upon being exposed to boiling water, they changed the water to create something new altogether. He then asked his daughter, “Which are you? When you face adversity, do you respond by becoming soft and weak? Do you build strength? Or do you change the situation?”

There was once a company whose CEO was very strict and often disciplined the workers for their mistakes or perceived lack of progress. One day, as the employees came into work, they saw a sign on the door that read, “Yesterday, the person who has been holding you back from succeeding in this company passed away. Please gather for a funeral service in the assembly room.” While the employees were saddened for the family of their CEO, they were also intrigued at the prospect of being able to now move up within the company and become more successful.” Upon entering the assembly room, many employees were surprised to see the CEO was, in fact, present. They wondered among themselves, “If it wasn’t him who was holding us back from being successful, who was it? Who has died?” One by one, the employees approached the coffin, and upon looking inside, each was quite surprised. They didn’t understand what they saw. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In the coffin, there was simply a mirror. So, when each employee looked in to find out who had been “holding them back from being successful” everyone saw themselves. Next to the mirror, there was a sign that read: The only person who is able to limit your growth is you. You are the only person who can influence your success. Your life changes when you break through your limiting beliefs and realize that you’re in control of your life. The most influential relationship you can have is the relationship you have with yourself. Now you know who has been holding you back from living up to your true potential. Are you going to keep allowing that person to hold you back?