There are different ways of getting what you want. One way is obviously by developing merit to such a level that you deserve what you want and then get it. Another way is in which someone else gifts it to you. And yet another set of ways may be in which the desired object is obtained by using unfair means. In the beginning, it may look as if the ways other than developing merit are easier. It may look very nice if someone gifts you something that you need very much. Or by using unfair means and by taking help in unfair way from others you may obtain the desirable in somewhat easy way. But if you don’t have the required merit to get that you will feel uncomfortable holding that for long. You cannot target to develop yourself like that. And once again it’s matter of making one’s habit. If you develop the tendency of getting what you desire in easy way without deserving that, then you will get it once or twice. In the long run you will be the looser because of a wrong ...

  In the 1960's and then in the 1970's, an experiment was conducted at Stanford University, which is now famously called the  Marshmallow Experiment .    Quoting Wikipedia:  They presented four-year-olds with a marshmallow and told the children that they had two options: (1) ring a bell at any point to summon the experimenter and eat the marshmallow, or (2) wait until the experimenter returned about 15 minutes later, and earn two marshmallows instead. The message was: "small reward now, bigger reward later." Many kids gave in to the temptation and ate the marshmallow and others waited for 15 minutes and earned two. The kids that participated in the experiment were monitored for the rest of their lives (and in fact are being monitored even now) and it was found that the kids that did manage to wait for 15 minutes have been consistently doing better than the ones that didn't in almost all aspects of life.  Quoting Wikipedia again: The children w...

  Many students have the habit of making careless mistakes at the time when it matters most. They feel that it happens due to nervousness. But, you will notice people doing so even when they are confident, peaceful and in full control. If left unattended, it becomes a habit. It harms much more than making forced error. Kaumon (an imaginary name of a student) is brilliant in his studies, does smart study, understands concepts and is quick in applying them. His relatives, friends and he himself feel that he is a good candidate to excel in his studies and clear some of the toughest competitions  like IIT-JEE. While practicing at home or in his schools, he has been able to solve all the questions correctly. In the examination too he answers all the questions in time. But, when the results are declared, or when he compares his answers with correct answers, he finds that quite a few answers given by him are wrong due to carelessness in his part. It damages his prospects of e...

Our children are now getting exposed to unprecedented stress level in the society. All the children are expected to do extremely good in their studies. If a child performs worse than some of his neighbours or relatives then it becomes almost unpardonable. These children, in their attempt to meet expectations of so many around them, keep trying in arbitrary ways and end up having a very stressed life. This article is an attempt to provide some strategic direction to enjoy the work they do and also excel in that. We often put the children to work on their weak topics. If we analyze as why a child is weak in certain topics of his study and why is he strong in some other topics, we find that it all depends on the interest of the student. If a topic is of interest to the student, it will be his strong topic as well or can be made strong very easily. But, if a topic is not of his interest, it will be his weak area. Working on these topics are normally stressful. By expecting to ...

 Each student has some strength and weakness. It is a common advice available to everyone that he should try to overcome his weaknesses. This shifts the focus towards weaknesses and in certain situations doesn't allow the strength to work. It depends on the kind of examinations a student is taking. There are examinations in which lakhs of students score over 90% marks. Do such tests test the strengths of the students or weaknesses? It is basically a pressure situation in which a student has to built a capability of answering questions in a pre-decided way. If he does, he scores irrespective of whether he knows the concept or not. He gets high marks but how does it help him? High marks can be helpful only in getting admission in next course where admission is based on marks. Leave aside the marks and you find that these students in order to get high marks have build such capabilities that may not be of much help in getting success in subsequent phases of life. Mere a ...

  I was attending my ill friend in a hospital when a patient with cardiac emergency was brought there. People with him were quite anxious and were pleading with the staff to do anything to save the person. Next two hours were very crucial for him. Luckily, the efforts of the medical team worked well and the person survived.  I got chance to hear to the Doctor explaining few points  to the relatives of this patient. Most of the emergency situations which make next few hours very crucial for survival don't develop quickly but get build over years of carelessness and unhealthy lifestyle. One can be easily steered away from such emergencies with timely intervention and modification in the way of living.  In education too, I noticed similar situations while teaching Mathematical Subjects to students of professional courses and those preparing for competitive examinations. The blockage that holds a person from understanding simple mathematical things deeply and res...