Monday 24 February 2014

Keep it simple!

Keep it simple. - Frank Zhang to Annabeth Chase, The Mark of Athena, The Heroes of Olympus.

Life throws at you many challenges. They're all to test you. All the problems you have, all the situations you have to face, have a simple solution.
The web of problems in your life is basically like a circuit diagram on your test paper. It looks very complicated. There are many crisscrossing paths and an infinite number of routes the current could take. Except there aren't.
Let me tell you what happens as soon as you see the diagram - First thing, you panic. How in the world are you going to work out the resistance of this circuit? It looks virtually impossible. Second, you finish the rest of the paper and resign yourself you spend hours on this last problem left to solve. You look closer, you turn the paper around in all possible directions and then something hits you. No, you think. It can't be possible. There must be a mistake somewhere. But it is true. The answer is extremely easy. And then it hits you again. That was the whole purpose of the question, to get you confused. You have realized that only one path qualifies to take the current from beginning to end. The rest are all redundant. You heave a sigh of relief, which turns into a groan as you realize the time allotted for solving the paper is almost up. Hurriedly, you solve the sum and submit your paper.
Most of the challenges we face in life are also similar to this. We, being humans, create complexities that don't exist. We imagine dilemmas which are totally unreal. We add new dimensions to every problem. We examine it from every angle. All the while, the solution lies before us, crystal clear. The only thing is, we overestimate the capability any situation has of confusing us.
So don't complicate things much. Remember that most of the problems you anticipate won't actually happen. Remember that things are actually much easier to solve than you think they are.Whether it is freeing yourself from a pair of Chinese handcuffs (inside joke) or finding a way to achieve your dreams, you'll eventually find a way.
Dream big and think big, but remember - Keep it simple!


Wednesday 5 February 2014

Bored? Pick up a book!

Are you having one of those periods of extreme boredom? Are you reading this just because you're bored and have nothing else to do?
Well, then, that's awesome! 'Coz I'm going to tell you something about how to shush your boredom chip by reading books. 

BOOKS: 
In the first place, what is a  book? Ever looked it up on Wikipedia? 

'A book is a set of written, printed, illustrated or blank sheets, made of ink, paper, parchment or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side.'

Alphabetic writing first emerged in Egypt, where papyrus was used as a substitute for paper - in fact, that's where the word 'paper' comes from.
Books were at first merely a collection of sheets, and over the years, have emerged to the form they are presently manufactured in.

All right, now to the main part. How do you select a book? Here are a few tips that I myself have used quite a few times.

  • Choose according to your likes. If you're a fiction - lover, then choose fiction - related books, if you're a comics - lover then you should try out magazines and newspapers along with illustrated comics. For non - fiction lovers, there's always a huge range of biographies, autobiographies, some interesting accounts of people's lives and so on.
  • Ask a friend. The best way to find out about new books is to ask your friends what they suggest reading. Most of the times, word of mouth is reliable. I've read a thousand books my friends told me to read, and a thousand others my cousins told me to read. And I loved almost all of them.
  • Browse the web. Sometimes, you can find a book other people your age have been reading around the world. Lists of the top (number) famous books, and such other articles help too.
  • Go author-wise. If you read a book you loved, look up the author's other books and try them. They're most likely going to interest you almost as much as the first. And sometimes, you like them even better than the first series/novel you read. The Host, for example, got me hooked so easily, it was amazing. Of course, I had to struggle through every part of the Twilight Saga, and now I think it was definitely not worth the effort.
  • Pick up randomly. If you're browsing through a library's collections and have no idea whatsoever about which book you want to read, then it's your best bet to pick up random books that catch your eye. There's usually always a summary on the back cover and if it interests you, you could try it.

Maybe my tips helped you, or maybe not. But I've certainly entertained you for... two minutes, I think. I know there are a lot of people who might have read this in thirty seconds and to them I can only say - I understand why you're having a problem finding books. You've read them all!
Just kidding! No one's read all the books there are to read. Believe me, there's a whole host of novels that you've never heard of and that would greatly interest you, out there. You just have to find them.
Happy book hunting!

SOURCES - Wikipedia, and my experiences!