Shake it off and rise up

Instead of saying to yourself, “What an idiot,” you should be able to say, “More proof that I’m human.” Forgiving yourself and more importantly loving yourself is very important. But not to a self-obsessive level to turn into an egoist.

Buddha said, “You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”

To be in perfect peace with oneself and love oneself, one must be happy and joyous in the heart. By following the five simple rules, one can gain a peaceful disposition and be happy: Free your heart from hatred - Forgive. Free your mind from worries. Most never happen. Live simply and appreciate what you have. Give more… expect less from people but more from yourself.

To expect more from yourself, you must develop self-confidence and an innate courage to handle the major and minor keys of life, to bring out the inner music. It is said even a mountain is not higher than your confidence because once you reach the top of the mountain, it will be under your feet.

Here is a story of a donkey, a much-underrated animal’s success story, which shows how one can overcome troubles thrown in by circumstances by being smart and confident. How one can shake problems off and rise up is well illustrated in this story.

One day, a farmer’s donkey fell into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth retrieving the donkey.

He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began removing dirt from the well. At first, the donkey realised what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down.

A few shovel-loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed, as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off.

The moral is that ‘life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up. Just shake it off and take a step up.’

To be able to do that, you have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you strong.