Telling the truth always has it's perks

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We all have several stories from our childhood and our schooling days and these memories stay with us forever, in fact these very stories have shaped the individuals that we are today. This is one such story where I realized the importance of being “truthful” and “honest”.

This story is of 1972 when I was in the 6^th grade and it was a usual day in the school. But on this day, there was inspection going on and people from outside had come to visit and check the classes. We students were summoned to the school ground where we all had to stay till the school ended but many of the students started going home (without seeking permission) and I followed them and went home too, not realizing that a permission ought to be sought before going home.

Next day I came to school and saw a huge line outside the staff room of teachers. I saw that students were being punished and suspended for a week – and all these students were being punished for going to their home without telling the teachers. Further, they were all lying and telling that they didn’t go home, which made it all the more worse.

I was praying to get saved; I didn’t want to get suspended. When my turn came and my Science teacher asked me “did you go home yesterday!” – I decided that everyone’s getting punished so I shall not take the path of lying but instead tell the truth and if I do get punished – at least I wont be a liar. I replied to my sir “yes sir, I went home yesterday”.

I further added “I went home because our exams are approaching and I felt that I should go home and study rather than sit all day in the ground” – and this in fact was the VERY reason that I decided to follow others who were going to their respective homes.

My science sir looked at me in the typical teacher fashion, very strictly at first.. Few seconds later he smiled and said “good”… “you told the truth and admitted that you went home and told us the reason why”.. We understand and you have a valid reason to go home but you should have sought our permission.

Even though everyone else was being suspended for 1 week, I got away by just a note in my diary from my science teacher and that’s all.. I wasn’t suspended and I attended regular classes and all this because I decided to tell the truth and not hide behind a lie. Hence I say that telling the truth sure is hard but it always has it’s perks – this is just another story from my childhood which shaped me to be a better individual and a truthful one. 

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Fear is just a state of mind...

The #RiseAboveFear film by : Mountain Dew

Like MountainDewIndia on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/mountaindewindia

Being a trainer, I’m often asked during my training conferences about “fear” and how one can overcome it. Further, having a degree in Psychology and giving training on self-confidence – people tend to relate the things and ask me – does fear have to do anything with confidence? My answer always is – of course.

You’re fearful of something when you’re not confidence of confronting it or getting over it/overcoming it. I for instance have always had the fear of water – it has always been a goal of mine to learn swimming but I haven’t been able to build the confidence to go through with it. Similarly, some people have fear of heights, some people fear the airplane, some fear spiders/lizards/cockroaches – there are all type of fears and phobias but this “fear factor” wont last long if we gear up and face the music.

Thinking about it, we’re in contact with our fear all the time. I for instance take a bath every day – is that too hard for me! Of course not. Then why can’t I go in a swimming pool and learn swimming, it’s just a mental state and the continuous fear circle inside me that makes me think that NO – no way at all am I going to be able to learn swimming.

The greatest friend of fear is “giving up”. Yes. Giving up on your fear is the worst possible case scenario that one can map out. If you’ve fear of something, at least have the motivation to say that yes – some of these days I’m going to overcome it and build yourself the confidence to do it. I for instance know the fact that some of these days I will get over the fear of water and will definitely learn swimming – I do not let the thought of “NEVER” pop into my head.

I know the feeling of overcoming my fear because I did overcome one of my fears. 15 years back I had 2 fears in my life – 1) I was fearful of swimming and 2) I extremely feared driving.

Whenever I would sit with a car instructor to teach me driving, I’d always mess up one thing or the other. In fact it got so worse that one day when I gathered the guts to go out alone driving – I drove 1 KM with the clutch still locked and the smell of “burning” coming from the tires – that’s how fearful I was of driving that I even forgot to unlock the clutch but then my boss (yea, it’s one of those stories where boss is helpful) – my boss said to me “Manoj, think about yourself in 20 years from now when you’ll have a grown up son.. Would you want yourself to have a car but not know how to drive it! Can you let the luxury of driving cars slip away from your hands! Don’t let this fear get the better of you”… And that actually changed my perception.

I was deceptive of the fact that I could drive but in a BAM – the fear was over and in the next 6 months, I overcame the fear of driving. Now in fact my son has a similar fear at the age of 17 but I’m pretty definite that when I give him my boss’ speech when he turned 18, he too will #RiseAboveFear.

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Travelling to my wishlist destinations through AirBnb

Credits : IndiBlogger for the banner and AirBnb for the images

"We travel not to escape life but for life to not escape us" - is a befitting quote for every person who knows the significance of travelling. The willingness to travel miles without feeling a hint of tiredness is the true characteristic of a "traveler".

"Travel is the only thing that you buy that makes you rich" - is another quote that for me signifies travelling is a mere few words. Via travelling one sure does spend but earns way more in return - we earn memories, we earn happiness, joy, freshness, - we get blessed with a new motivation to live life and hence travelling truly is what makes life worthwhile.

https://www.airbnb.co.in/ is a website that enables you to look for your dream destination anywhere around the world and complete your "wishlist". You can book your stay at hotels, homes, guest houses and villas all around the world - just pick your dream destination and airbnb is here at your service.

In addition, if you've a room or house of your own which you would like to rent airbnb helps you in this regard too. It sure is a fascinating site right! Do visit.. :)

I've been checking out the site for the last few days and as you enter the site, you're welcomed with the quote "welcome home" and for a traveler every place in the world is home. :) Moreover, the feature of adding your favorite destination to your "wishlist" is a feature of the site I truly love.

I created a wishlist of my own and here I'm going to share it with you all, enjoy! :)

1) FULHAM ROAD cosy double bedroom : since childhood I've been fond of London and it's iconic buildings - be it the buckingham palace or Big Ben, moreover I love the architectural brilliance of the city - simple and stylish, that's why it has over the years become one of my favorite places to visit. The Fulham Road cosy double bedroom is the place I've opted to stay at in London because of it's looks. It perfectly apprehends the city of London and the look of the building is just ideal for someone like me who loves the overall beauty of London for architectural gems like these.

2) The tipical hearth of ancient Bari : for those of you who have watched the movie "Godfather", you sure would have fallen in love with the culture and tradition of the country that Italy is. The well refined people, the cuisine, the simplicity and to top it all - the larger than life persona of the country is unparalleled. The place I name above for my stay at Italy is the perfect place for any one whose in love with Italy to live in. This building for me signifies the true "beauty" of the country that Italy is.

3) Unique Cob Cottage : Cob Cottage located in Mayne Island, BC, Canada is a place I'd love to visit someday. For some reason it's places like these that enlighten the traveler inside me, it's hidden gems like these that makes a traveler's journey worthwhile and not to mention the amazing beauty of Canada that makes it all the more special.

Do join AirBnb and invite your friends and earn credits which will help you in your bookings to your "wishlist destinations" all around the world - inviting friends sure has it's perks. :)

My AirBnb Wishlist

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